2 Timothy 1:7 "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind"
There are 41 posts on this blog covering a number of life issues that people face daily.
About 70 percent of the visitors are being sent from Google searches and the balance from my own web site and a few others that link to my blog.
Listed below, are the top 6 most viewed posts.
These are the key words or phrases people are searching for, and it confirms where we are in the world today. Recent polls in the USA show that the majority of Americans are concerned about the economy. There are 40 million Americans on food stamps and unemployment is at almost 9%.
I posted the blog God will keep you in Perfect Peace. on March 11, 2011 and it has stayed at the top of the list since then. People REALLY NEED PEACE in this time of history. There is such a need in the world and many are suffering greatly because of lack of finances and in many cases, lost jobs.
It is easy for me to simply say, "Trust the Lord" But for the people facing the situation, it is easier said than done. I can only speak for myself and say, I have been on both sides of the fence. I have been in prosperity and at the brink of poverty. The truth is, peace is needed in both situations.
There are many extremely prosperous people who have no peace at all. They have all the money the average person could only dream of, yet they don't have peace. Peace does not come from material things and pleasure. Peace is internal and is a "fruit of the Spirit" Fruit has to grow and mature.
Peace starts in my spirit because of the presence of the Lord, and I have to learn how to yield my mind to that peace. I have been in the middle of a financial crisis so deep that I never thought I would ever recover. But that was almost 30 years ago. That crisis lasted about two years and I learned how the mind can conjure all sorts of bad scenarios that make you loose hope.
But I also found out that none of those thoughts had any foundation at all. In fact, none of the bad things my mind conjured up ever came to pass. Out of that desperate situation, God brought one of the greatest blessings in my life and marriage I had ever experienced. God made a way where there was no way.
I discovered the Joy of the Lord is my strength. I am not talking about a by faith "spiritual joy". I am talking about a literal joy, where laughter takes hold and a "joy unspeakable" fills your entire being. It's like God's anesthetic which takes your attention off of your situation and places it on His incredible joy. It's a joy that mends a broken heart and puts hope back into a hopeless heart. It's a joy that takes the focus off of me and puts it on Him.
The after effect of joy is His peace. It's like knowing a good outcome, inside as opposed to a bad outcome, outside. God's peace allows us to see His provision when our understanding sees the result of our bad circumstances. It's like looking through God's eyes and seeing His plan and purpose unfolding, instead of through our eyes, that see only the circumstances surrounding us.
Now I am the first to admit, that we have had many difficult times since then where we have had to trust God to see us through. But it is a lot easier now, as I have learned how not to let my thoughts get out of hand.
The word of God says "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind" 2 Timothy 1:7 Fear is the opposite of faith. Fear is faith in reverse gear. Fear overwhelms us and makes us doubt God's ability to deliver us from our situation.
HOW CAN THIS HELP ME? You ask.
As soon as the negative thought comes into your mind, there are two directions you can take. One is to give into the thought and dwell on it until fear manifests. The other is to immediately say to yourself ... "I will not allow my mind to dictate the outcome, but I will trust God who has promised to deliver me and be my provider. Immediately begin to re-direct your thoughts away from the negative. God sees only blessing for your life and will always make a way of escape. So I have to begin to think His thoughts which are to be found in His word.
I love this old song "Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face. And the things of the earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace."
God bless you
Gil Howard-Browne
