“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.” (Isaiah 41:10 NIV)

Galatians chapter five tells us that one of the nine fruits of the spirit is self-control. You can have self-control over fear, i.e. terror, fright, fearfulness, alarm, panic, dread, dismay, anxiety, worry, foreboding.

Fear is not from God!

  “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Tim. 1:7)

Don’t be anxious about anything! But, in every situation do these 3 things:

1) Pray.

2) Petition God with your requests.

3) Thank Him.

And, in Christ Jesus, He will do these 3 wonderful things for you:

1) He will give you the peace that transcends understanding.

2) He will guard your heart.

3) He will guard your mind.

Here is the Bible verse that says it clearly: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6-7)

God’s promises about fear

“But now, this is what the Lord says…Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1)

“When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.” (Psalm 94:19)

“I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me.  He freed me from all my fears.” (Psalm 34:4)

Note: The Bible says “do not fear” 365 times, one for each day of the year! It is a command that God truly wants you to understand. You must exert self-control over all fear! You can control it! Do NOT let the devil tell you otherwise!

“There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.” – Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” – Nelson Mandela

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thes. 5:18 NIV)

Galatians chapter five tells us that one of the nine fruits of the spirit is self-control. You can have self-control over being thankful and grateful.

Develop an attitude of gratitude. Practice being grateful on a daily basis and your happiness and productivity will increase. Doing so will help you to focus on hope, remain inspired, be optimistic, encouraged and will produce resilience to persevere in the face of any setbacks.

Be grateful for receiving an unshakable Kingdom

“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe.” (Heb. 12:28)

Glorify God with a sacrifice of thanksgiving

“The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!” (Psalm 50:23)

Be thankful that his steadfast love endures forever

“You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!” (Psalm 118:28-29)

“In ordinary life, we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“I truly believe we can either see the connections, celebrate them, and express gratitude for our blessings, or we can see life as a string of coincidences that have no meaning or connection. For me, I’m going to believe in miracles, celebrate life, rejoice in the views of eternity, and hope my choices will create a positive ripple effect in the lives of others. This is my choice.” – Mike Ericksen

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” (1 John 4:7)

Galatians chapter five tells us that one of the nine fruits of the spirit is self-control. You can have self-control over love

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matt. 5:43-48)

The Bible tells us what love is.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” (1 Cor. 13:4-5)

Love is from God

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” (1 John 4:7)

We love others because God loves us

“We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)

We are also commanded to love others

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)

“Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.” (Rom. 12:10)

“I am not sure exactly what heaven will be like, but I know that when we die and it comes time for God to judge us, he will not ask, ‘How many good things have you done in your life?’ rather he will ask, ‘How much love did you put into what you did?” – Mother Teresa

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.” – Jesus Christ

“Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.” (Prov. 13:20 NIV)

Galatians chapter five tells us that one of the nine fruits of the spirit is self-control. You can have self-control over your relationships, i.e. who you choose to spend the most time with.

Proverbs 1:10-19 and 4:14-19 warns about friends and how we should choose them. We are not to associate with any who entice us to do wrong, no matter how appealing their “friendship” seems to be. Avoid those whose “feet rush to sin.” Their sinful path is no place for a Christian to follow, whose choice should be to follow the “path of the righteous.” Only that path leads to friendship with God, which is the ultimate goal of a Christian.

Being yoked together with unbelievers is not compatible

“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” (2 Cor. 6:14)

Having unreliable friends will ruin you

“One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (Prov. 18:24)

Having wicked friends will lead you astray

“One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.” (Prov. 12:26)

Having bad company will ruin your morals

Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” (1 Cor. 15:33)

Having wise friends will help you become wise

“Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” (Prov. 13:20)

Having wise friends strengthens and sharpens you

“A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might.” (Prov. 24:5)

“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” (Prov. 27:17)

“Whatever you do in life, surround yourself with smart people who’ll argue with you.” – John Woode

“My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:15-16 NIV)

Have you ever wondered about what your purpose in life is?

