Name and Claim

Lately, I have been doing a lot of worrying and fearing. I have been allowing a lot of old fears to resurface and have begun to believe a lot of lies in my life. Tonight, I finally sat down to journal out all I have been thinking and feeling, and it turned into a prayer to God naming the fears I have. It was funny how easily the list flowed out. As I wrote, I don't think I even paused to think of any of the things I was writing down, but the honesty which came out through doing this was incredible.

I think it is sometimes easy to lie to yourself about what you are really thinking or feeling because ultimately you hope that in lying to yourself you will eventually believe that lie to be true. In theory it should work, but I don't think it's healthy. I realized how much I have been carrying these fears on my own and, instead of dealing with them, I bottled them up or chose to carry them...might as well add it to the top of the pile, right? Well this has caused me to carry a very heavy load of fears and worries. I realized that I needed to give all of these to God and allow Him to claim them. They are not mine to carry anymore.

Romans 8:15: "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry 'Abba, Father.'"

2 Timothy 1:7: "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."

I have no doubt that these fears will resurface...that I will look back sometime in the near future and realize that once again I have picked my fears up again and am trying to do it on my own. Instead of being discouraged by this, I will continue to fight to give these things to Him. Worry, fear, anxiousness...whatever it is, it does not come from God. I'll continue to name the things in my life that I know I struggle with and allow Him to claim them, to take them from me so that I can experience peace, joy, and freedom in Him.