Update: September 2020 and what goes around comes around! Over the last few weeks I have been migrating blogs and hosting to a new location. In the process I have cleared out some blogs in preparation for a new season of writing.
Today I found this draft blog from 2014. I had glanced over it a few times in my list of 84 draft blogs, seeing the title and thinking that was all I had written. Today I opened the post and saw I actually had an unpublished, pretty much finished blog of that moment in time.
Thankfully six years on, “Facing the Fear” has meant settling back into Australia, a great work engagement with Excite Media, new friends, new skills and some new openings and stability in areas of our life.
Thankful!
Back in 2014:
At the moment I’m having to look myself in the mirror with more focus. We sometimes glance at the face we’ve come to know and because we see it everyday we don’t stop to see or ask how we’re really doing. Right now I’ve had nearly a year since I was made redundant and I’m facing a new opportunity that is both exciting and keeping me on my toes because it means moving my family back to Brisbane. For me its causing me to face the fear.
Over the last few days I’ve been doing the SWOT analysis in my mind and working out the ‘to do list’ that will need to be played out and there are some natural and understandable fears that will need to be worked on. Today has been a good day with great encouragement from both work colleagues and the friends I’m staying with. I lingered just long enough at the mirror to remember what I can do and how much I’ve learned along the road.
I don’t want you to think I’ve suddenly ‘got it together’. Nope, I’m having to face the fear, walk slowly, try not to over-think the situation and most of all come back to God. I’ve been encouraged from the most unlikely of places. I’m using Micah 6 v 8 as a guideline and have found so much I can relate to in the book of Job. Reading 15 chapters by the pool on Sunday morning was good therapy. I want to keep moving forward but have an open conversation with God where ultimately he gives me the ‘big picture’ on his sovereignty and the grandeur of who he is. It’s this picture of trust when you know the God of the universe has his thoughts towards you that helps you take more baby steps in our weakness and His grace.
Today I came home and a friend that had been praying for me showed me today’s reading from The Word for Today by Bob Gass. I read the previous day and today’s reading and began to soak on what it had to say. It was the reminder I needed, the encouragement I wanted and a picture of the strength I want to grow. To face the fear we need to draw on something and its in rejuvenating the spirit that we will find the best results. My ‘reserves’ have been diminished and I need to refill the tank. I shouldn’t have let it get this low so this may take some time to get back up to full steam.
I leave the reading I was given for you to consider and I encourage you to sign-up for your own email or paper version here www.thewordfortoday.com.au
Dealing with Adversity (2)
Monday, 24 February 2014
‘…God led you through the wilderness…to prove your character…’ Deuteronomy 8:2 NLT
God led the children of Israel through the wilderness: ‘to prove [their] character, and… find out whether or not [they] would obey His commandments.’ They could choose to perish there, or trust Him to bring them safely to the Promised Land. One author writes: ‘How many times have you changed courses in life, rather than pass the test and get through the tough stuff to the promises of God? He wants to know if you are worthy of the blessing that awaits you on the other side of the Jordan. Do you have the courage to face the challenges, or will you go back and settle for second best? If you’re facing a challenge that stands between you and your promise…look at Joshua 1:9 and Daniel 10:19 for courage. Ask God to give you the courage to face whatever hurdles stand in the way of your claiming what God has prepared for you.’
The landscape along the USA’s Florida’s Everglades is dotted with wiry, primitive-looking trees known as Caribbean Pines. They thrive in a rugged environment, can withstand fire, prolonged periods of drought, and hold their own against the fiercest hurricanes. In fact, if you plant them in a cultivated setting they usually shrivel and die. Joni Eareckson Tada says: ‘Like Caribbean Pines, our souls usually don\’t thrive during good times. Our hearts grow complacent, our need of God becomes less urgent, our hope of Heaven dims, and our prayer life dries up…in a beautiful setting with our needs met and every resource at our fingertips…our soul shrivels… We need an occasional blast of storm or fiery trial if our faith is to mature.’
