Comments

HEY, GIRLS! We love hearing from you, but feel limited in the ways we can help. For one thing, we’re not trained counselors. If you’re seeking counsel, we encourage you to talk to your pastor or a godly woman in your life as they’ll know more details and can provide you with ongoing accountability and help. Also, the following comments do not necessarily reflect the views of Revive Our Hearts. We reserve the right to remove comments which might be unhelpful, unsuitable, or inappropriate.

Flora Caroline
Re:
on Thursday, April 26, 2012 at 9:45 am
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"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." ~John 14:3. I'm not sure that that's what you're looking for though.
God's girl
RE:
on Thursday, April 26, 2012 at 12:38 pm
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awwww lovee it! Thanks for posting this!

God's love is so great!
Mattea
Promise
on Thursday, April 26, 2012 at 1:11 pm
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God promises that "He will never leave us nor forsake us!"
KingsDaughter
WOW AMAZING
on Thursday, April 26, 2012 at 10:05 pm
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wow, that was very nice i enjoy it very much thx for posting it for me
brenna
Off topic urgent prayer request
on Thursday, April 26, 2012 at 11:04 pm
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Please pray for me! I'm having a lot of spiritual anxiety. I'm not sure if I'm a Christian, it's like I can't open up to the gospel. I feel so hardened. But there's gotta be hope out there. My will just feels so weak. I just wanna rest. I'm so anxious. Please pray for this intense battle going on, the blocks would be removed and I would choose Jesus. Please help! I have confidence in the godly women behind this sight, and there's got to be a Light out there that's stronger than my darkness. I'm not quite sure what I want. But I want security and a God who loves me and surrounds me, but it's harder to accept that He is also wrathful. That scares me. I'm afraid to surrender to a God who's not safe. It feels like jumping off a cliff. And I have so much pride and doubt and fear and unbelief and selfishness and need. But I long for everything God is, and for something more. I'm just not sure. And this isn't new, maybe just more intense. It's been going on since 2009, doubting my salvation. Sometimes I wish God didn't give us free will. I know I don't want this world. But I'm scared. Please pray! PLease help! There's got to be hope. Sorry this is long...I haven't paid attention, just writing in anxiety.
Lia
@ Brenna
on Friday, April 27, 2012 at 12:20 am
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Praying for you right now, girl! Your God IS safe!! It might really help you to just open your Bible, and claim those verses where God tells you that He loves you!!

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 8:39)

Christ does punish us when we've sinned, but that's cuz He loves us sooo much! If you have trusted in Christ and in Christ alone for salvation, than you are SAVED! It is Satan who is constantly trying to get you to doubt your salvation!

Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. (Eph. 2:8)

But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end EVERLASTING LIFE. (Rom. 6:22)

That's everlasting life, hon. Not life until you make a mistake, but life FOREVER. :):)

Meditate on Scripture! Combat the evil one with verses that are stored away in your mind! I'm praying for you, Brenna!
gracefulklutzlittlegreengekko
Re: Brenna
on Friday, April 27, 2012 at 8:49 am
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Oh Brenna, don't ever think that your God isn't safe. He hates evil, but He doesn't hate you! If you trust in Jesus and let Him take the punishment for your sins, He will wash you clean from all your dirty sins. God will become your loving father. I don't know what kind of father you have, but God is the best father you could ever imagine. He's forever loving, but He also rebukes us when we need it, in order to bring us back to Him before we wander too far off. Ever babysat a little kid? :) Spend time every day in God's Word, and try to focus on His relationship to you as a father and your savior in your reading. Try to find a godly older person that could help answer your questions and show you the specific Scriptures you need. Definitely praying for you, Brenna. God loves you so much that He died for you. Even if you were the only person on earth, He would have died for you rather than send you to Hell. There is a Hell, but the only people going there are the ones that don't believe in Jesus. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved."
God's girl
Re: brenna
on Friday, April 27, 2012 at 1:33 pm
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I know how you feel.

I remember so many years back that I just told myself 'no matter what...I'm GOING to get saved...' as if it was all in my hands. But it wasn't till later on that I realized, I was in a little trap of believing I could save myself, if I was righteous enough. Yes, I seemed to be good on the outside, but since it was just me following rules, it wasn't a matter of my heart.

There's a song by BarlowGirl, that changed my life not too long ago. I have been saved for a few years now [grew up in a Christian home, but I wasn't living the Christian life. I was just going through the motions before], but this song has helped me immensly in understanding that I cannot ever earn or deserve my salvation. God saves murderers and liars and theifs just as much as He does those 'chruch go-ers and missonaries'. So it's not about your level of 'spirituality' or 'what you do, and/or have done'.

