Just Follow the Instruction Manual
Recently we published several words preparing the Body of Christ to step out boldly in their individual callings…
Afterward, I started thinking about fear. The sad truth is, that there will be many who read my instructions but few who follow.
Sound familiar? Have you ever faced an issue in your life, knowing that the answer was available in the Word of God, but chose instead to face the issue head on, without going to the Bible first? Well if you haven’t, I know I have!
The instruction manual was available, I just chose not to read it. Faced with a battle I wasn’t even supposed to be fighting, I would finally come to my senses, and there I would sit, defeated, staring right at a passage of scripture that I should have asked for long before…
But I digress, I’m not here to point fingers. I’m here to encourage, inspire you even! Like any great coach, mentor, friend, I’m here to say, YOU CAN DO ALL THINGS!
Yet, I know that real reason you struggle. It’s fear…
Fear doesn’t always look like a large looming problem ahead. It can be a tiny, nagging suspicion that things just won’t work out. Are you tracking with me? It will come to you just when you starting to think about stepping out in faith. It will call itself “the voice of reason” or tell you to “think practically”. The more you step out, the louder that little nagging voice can grow. A word of wisdom: When I hear that voice now, I know I’m on to something good. I know at the end of that fear, something big is about to happen in the spirit.
Now let me stop here for a moment. A friend shared with me a few days ago, that they were afraid to move forward in this new third day season of time. They explained that in their professional career they had received much training –many textbooks had been written on their field of study. Upon graduating from college, even when they were faced with a problem in the field, they had many resources to pull from in order to find solutions. But now, God was asking them like Jesus did Peter, “Come follow me!”. We almost ended the conversation there… I realized then that my friend was believing a lie from the enemy.
It may appear that there are no resources, but the Word of God is the very instructional manual each of us need to complete our destiny. The Holy Spirit comes alongside of us as a comforter and a friend to guide us when we do not know the way. The blood of Jesus acts as a key to unlock the problems to puzzling issues, and our heavenly Father is available to give us our identity when it seems to be lost in a world of chaos and confusion.
That said, let me give you my very favorite tip when faced with insurmountable obstacles. When you’re afraid, and the answers just do not seem clear at all…
Read Psalm 91, out loud! Read it afraid but read it with conviction. Remind the Lord that He’s responsible for you. Call Him into remembrance of His Word.
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’ Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you say, ‘The Lord is my refuge,’ and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. ‘Because he loves me,’ says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.’” –Psalm 91
Rest in knowing that when God calls you might not see the whole picture, but you can rest assured that He alone will prepare you for the journey. It calls you to success, but in that He also calls you to count the cost. Walking with Him won’t be easy, but once you know Him truly, you will understand that He is the greatest architect of future and destiny.
When you are afraid run to the Word of God and read the many stories of others, who just like you, chose to trust Him. Even through their mistakes, their choices to be obedient to Him have forever left each one of us with the greatest roadmap to a life filled with victory that has ever been written. Look to the Word! Invite the Holy Spirit to lead you… by doing these things, you will do mighty things! Things you never dreamed!
We love you at Curt Landry Ministries, and we cannot wait to hear about all that you do for the Kingdom in this up coming year!