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 FREEDOM FROM FEAR BY FRIDAY a 5-­‐Day Devotional by Hallie Lord © 2015 Hallie Lord. All rights reserved. FREEDOM FROM FEAR BY FRIDAY #LoveFearlessly Dear friend, It is such a joy for me to be able to share these reflections with you. I drew on much personal experience to craft a plan that will lead to real transformation in your life through small but powerful exercises. As you embark on this five-­‐day journey, if you feel moved to share your own insights about overcoming fear, I would love to hear them – and I’m sure others would as well! I will be following the hashtag #LoveFearlessly, and you can also tag me at: 1
FREEDOM FROM FEAR BY FRIDAY #LoveFearlessly Twitter: @hallielord Instagram: @hallielord Facebook: facebook.com/HallieNLord Also, I will be praying regularly for the intentions of all the people who are seeking to overcome fear as they go through this book, so you can count on my prayers! Love fearlessly, sweet friends! Hallie hallielord.com 2
FREEDOM FROM FEAR BY FRIDAY #LoveFearlessly P.S. If you enjoy this devotional and would like to share it, you can simply direct your friends to this form. Thank you so much for your support! 3
FREEDOM FROM FEAR BY FRIDAY #LoveFearlessly MONDAY
“Be not afraid!” -­‐ Saint John Paul II
There are people in this world who seem to have been born with a supernatural ability to bravely face their fears head-­‐on and say with profound faith, “Jesus, I trust in you.” I’ve come to believe that while, perhaps, a few of them were given this gift while being knit in their mother’s wombs, most people who possess this ability have spent many years working on it. They have felt just as 4
FREEDOM FROM FEAR BY FRIDAY #LoveFearlessly doubtful as the rest of us that God would provide for their needs and have probably even battled paralyzing fear from time to time. But then they chose to walk forward in faith. They chose to reject the insidious lies that were whispered in their ears, the ones that claimed God had abandoned them.
We can do this, too.
We can take whatever painful uncertainty we are currently wrestling with and offer it to God. With shaky limbs and a pounding heart we can whisper, “Jesus, I, too, believe in you.” The more we repeat this act of 5
FREEDOM FROM FEAR BY FRIDAY #LoveFearlessly faith, the stronger our voices will grow and one by one our fears will flee. Summon faith as small as a mustard seed and God will use it to move all the mountains that are currently casting their shadows over you.
What circumstances of your life
are filling you with fear today?
Name them and, though you may feel filled
with doubt, say the words, “Jesus, I trust in
you.” Repeat this phrase every time that
fear causes your heart to pound or your
breath to catch, for it contains the most
powerful words we can ever say.
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FREEDOM FROM FEAR BY FRIDAY #LoveFearlessly TUESDAY
“There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.” -­‐ Alfred Hitchcock
When you examine your fears, do you feel scared of something that is happening to you at this very moment? Or do you grow anxious when you imagine what may possibly come to pass in the future? Occasionally I can honestly say that I fear the situation at hand. 7
FREEDOM FROM FEAR BY FRIDAY #LoveFearlessly Most of the time, though, anxiety takes hold of me when I let my imagination run wild.
A friend recently shared with me that she was trying hard to stop “living in the wreckage of the future.” As soon as the words left her mouth, I saw myself in them. I love living in the wreckage of the future. It’s one of my favorite places, in fact. I have a fully decorated house there complete with a white picket fence and a lovely row of tulips.
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FREEDOM FROM FEAR BY FRIDAY #LoveFearlessly It’s true. Though the future has yet to arrive, and the imagined wreckage along with it, I allow myself to become completely convinced that all of the worst-­‐case scenarios that I’ve conjured are destined to play out in my life. Worse still, I forget that even should the worst come to pass, God will never fail to be present to me in that moment, offering the grace I need to carry my cross and endure my trials.
As a wise friend once told me, God does not give grace for the imagination, he gives grace for the situation. Over and over again I have found that if I can remember that 9
FREEDOM FROM FEAR BY FRIDAY #LoveFearlessly and keep my feet firmly planted in the present moment, my peace will increase exponentially. And so will yours.
The next time you feel filled
with anxiety…
Ask yourself whether you are fearful of
something that has actually happened or if
you have let your imagination run into the
arms of the unknown future. Remind
yourself that God’s peace is found in the
here and now.
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FREEDOM FROM FEAR BY FRIDAY #LoveFearlessly WEDNESDAY
“It is better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness.” -­‐ Chinese Proverb
Have you ever heard someone say that if you pray for your enemies you will no longer be able to hate them? That the moment you begin to advocate for goodness in their life is the same moment that your animosity will begin to disperse? This is because the light of love and the 11
FREEDOM FROM FEAR BY FRIDAY #LoveFearlessly darkness of hatred cannot possibly exist in the same space.
The same is true of love and fear.
