I was listening to a message on 2Timothy 1:7 which says,

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”

It got me thinking about the things that God has given to us as believers. The Lord has given us so much as his children but are we walking and living in what He has given us? I once heard this story where a son asked his father for a car for his graduation gift, but his father gifted him a bible instead. He got so upset he left his father’s home and broke his relationship with him. Years later his father died, and he went to pack up, he saw the same bible and opened it and in it was a note that said “Son, as you graduate, my prayer is that you will always seek God’s purposes. Your new car is in the garage, but I wanted to give you this greater gift first. Love, your dad.” Imagine the feeling of grief and anguish of knowing that he not only lost his graduation present, but he also missed out on the relationship with his father. He lived not knowing what he was given.

God has given us so many things as His children, but we are either too scared to believe that what He gave us is true and will work. Think about having a million dollars in the bank but still living in poverty with no money for food or rent. Isn’t that just depressing? That is exactly how we live our lives. We act like God's promises to us are without substance; so we don’t walk in them. The bible says,

“I have told you this, so that you might have peace in your hearts because of me. While you are in the world, you will have to suffer. But cheer up! I have defeated the world.” John 16:33.

With the year we have had, we have had a lot of reason to be stressed out. People lost family, friends, jobs, source of income, mental rest and so much more. But if we lived as people who believed what God said in John 16:33, we would not be stressed or worried about what is going on in the world around us.

Our outward circumstances should not affect our beliefs, behaviors, and mood. We should live in a bubble of God’s gift. It is hard to do when the things around you are not going well or are not aligned to favor you. But that is where the trust in the one who gave you the promise comes into play. You accept the gift not because of what the gift is, but because you have absolute faith and trust in the one who gave it to you. That is how we need to live our lives going forward. This year has taught us so many things, one of which is to not let your circumstance dictate your mood. Imagine the chaos and fear we all had during the beginning of the epidemic? The confusion of the lockdown and the scarcity of toilet paper and baby wipes?

We were at a loss of what to do. We had never experienced this type of worldwide shut down ever. We forgot that God said in His word that we will encounter stress and hardship in our lives but, the major word being BUT, He has gone ahead of us to overcome it all. So, we do not live in fear of what will be, we live in victory because of what He has already done on our behalf. If you knew that all your future problems had already been solved. Will you approach each problem differently? Or would you act as if you have no knowledge and thus spend hours stressing over the situation. I believe that since He has already promised, we need to act in that knowledge and walk with our head high, shoulders straight, smile bright because our Father has promised us power and love not fear or timidity.

What has this year taught you? What will you change going into the new year? Which of God’s promises will you begin to live in as you prepare for the new year?