Dear Ones,
Hope you wake to a sense of incredible peace. The question for this week is: What fear has the Lord helped you confront and overcome? 
Today I plan to make bread and go to my exercise class and craft class and Bible study at church. 
 Devotions from Judy’s heart
   Fear is a stealer of peace, and the enemy will use every means to try his hardest to instill fear in us. He often whispers to us, “What if….  What if you get sick? What if you lose your home? What if you make a fool of yourself in front of your peers?” The list goes on and on and fear can take hold and rob us of our peace. That is the intention of our enemy as he wants us to distrust the Lord and be controlled by fear.  
  There are so many “fear nots” in the Bible and we know that fear is not from God. It is a tactic of the enemy to cause us to doubt in the power of the Lord.  Instead, we are to face our fears in the power of the Spirit. I just finished reading in my devotions about how Joshua exhorted the people to not fear as they were up against 6 kings who joined their armies together to fight against Gibeon who asked for help from the Israelites. The Lord spoke to Joshua and told him not to fear as He was going to give every man into their hands, and He did. The enemy went into a panic, and the Lord caused the sun to stand still while the Israelites killed all of their enemies. Joshua’s words to his men are found in Joshua 10:25 (Amplified), “Fear not nor be dismayed; be strong and of good courage. For thus shall the Lord do to all your enemies against whom you fight.”
   We are not to run from our fears but to confront them with prayer and faith, believing that God will take us through whatever it is that is before us. He is strong, He is all powerful, He will see us through! When I use to have to speak, I prayed fervently beforehand, as speaking to a group was a very fearful thing for me. Afterwards I was so full of thanksgiving, and I thanked the Lord all the way home. I had no doubt that it was only His power that got me through. We all have different fears to deal with, but we have a God who takes our fears and gives us strength and boldness to do the hard things. As the song by a priest, Robert Dufford goes: “Be not afraid. I go before you. Come, follow me, and I will give you rest.”
  Challenge for today: Give the Lord your fears and ask for courage to overcome them with His power.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy