Do Not Fear

     Are you more afraid of your past or of your future? Seems simple but is it really? Most, no all of us have been and done things that we are not proud of. At some point we were someone we never thought we could or would be. In my case Gods love tried to steer me from the path that I was on. But as with the case of any parent that loves their chidren, his discipline becomes more severe and direct the farther we run from him. It's not his goal for us to live in the consequences of the bad choices that we make, but rather live in the calling that he placed on our lives. So, as he says, he disciplines the ones he loves in order to wake us up; to get us to that place of peace that we can only find in him.
     If you are like me then you learn to find comfort in places you were never meant to be. But eventually that comfort turns into misery. That misery is a cage that we place ourselves in. We become accustomed to the cage. Institutionalized in a prison of our own making. What we don't realize is that the door to the cage is not locked. At any point we can walk out of that prison. But here comes the fear.....
     So again, what scares you more, going back into that prison that you have grown accustomed to, or stepping out of that cage into the unknown? Drilled into my head by that psycho counselor is an image of a lion placed into that cage. He wasn't meant to be there. He was created to walk this Earth with pride, honor and dignity. But placed into that cage the lion becomes accustomed to it. Eventually he gets to the point to where you can leave the door opened and he will still remain. He remains in a prison because of the fear of what is outside. He has lost his pride, honor, and dignity. That is where most of us have been at one point in our lives. That is where I lived for a portion of my life. Finally God got my attention. In the darkness of the woods one night, where I might add that psychotic counselor left me without a light to find my way home, is where my eyes were opened. I had the key all the time. All I had to do was use it. In that darkness I was taught a valuable lesson by that man... I had lived my life in darkness trying to find my way home. But actually I had a light with me the whole time.... It was in my hands, on my nightstand.. God gave me the light... The Bible.. In it was my way out.. The light shining the way...
     So my fear? My fear of the future is immense... It scares the hell out of me.. But my fear of going back into that cage is far more terrifying.. So, its time I step out of my comfort zone into the life that he created me to have.. His promise is to restore seven fold what the enemy has taken away... I hold onto that promise and can see his work in my life already... Am I afraid? Yes.. But I cant wait!!!!

Isaiah 41:10 - 13

So do not fear, for I am with you;
   do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
   I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
“All who rage against you
   will surely be ashamed and disgraced;
those who oppose you
   will be as nothing and perish.
Though you search for your enemies,
   you will not find them.
Those who wage war against you
   will be as nothing at all.
For I am the LORD your God
   who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;