1. God will call me overseas at some point in my life.
2. I hate heat.
Unrelated, you say? Check the facts:
-Port-au-Prince, Haiti: 88 degrees, 70% humidity, RealFeel 99 degrees
-Entebbe, Uganda: 81 degrees, 70% humidity
-Bracitos, Guatemala: 93 degrees, 65% humidity
-Dominican Republic: 82 degrees, 84% humidity
Yes, I really am talking about the weather. It's a real problem for me. I walk outside in the heat and forget how to breathe. My blood pressure skyrockets, my heart rate spikes, and the only thing I can possibly think about is getting to air conditioning. To put it in brutally honest terms, I guess I'm afraid of heat.
This is a recent problem. A problem that has only developed since the further development of Christ's call on my life - a call that beckons to the least of these in poor, un-air-conditioned, hot countries.
At first I took it as a sign. "Okay, I'll never go to Haiti. God's calling me somewhere else." Up popped Google to educate me about more feasible places, like Siberia and Antarctica.
But two days ago, as I brought a request about the current heat before the Lord, He spoke the following verse with power:
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." | 2 Timothy 1:7
God never uses fear, panic, or anxiety to speak to His children.
By "fear" I don't mean He doesn't use the "fear of the Lord," because He certainly does. I mean He doesn't use what we know of as fear. He doesn't speak through phobias, paranoia, or anxiety attacks. I know of a person who had a panic attack every time they stepped inside a church. Does that mean God was telling them not to go to church? God is far too creative to simply scare us out of something He doesn't want us to do. Over and over and over again, we are told, "Fear not! Be not afraid!" If a message comes with fear and intimidation...you can bet it's not from Him.
And these attacks are not to be tolerated. Anything that is not for Him is against Him, and we have a duty to fight back; to not accept it; to invite Christ to conquer. Look what we are given: a spirit of power! We are called to overcome fear and fight Satan's attacks through the all-encompassing power of Christ -- for the same power that raised Christ from the dead is ours through Him (Ephesians 1:19-20).
What lies are you believing? What fears are you accepting? Dear friend, they are not of Christ. With Christ there is freedom and life...not fear. So invite Him in to tear down the walls. Stand against whatever cripples you and overcome through the blood and resurrection of God Almighty. Fear Him alone. Heed no voice but His. We have also a spirit of self-discipline that can consistently say "no" to the fear that rises. We are invited to cast our anxieties upon Him, for He cares for us. We need not be entrapped by worry and anxiousness any longer.
"But now, this is what the Lord says - He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze." | Isaiah 43:1-2