Love creates life-­‐affirming beauty; fear sets out to destroy it. Love is joyful; fear is miserable. Love frees; fear imprisons. Love is kind; fear is cruel. Love is honest; fear is deceitful. 12
FREEDOM FROM FEAR BY FRIDAY #LoveFearlessly Love is brave; fear is afraid. And love is strong, while fear is weak.
As long as we exist on this planet, love and fear will be at war. There is no harmony to be found between the two. But though they may do battle over and over again, love’s victory is written in the stars. For love is God, and God is love, and both are omnipotent.
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FREEDOM FROM FEAR BY FRIDAY #LoveFearlessly If you want to conquer fear,
listen to St. John…
…And drive it out with perfect love.
Examine the situation -- whether it is
financial, marital, parental, work-related or
otherwise -- and list three ways you can
pour love into that situation. If you are
stumped, ask the Holy Spirit to inspire you.
And remember: love always wins.
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FREEDOM FROM FEAR BY FRIDAY #LoveFearlessly THURSDAY
“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, ‘What! You too?’” -­‐ C.S. Lewis
On Easter Sunday we renew our Baptismal vows. We stand up and affirm that, yes, we reject Satan and all his lies. All of the fears you are currently facing? They are the fruit of those lies. 15
FREEDOM FROM FEAR BY FRIDAY #LoveFearlessly Anxiety grabs hold when we start to believe that God doesn’t love us, doesn’t have a plan for our life, and will not give us the grace we require to carry our crosses. The truth, of course, is that God loves us desperately, has a beautiful plan for our life, and will pour every last bit of grace into us that we need to endure our trials. Any thought to the contrary comes directly from the Father of Lies.
I don’t know about you, but giving voice to my fears can be very difficult for me. 16
FREEDOM FROM FEAR BY FRIDAY #LoveFearlessly I like to keep them tucked away deep inside where they fester and eat away at me. Sometimes my desire to keep my fears hidden is born of shame, other times I simply lack the courage to face them head-­‐
on. But every single time I turn to my husband, a family member, spiritual director, or friend and acknowledge my anxieties, their power begins to dissipate.
There are two reasons for this: One is simply that when we humbly allow another person to help us carry our cross, our burdens are lifted. Another is that when we share our fears with another person, it 17
FREEDOM FROM FEAR BY FRIDAY #LoveFearlessly gives that person the opportunity to help us assess our fears more accurately. Someone standing outside of the situation often possesses a clarity we lack. They can examine our troubles and reveal to us which of our concerns are justifiable and need to be dealt with and which are merely a figment of our imaginations and the fruit of fear. Never be afraid to lean on your friends. They are God’s gift to you.
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FREEDOM FROM FEAR BY FRIDAY #LoveFearlessly Find a friend, family member, or
spiritual director…
Spend some time revealing your fears to
them. Then humbly allow them to share
their wisdom with you, accept their help,
and allow God to bless you with their love
and friendship.
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FREEDOM FROM FEAR BY FRIDAY #LoveFearlessly FRIDAY
“Eucharisteo—thanksgiving—
always precedes the miracle.” -­‐ Ann Voskamp
There are so many things in this life that we have no control over. This is especially true for those of us determined to embrace the Christian way. The more we open ourselves to life, the more death we will encounter; the more we make ourselves vulnerable at the service of 20
FREEDOM FROM FEAR BY FRIDAY #LoveFearlessly others, the more we will be wounded; and the more we say ‘yes’ to God’s invitations, the more we will be asked to die to self. This is the Via Dolorosa, this is our path to Heaven.
Deep down inside we know that this thorny path leads to paradise. We know, as we are stretched outside of our comfort zones again and again, that we are being remade in the image and likeness of Christ. We know all of this, and ultimately desire it, and yet our fallen selves resist. 21
FREEDOM FROM FEAR BY FRIDAY #LoveFearlessly We fight and wail and gnash our teeth. We fear. We close our eyes and curl up in a tight ball to protect ourselves from the blows and jeers. And sometimes it works. To a degree. For a while. But what do we lose when we do so? We lose all the gifts that God hold out to us in his hand and begs us to accept.
God gives us our own Marys, Veronicas, and Simons to help us along our earthly path. He gives us his very self, too, with his buckets of grace in hand. He wipes the sweat from our brows and kisses our 22
FREEDOM FROM FEAR BY FRIDAY #LoveFearlessly wounds. He whispers words of encouragement and pulls us back onto our feet when we stumble and fall. If we want to free ourselves from fear and anxiety, it is these things that we must remain focused on and these offerings we must accept, for it is in recognizing his love that we will find the strength we need to persevere. 23
FREEDOM FROM FEAR BY FRIDAY #LoveFearlessly Open your eyes to the
blessings God wants to give
you today.
Accept them, use them, and be grateful for
them. Let God pour his light into you. In
doing so, you will find the freedom from
fear and anxiety that you seek, for your
soul will be full of God’s grace and
consolation. Be at peace, sweet friend.
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