Emily G. DeWitt - Love Unbroken: A Simple Word

No Fear

Were all afraid of something. One of my biggest fears is failing. I began writing without much hope of an audience. I kept writing, knowing God had a plan. I chose to face my fear head on. Maybe experiencing the very thing that scares you most gives you a chance to find the bravery or courage God needs you to have.

Most of us would admit to at least one thing that scared us. What is for you? Is it the dark, spiders, clowns or would you admit the fear of rejection, being hurt, or feeling vulnerable?

Fear is something that seems to be part of a daily routine in some form or another, but God tells us not to be afraid 365 separate times in the Bible. Thats enough for every day of the year. Fear may be present in our lives, but God doesnt want it to be.

Whatever that fear is that you have this morning or have had this week or month, I want to encourage you to cast it to Jesuss feet. He is way bigger than any fear we could possess, and He has never wanted us to be afraid. Trust in God today.

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7)

Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:32)

Never Forgotten

I dont know about how your week was, or how you feel this morning. But Ill admit to this. How often do we feel forgotten, unwanted, or left out by family, friends, or others? And how many times do we feel like God forgot us? That somehow, we are left out of His plan?

My encouragement for you this morning is to remember Sarah, she was promised a child and God did not forget that. Remember Elizabeth, another woman who was promised a child late in years and God didnt forget her either. How about the Israelites who wandered the desert for decades, God didnt forget about them.

God has this perfect plan that we seem to forget whenever were alone or feel left out. But God has promised us so much, Hes promised us His kingdom.

God has never forgotten His people; God will never abandon His flock, and you will never leave Gods hands.

He provides food for those who fear him: he remembers his covenant forever. (Psalm 111:5)

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:3839)

Stillness

Busy day. Busy life. Between school, work, and friends its easy to feel lost in the motions and lose sight of whats important. We worry about making enough time for each task and each person while we are bombarded with daily struggles.

But if we truly focus for just a few minutes we can remember the peace God gives us. He provides a safe haven where can be held and be still. We can find comfort knowing he provides for the birds as He holds tomorrow in His hands (Luke 12:2234). We just need to trust Him to carry us through.

Today, I encourage you to find just 5 minutes to spend praying to find stillness and peace in God. Whether your day is hectic or not, we all need to find peace in the Lord.

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. (Psalm 46:10)

A Challenge

How are you impacting the kingdom of God today?

Are you loving the unloved?

Witnessing to the unbeliever?

Are you loving your enemy or your neighbor?

Why or why not?

We are called to be servants. We are called to live as Jesus did. But we tend to make excuse after excuse for not following that very command. Is it easy? Of course not. Will we fail? Of course we will. But what are we doing today to live out the Scripture we claim to believe in? And how can we spread Christs love to someone else today?

Not so long ago, I was in my little Christian boat with Jesus and everything was fine, but how does being alone and not reaching anyone helping grow Gods kingdom? Short answer, it doesnt. I decided to surrender embarrassment, shame, and fear of rejection. Now I step up to the loners around campus or in the church. Whether I know them or I make a new friend. I reach out to them because I know what it feels like to feel unwanted.

What about rejection? Jesus was rejected the night of His crucifixion

What about embarrassment? We can do all things through Christ

What about shame? What is shameful about our testimony?

Whoever claims to live in Him, must walk as Jesus did. (1 John 2:6)

If our God is for us, then who can stop us?

So I dare you. I dare you to impact the kingdom of God today. Whatever it takes.

Power of Prayer

Do you believe in the power of prayer? Do you believe the God who created all things is sitting beside you in this moment waiting to hear from you? Just let that sit.

Prayer is like this portal where we can communicate with our God and develop a relationship with Him. You can come to Him no matter what youre feeling, whether youre pleading for grace or praising for blessings, God hears every word.

I dont know about you, but I find such peace in that. And I find joy when I can pray for each one of you before I send these messages. And I find comfort when I hear that someone else can pray for me. Those feelings are just indescribable as we come to the Father with every word.

But sometimes prayer is hard. Sometimes we feel like weve messed up too bad to come to Him. I want to encourage you today that it doesnt matter what youve done. The God who knows your every step will never leave you, and He will always be there for you no matter how much we try to run from Him or get trapped in our sin.

The same God who parted the Red Sea, who gave barren women sons, who created the earth in its entirety in six days, who accomplished so many miracles to this day, who loved us enough to send His Son as a sacrifice to save each of us is alive right now, listening. Speak to Jesus today, He is right here waiting for you.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is Gods will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:1618)

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. (Matthew 7:78)

Commitment

A big scary word most people avoid at all costs. Except that we end up making commitments every day. With people, with events, with life decisions, each weighing differently in our hearts.

The world says say what you mean to say at the same time as hold out for a better alternative. But in Scripture, we see that God values when you honor your choice and stick with your commitment.

Think about the last time someone cancelled on you, or you didnt end up feeling to go to an event you said youd be there for, or the time someone said theyd be there for you and they flaked or vice versa. When we commit to someone or something, we should do everything in our power to follow through.

The other side of this is over commitment, for the people out there that say yes to absolutely everything and then dont follow through to their best ability. Its perfectly okay to say no. And in some ways, thats better understood and accepted than a broken commitment or a failed attempt.

I want to challenge you for this week, honor the commitments you make and challenge someone to do the same. Or for the other half of you, dont make a commitment that you wont honor. Because at the end of the day, were all working for the glory of God.