6 minute read
Gospel Grace
Free from Fear, Strong in Faith
BY DIANELLI SNAPP
We read in the Bible that David’s music brought comfort to Saul and liberated him from the terrors that stalked him at night. Saul and I have something in common, as fear taunted me through moments in my childhood. As if mile markers, I always anticipated frightful happenings around each corner. I was watchful over my life, guarding it, worried that something would happen to me. One morning when I was in the seventh grade, I was at my usual spot waiting for the school bus. Across the gravel road, another student stood waiting for the bus. An old town car drove up to the stop sign and stopped. The driver reached across the seat and pushed the door open with the expectation that I get in. I quickly told the young girl who was to ride the school bus with me to run back to her house on the count of three. 1-2-3! We both took off running. I sprinted back to the safety of my porch, quickly entered my house, and looked out the front door through the peephole. Eventually, the car drove off. We returned to the bus stop and made it to school safely.
Running in fear became a common trauma for me. I was drawn to sports as a kid, and I was forever running because I loved it so much. In retrospect, I wonder what I was running from. I do know, however, that I wasn’t fully living in trust and embracing the love that God had for me. It took me going through dark moments as a college student to begin to see glimpses of God’s greater purpose for my life. It appeared as if every relationship ended, every friendship was cut off, and every Everything I had was stripped away from me. The only choice I had left was to look up—to SURRENDER TO GOD. The mercy and grace poured out upon me at that time required faith to see. Somehow, I knew I could walk confidently along God’s path by grasping faith. Still, there were moments when I walked in great darkness. I was trapped behind the veil of sin and unable to walk in the liberty Christ Jesus had called me to.
When I was a little girl, I was baptized and claimed my salvation in Christ. And as I grew into a young adult, I knew deep down that God had a specific mission for me—to speak, empower, love, teach, encourage, motivate, and provoke others to a jealous love relationship with the Holy Spirit. In order to not walk in fear guided by my ego, I knew I had to walk in my beloved identity in Christ every single day. I knew I needed a revelation in my mind and a belief in my heart to accomplish this. I had to make sure that the wrong decisions I made in the past did not cause me to question the truth about my beloved identity in Christ. Our worth is found in Christ alone. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31 NIV)
On my journey, I’ve learned that Christ, through His death, offers us all forgiveness for our sins. But His sacrifice is an invitation that requires a response from each of us. Until we accept that invitation, we will stay bound to the fallen, sinful nature the world imposes upon our lives and the fear that accompanies it.
Christ’s love is unconditional, and He offers it to us freely. Jesus’ sacrifice ensures us the opportunity to live eternally with the Father in Heaven. Our responsibility is to simply turn to God, admit that we have sinned and need His forgiveness, and accept the gift of Jesus’ payment for our sins. Once we do that, God wraps His arms around us and promises to hold onto us forever.
Salvation is free and is available to everyone who reaches for Jesus in repentance.
But living a fruitful life and walking in His freedom requires our ongoing cooperation.
To live the life God has ordained for us, we must choose Him every day and strive to know Him more. We must choose love and integrity, which may require walking the narrow path—making decisions based on God’s wisdom.
To live a fruitful life for Christ, we must live according to His Word. Through reading His instructions given to us in the Bible, we come to know His character, desire, and love toward us. We begin to understand search of holiness and purity. As we grow, we learn to rebuke sinful thoughts and guard our minds against evil. Through awareness, we begin to see that the Spirit of God is a bumper in our lives, protecting and guiding us and holding us to a remembrance of the standard of God.
If you seek God, He will reveal Himself to you. "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; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matthew 7:7 NIV)
I can personally attest that God has never neglected me in my Christian journey. "He knows the very hairs on my head and values me." (Luke 12:7)
When I stopped running in fear and started running toward Christ, I realized that I am protected by God and surrounded by a Christian family. The blessings He had waiting on the other side of faith and obedience were beyond my imagination. If you’ve never truly been set free from fear, I invite you to silently pray this prayer: “Father God, Thank you for sending your Son Jesus Christ to the cross to die for my sins. Thank you for your love. I repent of the fear that has had me in chains. I release the fear to you, Father, and as I submit to you, God, the devil must flee. Open my eyes, open my heart, and increase my faith today. I will walk obediently, pursuing your purpose and wisdom for my life. Come, Holy Spirit, baptize me afresh and anew with a fresh baptism to walk by faith and not by sight. I plead the blood of Jesus Christ over my life that no weapon formed against me shall prosper. In Jesus Christ’s name, I pray. AMEN.”
Be confident today, knowing that fear no longer has the power to torment you but that you are truly an overcomer through Jesus Christ. Let the everlasting love of our Father permeate your soul. Let the words of Christ dwell in you richly.
