Closing the door on Fear. What is fear anyway? Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain or harm.
Fear can cause us to FIGHT | FLIGHT | FREEZE God’s had His finger on this issue in my life lately. When I become aware of fear, I either run away or freeze up. I knew it is time to lean in to what Father is saying to me about fear. He wants me whole and well. By now, I’m well aware how much fear has robbed me of all kinds of possibilities, but I wanted to know why I have this problem with fear. This has been a known enemy to me for as long as I can remember. Fear comes in when there are doors of destruction open inside of us. For me it’s mostly jammed open because of trauma. When we started going deeper and investigating the causes, I can honestly say, I didn’t like it. It is only because I knew God wants to heal me completely from those traumas, that I’m persevering and surrendering. I trust Father more and more as I see evidence of His good nature towards me. I would like to share with you what I’ve learnt so far in how to deal with these open doors. I hope that this will encourage you to seek Father if you are struggling with fear. IDENTIFY THE DOOR AND CALL OUT THE FEAR COMING FROM IT There are doors in my life that I’ve chosen to forget. It’s too painful and I’d rather have them buried deep so they are out of sight out of mind. But the thing is, the longer it sits there, the more it festers and influences many areas in my life. I know that God has me covered. I trust Father has a good reason for taking me to those doors. So it’s okay to identify and call out those fears. CONFRONT THE FEAR WITH THE WORD OF GOD The Word of God is a double edged sword so by decreeing God’s word, I cut away the lies. 2 Tim 1:7 says that God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. What this looks like to me is that I can confront that fear coming from that door and renounce it. Fear is not part of my identity! But power, love and a sound mind is! So, I then choose to love more and focus on what is good and positive. 1 John 4:18 says that God’s perfect love drives out fear. I’ve noticed when I feel fear rise up in me it is because I lack a manifestation of love around me. It’s not always possible to get love from everyone. We are all human, but God is Love. I choose to sit in His love. I often ask Father to give me tangible love. I need to feel it not just know it. Like today, I was completely overwhelmed by His loving touch. It was like His presence hugged me. I cried hard, not because I was sad, but because it was overwhelmingly beautiful! Only He can move me like this. Because of my experiences with Father, I know that He is always with me and that He will never leave me. (Heb 13:5-6). When my love tank is full, I notice fear isn’t ruling my emotions. FORGIVE, RELEASE, BLESS. REPEAT I’ve asked Father how do I forgive when I still feel the pain and trauma. See, it’s easy to forgive when pain and trauma isn’t attached to it. Jesus said to bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you (Luke 6:28). I wanted to rebel against this. It’s a crazy idea! I got angry, because I had other ideas about dealing with these people that hurt me. But then I had a change of heart. Maybe, I should try it Jesus’ way. Whenever Holy Spirit brings someone up, I would forgive them, ask Father to bless them more than me and then I would release them. Sometimes I have to repeat this process more for some than others until my heart truly aligns and brings me to a place where I really mean it and feel that release myself. In some cases, I would kick against this process because all kinds of uncomfortable emotions rise up like anger. I don’t feel soft towards that person at all. That’s when it becomes a choice – I have to forgive. I have to remember the bigger picture. The thing is. If I don’t forgive, that trauma can’t be healed properly, and therefore that door stays wide open for fear to have free access to me. Over the last few years, I’ve been going through this process a few times. It was the hardest to forgive myself. I’m still in that process. I didn’t realise that I held a grudge towards myself, until I become aware that I beat myself up quick and harshly and constantly. I realized the intensity of this when a friend told me to look at myself in the mirror and say to myself, Venessa, I love you. I told my friend that it’s a crazy idea! I actually got mad, and then I had so many questions, like why am I getting upset about this? My reaction is crazier! Then the penny dropped. Oh Lord, help me to forgive myself. FORM A HABIT OF COURAGE Lastly. Fear is a habit, but so is courage! I choose courage. Overcoming fear and staying above it, has not been easy for me. I’d rather run away, but I know it won’t help, so I choose to be brave and let Holy Spirit lead me to every door that needs to be closed. By now, I’m quicker to go through this process and not allowing a door to stay jammed open. Keeping the doors to fear shut, is a practice that continues. It becomes easier and quicker with practice. Perseverance is paying off. I’ve become more whole and stronger. I’m becoming who I am supposed to be. ............................................................................................................................................................................................... Venessa Smart is a very special friend, a creative and a prophet, who has given me endless encouragement and friendship over the last several years, and it is an honor to post this testimony of a part of the journey she has been on. It is her hope that this article blesses someone else.