But for some reason I felt like I was never enough. And really, that's because I wasn't. I'm not, nor will I ever be-- enough. On my own, that is. It is not MY rightiousness that saves me, but Jesus Christ's. You see, when God sent His Son Jesus, He lived a sinless life. He resisted temptation and never dissapointed His Father in heaven. So when He was crusified on that cross, He didn't just die for us [a very vuegh term], but He LAID HIS RIGHTIOUSNESS UPON US, AND TOOK ON OUR SINNFULLNESS BEFORE GOD SO THAT HE WOULD SUFFER THE WRATH WE DESEREVED SO WE COULD ENJOY THE PARADISE HE WAS ENTITLED TO THE ENTIRE TIME. And this 'salvation' that He gives us, is not temporary-- but eternal. God's word says that 'He that began a good work in you will FINISH IT' aka, He won't stop mid-process and say 'eh, I changed My mind about saving you and showing you My ways-- you're on your own'. Oh girl, that is the FURTHEST from the truth! He is ALWAYS with you, EVEN MORE SO WHEN YOU CANNOT FEEL HIM AT ALL. God is everywhere, all the time, and He has a love for you, not because of what you have done or who you are, but because you are His. You were bought with a price-- a very high price at that-- that the Son of GOD, the Ruler of all, Creator of all, The One who makes your heart beat, blood pump, and that spins planets in orbit and keeps the sun exactly where it must be to keep us from freezing or burning up, THAT is the God-Man who died for you. And He didn't do it because you were perfect, or better than other people [as Christians, we're not 'better' than others, just 'better off'], but HE DIED FOR YOU WHILE YOU WERE STILL IN YOUR SIN.

The Word says that Jesus didn't come to call the rightious, but sinners. Those who are well don't need a physician, but those who are sick! And yes, we are, DESPRITLY SICK AND DEPRIVED OF LIVING WATER! We NEED God's grace-- yes, yes, HIS GRACE. Let me explain grace.

Ephesians 2 verses 8-9 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." then in Romans 11 verse 6 it says, "But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace."

Grace is what God bestows on us-- He holds back His wrath that we DO DESERVE, BUT *this is the good part*, NOW that we are not represented by OUR OWN SELFS ANYMORE, BUT CHRIST, His grace is forever, when He sees you, He sees the rightiousness, and pefection of His Son Jesus Christ. You see, right now, God has a sort of 'standard' grace on everyone. But that grace will come to a hault on judgment day for those who ignored His out-stretched hands. But for those who took held of His hands and embraced His salvation-- grace will live on forever.

In Isaiah 51:4-8 [taken from the Old Testement, before Jesus came, so this is phophecy], it says "Pay attention to Me, O My people, And give ear to Me, O My nation; for a law will go forth from Me, and I will set My justice for a light of the peoples. My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, and My arms will judge the peoples; their coastlands will wait for Me, and for My arm they will wait expectantly. Lift up your eyes to the sky, then look to the earth beneath; For the sky will vanish like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a garment And its inhabitants will die in like manner; But My salvation will be forever, and my rightiousness will not wane. Listen to Me, you who know rightiousness, A people in whose heart is My law; Do not fear the reproach of man, Nor be dismayed at their revilings, For the moth will eat them like a garment, And the grub will eat them like wool. But My rightiousness wil be forever, And My salvation to all generations."

Yes, I understand that at times it very much DOES feel like jumping off a cliff. Here's the reason: "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” [Matthew 16:25], In order to experience the FULL payment of sins and life of overflowing joy that Christ offers, we must surrender ourselves compleatly...wow, that sounds hard doesn't it? What if He doesn't take care of us right? Think of it this way. God is the Ruler of the whole universe, He CREATED YOU and knows every part of you and understands you and knows what you're going to say before you even say it, He knows the number of hairs on your head, and He certinly knows you better than you know yourself-- He gets what it is you're going through. He made the night and day, and He causes the sun to rise again in the morning, He is the one in CONTROL, and in the day of terror, you'll want Him, The King of all things, to be your Keeper. We are so weak and trembling ourselves. It's impossible for us to protect ourselves on our own. But with God, things that were impossible for man are MADE possible!

He will never let you go, or turn on you, because in John 6:39, He says "This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.” which means, HE'LL COME BACK-- FOR YOU!! He's gonna come back here when all is falling down, and who's name will He call to Himself to carry away to the safty of heaven? HE WILL BE CALLING YOUR NAME! Yes, He knows your name, it's written in His book of life, and it can never be erased.

Trust in God's word, He swore on Himself that He CANNOT lie. Take it to the bank girl-- He is there for you, and NOTHING IN THIS WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD can snatch you out of His hand. Don't be afraid to love Him. Be afraid to be away from Him. Don't turn down His hand that's reaching to save you. You might feel like right now you're jumping off a cliff to trust Him, but really, He's reaching to pull you OUT of the ditch. He's pulling you up off the cliff you're barly hanging on to now, and He IS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN SAVE YOU. You can't, your family can't, guys can't, scholars can't, pastors can't, I can't, your friends can't....but Jesus can.

Hebrews 7:25 says, "Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."

Not only does He save you forever, but that second part-- about living forever to make intercession for you? That means He's PRAYING for you! When Peter calimed he would never forsake Jesus, He told him "Simon, Simon, Satan has requested permission to sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." He was esecentialy telling him that he would yes, fall into the trap of sin, but HOORAY he had hope-- Because Jesus said "after you have turned again" which was basically just saying that he would realize his sin and be able to come back from it.

God's grace is already on you girl. We deserve death the momment we sin JUST ONCE. The fact that we're still here is a big picture of God's grace and existance in and of itself. I know it's hard to know what to do. I've been there, often, and even after my salvation, I've struggled with doubts and fears, worries, anxioety attacks [can you say, "uncontrolable, seizure-like trembling"?]...I have been afraid. I have felt abandoned. But I don't feel that way anymore. You know why? Because despite how I FELT I trusted in God's grace and His truth. And He was always there for me, weather I felt like it or not. It took me a while to realize it wasn't Him that was 'coming and going' but me. I was unfaithful to Him constantly, but He was always faithful to me.

Girl, I don't know all the details here, so I'm just going to pray for you, and ask God to save you and grant you assurance of your faith.

"For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him." -Romans 8: 15-17

Girl, if you ever do need to talk about this more, I would love to talk to you, and I also recomend going to an older person you trust who knows God, and who has more wisdom than I do, to help you, and to try and organize your thoughts and help you make sence of all that's going on right now. I know it's hard. I know the heartache and pain in that suffering you're going through. It hurts and is scary, it robs us of joy and makes life a nightmare rather than a dream. Girl, read your Bible, and pray today, that God will help you and soften your heart. I prayed for months and months for God to soften my heart before I really started to see a change...sometimes these things take time. But if you really do want to make a change in your life, there's no better choise, than God.
God's girl
Re: Brenna
on Friday, April 27, 2012 at 1:42 pm
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The song by BarlowGirl, btw, was "I Need You to Love me".

Read the lyrics here on JFH: http://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/lyrics/new/track.asp?track_id=2773
Brenna
Re
on Friday, April 27, 2012 at 4:06 pm
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Thank you everyone who responded. God is so good to me. He's showered me with Christian adults in my life who are willing to talk and to pray. A Mom who talks thoroughly with me. An earthly Daddy who's very loving (and ya'll are right, good Daddys discipline us). I was listening to the song "Hold me, Jesus" by Big Daddy Weave and it was just my words this morning. I think Satan is really after me. God wants to do something good through me. But I've beeen so stubborn and prideful and afraid. It's time to face the truth. I've prayed the sinner's prayer over and over, but thing is, that can't save you. Jesus alone can. But sometimes He's the hardest One to find.
The Christian adults in my life, especially my Mom, can't see how I'm not a true Christian. I'm just confused about it, though. Sometimes I connected with God, especially when I was younger, it was so easy to believe back then. When I was sick, I wasn't afraid to die, cause I knew I was going to Heaven. Several Christian songs just came to me, out of the blue, without me trying, it had to be God. People saw His love through me. Those are the points my mom tries to make over and over.
But it's not about me. It's about Him, and faith in Him. Did I ever have faith?
Salvation is a serious topic. I've been trying to blame this on emotional problems (depression, mood swings) for a month. But I need to choose to believe the truth, no matter what feelings I have.
Sometimes I feel like this isn't real. I just want to wake up from this strange dream and be safe and sound. But we're only safe when we surrender. Right, Brenna. It scares me so much. I've got to have faith and face reality to do so.
I have so much pride, a perfectoinist by nature, and try too hard even to believe ( which doesn't result in anything but more worry and pride).
Thanks again so much!
Rae L.
hey Brenna
on Friday, April 27, 2012 at 11:12 pm
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Hey Brenna,
when I first started coming on lywb, i felt just like you. I was constantly in a spiritual battle, and I was always wondering if I was saved or not. If you are trying to prove to yourself that you are saved, then you really NEED to figure it out. Otherwise you are going to wear yourself out. So talk to your pastor or parents of both about the whole situation. And DON'T STOP ASKING GOD to help you settle this matter in your heart. For me, it took the message of a guest speaker who randomly came through our church and preached last minute for me to finally have peace. God really spoke through this man and answered my prayer. So keep asking God to help you figure it out.

In Christ,
Rachel
Brenna
Re: Rachel
on Sunday, April 29, 2012 at 5:19 pm
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Thank you Rachel! My Mom and I want to talk about this with my pastor and his wife and are also considering a Christian counselor.
H
Re: Brenna
on Monday, April 30, 2012 at 4:04 pm
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If you're worried if you are a Christian or not, it's a good sign that you are one. I know it sounds too easy (that's what I thought when I heard it), but it makes sense. If you weren't a Christian, you wouldn't care about your salvation. But because you are one, your relationship with Jesus is very important to you, and so you have to be sure that your relationship with Jesus is "safe." I don't know if that answers your question, but I hope it helps.
God's girl
RE: Brenna
on Tuesday, May 1, 2012 at 1:27 am
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"H" is right. Because you care so much, it could be an indication that you are saved. But I would warn you not to get too 'cozy' with the idea, because I went through the same struggle of knowing if I was saved or not, for basically my whole life untill VERY recently [like a few years]. I mean, I was the only little kid I knew asking "how do you know when you're 'weeeelly' saved?" in Sunday school class. I was always upset with the 'well...you just KNOW' answers I got, but later found them to be true. The ways of the Lord cannot be shoved in a bottle, and we can't always explain them as simply as we'd like. A while back my mom told me that she thought God was working in my heart, because I cared so much about my salvation. But I told her not to keep telling me that, because I didn't want to say "hey, I must be saved, mama said so!" and then leave it hangin', but I wanted to be POSITIVE. I mean, I wanted to take it to the bank and CASH IT. Not just shrug my shoulders, but be TOTALLY CONVINCED that I was saved. I longed for that assurance. I prayed and prayed, and eventaully, God did put that assurance in my heart.

I would like to point out [not to scare you though] that I did know another girl very much like myself, wondering if she was saved as a kid; it really kept her up at night. She talked to her parents about it a lot, and eventaully she felt better about it. Today, she does not attend chruch, is very libral and lives a very [very] un-Christian life, and certinly doesn't acknowlage Jesus as her Savior, let alone the Lord of her life. My advice to you is to pray, and not let others tell you when you're 'saved' [which I'm sure you wouldn't anyway], but to wait till God puts it in you.

The Bible says that you can tell a tree from it's frutit. My family could tell when God was working in me, without me blabbin' about it, they could SEE it in my actions [they didn't come out and tell me to much later though]. When you become a child of God, you forever change, and although sometimes gradual, it can be DRASTIC.

When I was saved, it was at a time when I was learning about modesty [actaully, the topic lead me to discover the beauty and radiance of feminin beauty through God's eyes *Proverbs 31*, and I was so intrigued, I began to search for it, and found Jesus!] and when I began to discover truths about darkness and light never living together, my actions were very drastic. And I was very excited about my new-found savlation that it was all I really thought about and cared about. God's word says that: "Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation, old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new."

I suggest maybe reading a book of the Bible every night for a month... my dad had me read Phillippians [a very uplifting book!]. It's only a page or two long.

Also try and work prayer into your daily life, not as a 'dinner and bedtime' ritual, but a constant communication with God. Don't let the window close-- always be talking to Him! There was this song by Downhere called 'Remember Me', which was actaully about communion, but I was like "hey, I'll just REMEMBER HIM all the time!" so I did my best to make God a part of all of my life, not just 'bits of it'.

Which meant praying about everything-- little things! And beliving that God was listening to me, and there for me.

When I first was saved, I longed to know more about God-- I still do. Casting Crowns put it this way: "To know You is to want to know You more".

Speaking of Casting Crowns, I HIGHLY recomend ALL of their music! I would offer you my CDs right now if you were here [lol!], honestly, Christian music played a BIG part in my new-found-faith, because as a baby Christian, I wasn't that good at reading the Bible yet, I mean, I did it, but I didn't know anything about where certin topics and stories and verses were at. The beauty about Casting Crowns music is that their songs are almost WORD FOR WORD verses. You can count on their music to be true, and it's helped me a lot, through new faith, to challenged faith...to joyfullness in it, to confusion, etc.

There was a time when I was deeply confused and held back by something. It was after my salvation, but the devil was whispering lies to me that God wasn't real. I knew it was a lie, but it led to anxiety attacks and compleat, horrible, utter panic for weeks. I'd burst into tears and begged *out loud* on my knees to God to pleaseeee save me from this lie. And He did.

A few songs helped me through, one by Casting Crowns [Set me free], that spoke of being in the depths of despair [at least that's how I'd describe it]. Here's it's lyrics:

It hasn’t always been this way
I remember brighter days
Before the dark ones came
Stole my mind
Wrapped my soul in chains

Now I live among the dead
Fighting voices in my head
Hoping someone hears me crying in the night
And carries me away

Set me free of the chains holding me
Is anybody out there hearing me?
Set me free

Morning breaks another day
Finds me crying in the rain
All alone with my demons I am
Who is this Man that comes my way?
The dark ones shriek
They scream His name
Is this the One they say will set the captives free?
Jesus, rescue me

As the God man passes by
He looks straight through my eyes
And darkness cannot hide


Do you want to be free?
Lift your chains
I hold the key
All power on Heav’n and Earth belong to me

You are free
You are free
You are free

***

After that song, I'd listen to "You Led me" by Barlow Girl:

Good Morning the night is over and gone
I thought once this dark would last for so long

Feel the sunlight on my face
You have brought me through this place

Jesus, Jesus You found me
Through the long night you led me
You set me free

Do you see just what You’ve done in my life?
You gave me more than I hoped for now I
Feel the sunlight on my face
You have brought me through this place

Jesus, Jesus You found me
Through the long night you led me
You set me free

***

Here's the truth girl...even once you have assurance of your faith, it will be tested. Your faith will be tested a lot at the beggining, at least it was for me, and still now, but at least now I've been in it long enough to know that God is ALWAYS faithful no matter WHAT I'm going through.

There will be hard times to make it through girl...but God is the only one you can count on. The ONLY ONE.

Praying for you girl! Be strong and couragious and trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding! In all your ways, ACKNOWLAGE HIM, and He will make your paths straight.

Good books to read are: The Gosple [first four books of the New Testement], Philippians, James, Romans, basically any book in the New Testement is good to start out with. To know Jesus more, read the Gosple. To be comforted, read Phillipians. To be challenged to make a change, read James and Romans.

I'd also sugjest getting a book talking breifly about the books of the Bible, that give a short overview.

Another fantastic tool for me was a small book of verses, sorted by topic. For example, if you were angry, it would have a few pages of verses on anger. Same with joy, insecurity, worry, doubt, fear, sexual sin, friendship, to make a change for God, Jesus, Salvation, realationships, when you need hope, reasurance, etc. The list goes on. This was extreamly helpful to me on my walk. Also, keeps cards and write down verses that jump out at you, and read them to yourself at night and memorize them. I tape them all over my wall [lol]. Do what you have to do, to keep God in mind. Your efforts won't be in vain. God's word says whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Those who seek, find. Knock and it will be opend, ask and it will be given.

If you countinually seek Him girl, you will eventually, find your answers.

You will reap the things you sow. Plant faith, you'll receave assurance. Note that faith is hope in things unseen. Assurance isn't happy feelings inside; it's when you accept Jesus as your Lord, and thereby believe that He will do as He promised-- to save those who believe. This doesn't always FEEL right, but at some point, you can choose Jesus without feeling like you're jumping off a cliff; you'll feel safe in Him. That, for me, is assurance. Trusting in Him to keep me, insted of trusting myself to make sure He's keeping me right. In order to save ourselves, we must let Christ save us. Which means giving up everything-- plans, people, family, friends, power, etc.-- for Him.

We aren't just children of God, but we are servents. Let me explain.

It is one thing, to know God has forgiven you. To know that He is the judge, and He can look at you and say, "I have released the charges, you may go free".

It is well another when He takes off His robe, steps down and puts His arm around you and says "You're coming home with Me, to eat at My table, and be My child in My house, forever adopted into My family"

Praise God, the judge who has not just set you free, but also, adopted you in to His very own family.

There once was a man, who had gotten a lot of gold from the gold rush, way back when [sometime around 1849]. Anyway, he was coming through a place where they were auctioning off salves...and there was a beautiful young one, who the man overheard two men bidding on and talking about what they were going to do with her if they got her. Well, this man walked up and said, "Whatever the highest bid, I'll double it" and the auctioneer said "Do you have that much money?" and the man waved his bills in the air, and bought the woman. As he went over to get her, she spat in his face. He wiped it off, and took her with him, down to a building, he went inside and talked to some people for a while about how he should be able to do it, and this and that. He eventually walked out, and handed the papers to the slave girl. She spat in his face. He wiped it off and said "Don't you see what these papers are? You are free". She then fell at his feet. And she cried, and cried, and cried. She said "You mean you paid more than anyone ever has for a slave, just to set me free?" He said yes. Then, do you know what she said? "Do you mind if I am your slave forever?"

This is how we are with God. We are slaves. He pays more than what anyone else could ever afford. And then, He sets us free...and in return...we want nothing, but to serve Him, and be His. Isn't it amazing?

We are adopted by God.

We are slaves of God.

But it's not because He forces us to.

It's because there's nothing else we want to be, after He shows us how great His love is for us, and His grace, and His mercy, none of which we deserve, quite the opposite is what we deserve.

*Slave story taken from Dr. Joel Beeke's Spiritual Growth sermon*

I hope God blesses you and strengthens your faith!


God bless.
Sarah, with the LYWB team
Brenna... urgent prayer
on Wednesday, May 2, 2012 at 3:07 pm
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I’m glad for where you are now, from where you were when you first wrote. I agree with you that the Lord is indeed at work in your life. You have to remember that a hardened heart is not anxious or concerned about a relationship with God—there is just indifference. Scripture is clear that Jesus not only came to save us, but through His Word intended for us to have assurance of our relationship with God (1 John 5:13).

We are promised, in no uncertain terms, peace with God (Rom. 5:1). In fact the apostle Paul tells us we have peace with God through Christ, i.e. it’s not something you have to work toward, it is something the Holy Spirit gives us when you give your heart to Christ. The difficulty for most of us is the struggle to grasp that peace, when it is already gifted to us and we need to rest in Christ and the truth of His Word and enjoy that peace.

Because this has been a struggle for you for some time, it is likely that some of the anxiety has to do with some emotional concerns and it might be helpful to have your pastor or a Christian counselor walk you through those things. Yes, Satan does attack us spiritually, but He also looks for places to attack us physically and emotionally and mentally. So, dealing with some of these would be of help for you overall.

We commend you for your courage in wanting to deal with the anxiety and we are glad to be of some assistance and be there for you. Know that we have prayed for you from the time of your request, and I am praying for you now. We anxiously look for God’s hand in your life.

Blessings to you, Brenna.
Brenna
Sarah and God's girl and everyone
on Thursday, May 3, 2012 at 10:56 pm
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Thank you, God's girl! Your post really encouraged me. I used to be so frightened at my indifference. Yeah! God wants me! He's working in my life! I'm not sure how He will, but it's enough to know there's hope! It literally makes me almost bounce off the walls. I'm not certain at all. But I know there has got to be a wonderful God out there. I thrill at mercy, like a soul in a cave gasping at the first few cracks of light for a long time.
But there's so much walls. so much baggage. so much pride. But God is great! Yes!
Thank you Sarah and H too. It really gave me more hope the other day when I read H's and I just read Sarah's.
If only, only I could open up fully! It's like every time I try, I can't. So I'm just waiting and writing and hoping and fretting and sinning and learning. But I do want to know God. Sometimes I'm a little too selfish, but I want to know more of His mercy and His greatness and beauty too. But sometimes it scares me.
Yes, there is healing needed, and surrender, and softening. My parents have an appointment scheduled with a Christian woman counselor. I'm gonna talk with my pastor and maybe his wife. But I still feel like I can't fully understand the gospel, a pain comes over my heart, but I want to follow! Yes! I think. ( always the indecisive one)
Thank you everyone for praying and answering! It was so weird at first seeing my name there ("These girls took all this time to write this. Wow!"). It makes me feel special. Thank you!
Becky
Re:
on Friday, May 4, 2012 at 11:15 pm
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Your hair is gorgeous Paula! :)
Lily
AWESOME!!!
on Sunday, May 6, 2012 at 11:53 am
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I love this post! Thx 4 posting it 4 me! Love it!