The Lord spoke something pretty powerful to me yesterday:
"When I give you promptings they are never for fear...never to cause doubt. They are to prompt action."
Let me try to unpack this a bit.
Since I became a mother...from the first days of Jake's life...I also became an amateur physician. Illness pops up and it's a mother's job to observe symptoms, look for signs of worsening or infection and then...make decisions based on the info you've been given.
Frankly...it's always terrified me.
What if I choose the wrong course of action? What if I make a mistake? Am I panicking or should I really take this baby to the ER?
I have never liked that aspect of the job.
But it's not just that...
Life...daily...brings us things...circumstances, situations, inclinations...in which we must decide what to do. Many of these immediately bring fear to my heart. Oh no...now what do I do?
I also...painfully...admit that another almost immediate response is to doubt God.
Why are you letting this happen? I prayed that this wouldn't happen. I prayed for protection...for good health...for this to work out for our good...this isn't good. Maybe you're not really there. Maybe your Word isn't true. Maybe...
He's been working on this fear and doubt thing with me...a lot.
So last Sunday I found out I have shingles. Unbelievable. I've been praying a blessing of good health on our family for weeks.
Because He and I have been working on not going straight to fear and doubt...I was able to pause...and let my husband pray healing over me.
But...as always...things pop up that tempt me to fear and doubt. "Lord, please don't let me have any side effects from these meds....wait...what was that pain? Is that a sign of something worse?"
That's when He said it...
"When I give you promptings, they are never for fear or doubt...they are for action."
Promptings...
...a situation
...a hurdle on your smooth or bumpy path
...a hill...or mountain to deal with
...an inclination from the Holy Spirit.
Promptings can come in all forms.
And we know that the devil's number one plan...his top priority...because he really has no real power over us at all...he can't destroy us...he can't have us...so he hassles us...his goal is for us to fear and ultimately to doubt God. The thoughts of "maybe He isn't who I thought He was" or "maybe He won't do what He said He would" or "He's neglecting me"..."He hasn't heard or is ignoring my prayers"...they are all lies. LIES.
When we pray...when we come to Jesus and cry out to Him...when we pray back His mighty Word to Him...HE MOVES. Absolutely and without question. He said it in His Word:
"And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it." John 14:13-14
He will do it.
So when something comes up...a prompting of sorts...and we've prayed...
that prompting is meant for action and never for fear or doubt. And it is most certainly not meant for our destruction.
Action...
...first and foremost the action is prayer...and more and more prayer.
If I've been praying for healing and something unhealed pops up...pray for more healing.
If I've prayed for a solution to the financial crisis in front of me and another hurdle or discouragement comes...pray some more.
If I've prayed for those children to love Jesus and evidence appears that they are not...pray some more. Scour the scripture and pray it.
This may be the only action He is prompting. It's definitely the most powerful and important action.
He may be prompting other actions as well...
...seek more information
...seek counsel from a friend
...walk the path He's put you on
...make necessary phone calls
Whatever the action...He's never prompting us to fear or doubt. Never.
He will show us what action to take. And when I have rejected the fear and doubt...that direction will come with peace...even joy.
So when the prompting comes...
and so does the fear...and it will...and there's no sin in its coming (but that's a different post)...
reject that fear and doubt..don't indulge it...
Pray.
I don't have to be afraid of anything because I can call Jesus into everything.
"Devote yourself to prayer. Being watchful and thankful." Colossians 4:2
Devoted to prayer...
Not enslaved by fear...
Watchful...
Thankful...