Most people, when they think about their purpose, are thinking about their vocation in life. They are looking at the smaller picture. The big picture, however, is about what you are created for. If you discover and take care of that first, all the smaller purposes, such as your job, will fall into place.

Finding Purpose

• Seek God first.

If you do that, He takes care of all your needs (including helping you in all your other secondary purposes).

“But seek you first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matt. 6:33)

• Discover your “good works” purpose.

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph. 2:10). How do you discover your good works purpose? Ask God to fill you with “the knowledge of His will.”

“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.” (Col. 1:9-12)

“For the LORD grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” (Prov. 2:6 NLT)

God gives wisdom, knowledge, and understanding! When you think about it, you could achieve practically anything if you possess these three qualities.

Here are how these things are defined

Wisdom: the quality of having good judgment and common sense. Being wise.

The Bible says, “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” (James 3:17)

How do you get it? You ask God for it; “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” (James 1:5)

Knowledge: facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education.

The Bible says, “Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance.” (Prov. 1:5)

How do you get it? You seek it, “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” (Prov. 18:15)

Understanding: the ability to understand something; comprehension.

The Bible says, “The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.” (Psalm 119:130)

How do you get it? You incline your heart to it. “Making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding,” (Prov. 2:2)

“Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom. – Charles Spurgeon

“Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception” (Eph. 4:22 NLT)

Negative changes happen automatically but positive changes don’t. You don’t have to do anything to get out of shape. You don’t have to do anything to weaken physically, mentally, socially, or spiritually. Just do nothing and over time you will suffer decline. Want positive change in your life? It’s not enough to dream of changing. It’s not enough to simply desire to change. Positive change is a choice you must actively make and requires making wise choices. In order for you to actually make positive change, you will need to make a strong decision to change. You must choose to change!

Change must be intentional

Choose and plan for how different you want to be in, say, six months. And, then in a year from now. Think it through and plan deliberately to make it happen in doable, measurable steps. Ask yourself: am I going to be healthier, stronger, and more mature? Am I going to be happier? Am I going to be less in debt? Am I going to be more like God wants me to be?

It requires a choice

It isn’t going to happen accidentally. If you are going to grow, you will have to change, and change means you will have to let go of some old things in order to grab hold of some new things. That’s always the case, but it’s worth it! The Bible verse at top says to “Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life.” That involves self-examination, strong choices, and getting to work on a plan.

Ask God to help you

Ask God to help you in every area of need and in every step you take. He will help you!

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matt. 7:7)

“This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” (1 John 5:14-15)

Calling on the Lord for help can bring healing

“LORD my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me.” (Psalm 30:2)

“O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. (Psalm 30:2 ESV)

“Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destruction.” (Psalm 107:19-20 NIV)

Speaking faith to yourself can make you well

“For she said to herself, ‘If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.’ But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, ‘Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.’ And the woman was made well from that hour.”  (Matt. 9:21-22 NIV)

Believers can lay their hands on the sick and they will recover

“And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:17-18 NIV)

You can call on the elders of your church  for healing

“Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.” (James 5:14 NIV)

The Bible said, “Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil.” (Acts 10:28). This verse says that people were “oppressed by the devil.” Notice that their problems weren’t from God, but we’re from the devil! 

Jesus healed all kinds of sicknesses

“And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.” (Matt. 4:23-24 NIV)

Healing power flows from Jesus

“And the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.” (Luke 6:19 NIV)

He, Himself, took our infirmities, and bore our sicknesses!

“When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: ‘He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.’” (Matt. 8:16-17 NIV)

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Psalm 103:2-5 NKJV)

Jesus was only limited by other’s lack of faith

“And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.” (Matt. 13:58)

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Heb 11:6 NIV)

“Faith comes by hearing and hearing from the word of God.” (Rom. 10:17)