Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23

I am so grateful that I have been given a spirit of Love, Power, and Self-Control (2 Timothy 1:7). I am ALSO grateful that self-control is a Fruit that I can engage at will to do the right thing, walk the right way, and be the godly person Adonai has called me to be. I am at the same time often confused why I do not listen and avail myself of this simple thing that I have been given so much access to. Why I choose self-willed things, unharnessed things, and things that seem to be a direct violation of the GIFT and PRIVILEGE to be operating in fully realized self-control. The shift from broken thinking to restored thinking is SO SIMPLE. But it is ANYTHING but easy – and all because of myself.

Self-control is ONE of the biggest targets we have. It doesn’t matter if we have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and goodness roiling around inside ourselves. If we don’t have the self-control to plug into it, all we’ll do is vomit their opposites. It’s like oil-based salad dressing. If you let it sit long enough, it separates. Without shaking the bottle before pouring, you have a bad experience. Either all oil or all seasoning. The world loves when we sit and separate because they can sell us so MANY things to help us slightly stir before we pour. We still don’t get a great experience, but they can sell us even MORE things that will stir a LITTLE bit more and SLIGHTLY improve our experience. These are the drugs or the coping methods, the infrastructure, counselling, and equipment to show us that being broken is beautiful – and to embrace it as the HUMAN experience. We even hold up examples of people who thought this way as heroes. Take Frida. She suffered from chronic pain and committed suicide (most likely, there is some debate). She’s considered an icon of (among other things) resilience. What a BETTER story it would have been to have had the brokenness healed. To have removed that pain, never to return. Not coped with it, but conquered it.

The devil on the other hand wants to get us to worship him and go to him for everything and tell him he’s awesome and clever and strong and everywhere and such a great/bad guy. If we won’t, he wants to kill us. If he can’t get what he wants, he will break us so Adonai can’t have us. The height of arrogant desperation. He wants us still so that we NEVER shake the bottle before pouring and STOP before we get to the seasoning. He wants us to live in that heavy, oily top half of the bottle – and think it’s great right up until we die. If we’ll limit our experience of Adonai’s goodness to the point of never realizing that it’s available to us, he has succeeded.

Adonai wants something different for us. He wants us always shaking. Not spilling out of the bottle, but always getting a fully mixed dressing when we pour. Not paint-shaker mixing either. Gentle, effective, and full of all that He has for us. But it is OUR choice if we shake. It is OUR choice if we pour. That CHOOSING is controlled by US. It is our self-control. Will we take the moment He says for us to take to shake before we pour? Ruach HaKodesh is there telling us to shake. To take that moment and shake. The world tells you to take a few seconds of STILLNESS (making sure your flesh comes to the top, but the polite flesh you show the neighbours and not the dark stuff you scream in your head). Adonai wants us to pause, pick our Fruit, and then use it. It’s there for us to use. Ruach HaKodesh is there to coach us as to what Fruit to pick. What Fruit to use. How to move forward sharing the FULLNESS of Ruach with others.

We can exercise self-control because He has GIVEN us self-control. We get to use HIS. And He has a LOT of self-control. Don’t let the Flood fool you. He is SO patient with us – like multiple centuries patient. He has had SO MANY opportunities to kill us and He hasn’t. He IS self-control. That is the kind we can use. He put it in us when He breathed some of HIM into us (Genesis 2:7). This is the ONLY way for us to operate in the fullness of what He has for us. We MUST let Ruach HaKodesh shake our insides up. We need to CHOOSE to use what He has given us. Use what HE has made for us. Use what HE wants for those around us to experience. We can do it connected to Jesus. We can do it by paying attention and following Ruach HaKodesh’s guidance. His self-control can become OUR self-control, and we can activate what we have in Him EVERY DAY just that little bit more. Trusting Him that little bit more. That what He wills will come out. That what He wants will be what we follow. That we will hold back the negative patterns left by our dead man and only follow His Way. Choosing it every time.

Daily Affirmation of the Goodness of Elohim: Ephesians 5:9

“(for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth)” I like fruit. A lot. Especially stone fruit. One of my sons shares this like. In fact, while he sits on his computer creating games, playing games, and checking out social media, he would (if permitted) eat fruit after fruit. I’ve seen him go through six or eight pieces in a sitting. Now the plus side is that it is incredibly healthy and has LITERALLY no downsides (beyond better and bigger bowel activity). Adonai is LIGHT and the Fruit of the Light (Galatians 5:22-23) is in ALL goodness, ALL righteousness, and ALL truth. It is where it is found and how we operate in the kingdom. Anytime we find ourselves in an arena with goodness, truth, and/or righteousness, we also are in an arena filled with His Fruit. What a great promise. We will never EVER be lacking the tools we need to operate along His paths, according to His calling. That’s awesome. What a GOOD God!

Your Daily Confession of Elohim’s Goodness:

I taste and see that Yahweh is good; I am blessed because I take refuge in Him.

Psalm 34:8