fear he is a liar

Fear came into our lives this past week. It came by way of a phone call. Fear has come in the past as a call and it again came to visit me. A battle was soon to take place. A battle between doubt, fear and faith. 

As I am listening to the person on the other end of the phone, fear is slithering through the line. Slithering as if he is a snake coming to attack. He is coming through the phone and wrapping himself around my mind and my heart. 

Upon ending the call I began to cry, to weep for the "what if". Doubt was creeping through my body, and at the time, I couldn't stop it. 

For the rest of the evening fear and doubt held me captive. All day Saturday I still felt like I was in their grip. Sunday was a mind-numbing day. It didn't help that the Preacher's sermon that day was on Unanswered Prayers. I kept questioning God, questioning myself, questioning the whole situation.

I remembered what the Preacher said in a recent sermon..."faith comes out of the pain". I had to find my faith again.

Yesterday the Preacher and I had a meeting to attend in Brighton. The drive to and from Brighton takes approximately 4 hours. On this drive I had tuned our radio to the SiriusXM station, The Message. It felt like every song was lifting the fear out of my heart and mind.

"Fear is a liar, He will take your breath, stop you in your steps; Fear is a liar, he will rob your rest, steal your happiness; Cast your fear in the fire, 'cause fear he is a liar; Let your fire fall and cast out all my fears, let your fire fall your love is all I feel." – Fear is a Liar, Zach Williams

Today I feel much better. Fear no longer haunts my mind and I don't feel its grip on my heart. 

I know fear and doubt will try to slither back in on another day. But with prayer, the words of truth that I find in the Bible, Christian songs, and the love of our family, I will fight to keep fear away. 

"This is how I fight my battles" – Surrounded, Michael W. Smith

Why Does A Song Get Stuck In My Head?

(Photo courtesy of Google Images)

On a Sunday afternoon, I realized that I had the bridge of the song, "Hello My Name Is", stuck in my head- 

"What love the Father has lavished upon us that we should be called His children

I am the child of the One True King"

We sang that song in our worship set at church that day.  The preacher and I were traveling to Moab, UT, for a short little vacation and we had the radio on but this song was still rolling over and over in my mind.

After a Sunday worship service, do you go home and a song from the worship set is now stuck in your head? Or do you listen to a Christian radio station on your way to work and as the day goes on, you realize that you can't get one of the songs out of your head? After you have sang the song over and over and over and over, do you begin to get a little annoyed?

Juan Rios, our Worship Minister, was giving a little devotion during a Sunday worship set and he asked this question -- "Do you worship the Lord during the week with songs?" I immediately thought of my answer - YES! I listen to Christian radio, I sing along with the songs, not for the sake of hearing my own voice, but because I love the praise that is in those songs.

I began to think, then, that maybe, just maybe, when I get a praise song stuck in my head and it just won't seem to leave, that this is the Spirit, who is in me, praising the Father. Maybe I should just go with it, sing the song out loud, pay very close attention to the words that are repeating in my mind. There may be something there that the Spirit is trying to show me, to speak to me.

The Father speaks to us in so many different ways, and I believe that He especially speaks to us through the music that has been written to glorify Him.  So the next time a worship song is stuck inside your head, don't fight it, praise your Father through that song!

P.S. If you do not currently listen to any Christian radio stations but would like to, here are my recommendations: K-Love, Way-Fm, and if you have Siriusxm, The Message. These are my favorite. Also, if you have the iHeartRadio app you can build your own station around the artist or praise songs that you enjoy. To find out more about these stations don't hesitate to go on their websites.