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In a world where we daily, and sometimes hourly encounter lies and negativity it can feel like a constant battle to keep our hearts in a good place, our minds in a positive frame and our souls in a healthy state. One of the most powerful things we can do for ourselves to become whole and healed is to absorb and integrate the truth of who God says we are and how He sees us. We all know that it takes 21 days to break a habit. Likewise knowing and regularly decreeing God's truth about ourselves over our body, soul and spirit will shift the structures in our being that have been supporting the lies we have been believing about ourselves. Below I have set out a framework for you to do that for yourself. One of the most beautiful segments of a Liebust is encountering God's heart truth about ourselves. Father wants us to know in an intimate, personal and beautiful way how much He loves us. The enemy however, loves it when we keep rehearsing the terrible lies we have thought about and spoken over ourselves for years. Some of them so nasty that we hide them away from God and even ourselves in shame. Some of these lies look like this: * I'm not worth investing in * It doesn't matter how hard I try * I'm small and insignificant * I'm not a chosen person * I'm not clean enough for God to use me * I don't have a voice * I belong in the gutter How beautiful though are these truths that I have seen God demonstate and speak over the lives of women who have encountered Him personally as part of a Liebust. * You are who I say you are * I don't have to push at doors anymore * I can be who He made me to be * I'm protected by God as I step out * There's a place for me to step into * Jesus has given me wings to fly * Everything is coming together and flowing into me Papa has in that place of intimacy and encounter with Him crowns of overcoming, sceptres of authority and scrolls of destiny to give you. He wants to dance with you in the ballroom of heaven and take you into the River of Life to be refreshed and restored. He has jewels of remembrance, perfumes, flowers, paintings, experiencing the living breath of heaven in the flora and fauna of heaven, words of affirmation to speak over you, keys to give you, rivers of gold and the light of His glory for you to bathe in, elixirs for healing. For you to see barriers being removed, chains broken, doubt destroyed, being clothed in new robes, and encountering true joy and peace. This is what Father has for us and so, so much more. He wants us to enjoy encounter and oneness with Him anytime we go into our secret place with Him. YOU CAN ENCOUNTER THE TRUTHS ABOUT YOUR OWN LIFE FOR YOURSELF A Liebust is not necessary to spend time with the Father in this way or to find out His truths about ourselves. We have access to our heavenly Father 24/7. In John 17 Jesus tells us that we are in Him and He is in us. Jesus is the door to the Father and through him we come into that place of intimacy and encounter. It is only a matter of knowing that we are already in that place of intimacy with Him. "I have given them the glory You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one. I in them and You in Me-- that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me. Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, that they may see the glory You gave Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.…" Many of us have a few obvious lies that we know we believe about ourselves or speak over ourselves often. Why not ask Father to bring you into His truth to replace those lies. Here's one way you can do that. 1. Find yourself a quiet, undisturbed place where you can nestle into Jesus. 2. Ask Jesus to cover and protect you with His blood and give you eyes to see and ears to hear or a sense of what Father wants to show you about yourself. 3. Spend some time in gratitude, praise and worship for the goodness of God in your life. He always wants to release His goodness over us. 4. Ask God's forgiveness for the lies you have been believing. Ask Jesus to go to the very root of those lies in your own life or your bloodline and nail them to the Cross. Break all agreement with them and the power they have had over you. Ask Jesus to dismantle every structure in your being that has supported those lies and to bring your DNA back into heavenly alignment. 5. Ask Jesus to show you what happened when you did that and to give you the truths to replace those lies. He may give you words, thoughts, pictures, scripture, a song, a feeling to communicate those truths to you. Write them down. They are now your reality to decree over yourself in the weeks ahead. 6. When you're ready ask Jesus to take you into the Throne Room to see your heavenly Father. Ask the Father what He wants to say to you, or is there something He wants to give you or show you. Write these down too. They are the truths of who you are. Soak in Father's presence. 7. Take communion, acknowledging the cleansing power of Jesus blood through your life. Communion changes our DNA and brings us into alignment with the Father's heart for us. Remember we are spirit beings, citizens of heaven first, seated in heavenly places with Jesus. We are to live out of that truth, not the lies we encounter in our daily life that the enemy would use to destroy us. John 8:32 says 'you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free'. Take a hold of God's truth for you and you will see chains fall off your life, obstacles removed, restoration, healing and freedom become daily truth. In 1988 I surrendered my heart and life to Jesus in the midst of one of the worst times of my life. I had begun to play around with the occult, was incredibly lonely and lost, and leading a lifestyle that only increased the pain rather than dull it. This poem was written in the early years of my journey with Jesus when I was feeling despondent and was so desperately looking for confirmation that He was indeed at my side. shield maiden of the lordHave you ever wondered what it actually meant to be a 'warrior for the Kingdom' especially for we women. We certainly don't think of ourselves as large muscled, armor bearing men. I think we all understand the concept and this phrase certainly conjures up a feeling in my spirit of what it means. The question that comes to my mind is "what is the difference between a soldier and a warrior?". Again we have some conceptual understanding of what that might be, but I also realised that being a warrior is somewhat a level above being a soldier. So this sent me on a bit of a journey to find out what it is that makes a warrior tick. Surprisingly, it has nothing to do with being male or female.
Our testimonies are stories of triumph over adversity of some kind. Working our way through offence can be one of the most challenging triumphs to achieve so sharing our stories with others often brings hope that you too can have the same triumph in your daily life. So here is one of my stories about journeying through offence.
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March 2023
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