Apr 17, 2021
Welcome everyone to the Finding Hope Show my name is Alisa Massey and my hope for you today is that you can experience the peace within you. For those that believe God has given each of you peace, we just have to believe it. Yes, in the pain, in the abuse, in the nights of crying yourself to sleep God can give you hope and peace to make it through. I know this because He has helped me. Not only me but there are so many with overcoming stores. In our fears, we must seek these stories out and listen and learn.
I must say that all the pain I have experienced in life came in seasons. I always came out of that painful season better and stronger. But also, I want to tell you the #1 one thing that stopped any kind of progress in getting better is feeding into my fear. That’s why the devil loves to tease us with fear…because fear is paralyzing. We must starve our fears. We starve our fears by instead feeding the fear with the peace of God. In order to experience God’s peace, we must get to know Him and trust Him. It is when we do this that we are feeding our minds and our souls with the good stuff.
I can hugely contrast the peace I have now, no matter the circumstances, to the fear I once felt. Even when you’re a little scared you must take those thoughts captive. If you don’t that’s when your feeding the enemy’s lies, aka “fear.”
For example, I used to have panic attacks when I was younger. Now, of course, there is a certain way our bodies react to certain things but how we think about what scares us hugely will impact our response. We know that how we grew up as well as who we spend our time with can affect our thinking. We also know that God is good and does not put bad thoughts into our heads period. Then, knowing that the enemy is out to destroy us and is for all things bad then doesn’t it make sense that he would attack our mind with evil thoughts? In this way, the devil has us where he wants us, and we become afraid to step out into the good life God has planned for us.
When I had panic attacks I was afraid to step into a crowded room. Of course, we can all be afraid of something. But because my faith was not strong I never made progress. Instead, I kept feeding the fear and this in return from me deeper and deeper into despair. Now that I’ve grown in faith, of course, it still gets a little scary stepping on a stage to speak, but now I choose to press on in faith and to pray. Truth is speaking is one of my strengths! So of course, the enemy of this world would want to make me especially scared of even people!
Friends, in my previous way of thinking I would have been sulking in my beer. Why? When I was in my addictive mindset I was distracted from the truth. God’s truth that is. Instead, I chose to believe the lies that I would never change and that I was a complete failure. As a result, I fed into fear, and fear fed into me. Remember that what we feed grows.
It’s important not to feed the fear. Fear is a choice just like faith is. The scary thoughts may come into our brains, but we do not have to believe them. What you feed grows so why not feed your soul the good stuff? Life is hard. Do you know what’s harder? Feeding into the fears.
What about you? Are you feeding the fear or are you learning to live in faith?
It’s much better to live a hope-filled life. But don’t stop there. You got to act on it. Quit saying I’m trying to not be so fearful or I’m trying to stop thinking negative thoughts. Stop “trying” and start “training.”
We must actively choose hope and faith, and then we “train” like we're running to win. Yes, even in the middle of a pandemic. Come to think about it we as humans will each have a personal pandemic at some point in our lives so we should always be prepared to take it head-on.
“All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 26 So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. 27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.” - 1 Corinthians 9: 25-27
Think about the alternative. Shutting ourselves off to the rest of the world wishing we were out there living our best life. Living our best life in a pandemic may look a little different. Maybe we're not exposing ourselves to every concert that comes along. But instead, maybe we are choosing to love others more. For example, helping our elderly neighbor with groceries or writing our grandmother a letter.
How have things changed for me? I actively started changing my life. I asked God for help but then I took action steps to overcome the fear of life itself. There were days I was fearful of getting out of bed, but I made a decision to choose faith over fear, and then I went to an A.A. meeting or I studied my Bible or prayed. It's never been easy, but it’s always been worth it.
Awareness of our fear helps us to recognize it but then reject it. This is how I want to help you with my podcast and this message. By recognizing things we need to change for the better. I still have fearful thoughts but then I quickly flip the script on them. For example, at the very beginning of this pandemic, I got a sinking feeling in my gut. Very quickly though I put fear in its place knowing that God has not given me a spirit of fear. If I don’t know God I can’t experience the peace that He offers.
You may have seen the t-shirt “faith over fear. I actually have one. Not any civil person wants to walk around with a shirt that reads “fed the fear!”
How can we actively choose “faith over fear?”
What if I do get sick from Covid? Well, what if you get sick from anything? We don’t know the future but. God does. What we can do is take care of ourselves. We do our part and let God do the rest. Think of the alternative. Feeding into your fears.
When we take care of ourselves we inspire others for a positive change and if we do get sick from anything our bodies are more equipped to deal. These are things we already should be doing like taking care of ourselves but often we wait until we absolutely need our bodies to fight against a virus and we’re weak. Or we may be in the best health of our lives and still get the cancer news or we may stumble, fall and break bones. Here, is where we need our strength spiritually and mentally. Trust me you don’t want to be in a bad place mentally and get a bad medical report. But if we have hope and faith then we are more equipped to deal
Now. If it is indeed our time to die know that God knows of the time of our death already. God gives us the grace to deal with each situation as they come. If we are choosing to feed the fear he can’t give us the grace for that because we are listening to the wrong voice.
Remember God Gives peace and a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7, For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.
Give it to God and stop worrying about it. Choose faith over fear and live each day trusting God in his good plans for us. Don’t give the devil a foothold in your life, because he wants you to live in fear of everything so that we are blinded by the good life.
It’s time to take the blinders off and see the beautiful light we have been given.
As I sign off today I want you to know that God does have a great life already planned for you. You just have to believe it. Especially, in the pain and the struggle trust God that this is a season and you are coming out of. I once again just went through a rough season and I am once again coming out better and stronger.
Thank you for joining me today. Great news! I’ve got a whole year’s worth of episodes planned out with more messages and weekly pep talks. This podcast is growing so much! I am hugely grateful and if you liked this podcast please hit subscribe and share with your friends. Have a blessed week and remember the best is yet to come!