“The Rest of Faith” by T. Austin Sparks

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anxiety, doubts, entering his rest, faith, fret, Jesus Christ, life, rest, T.A. Sparks, true faith, unrest, worries

The following text has been made up of some excerpts from a longer article by T. Austin Sparks which is called The Rest And The Courage Of Faith.

“Many of us have not really entered into Christianity yet. What do I mean? Well, for one thing, the very door into true Christianity is the door of rest, the rest of faith. The very simple way in which the Lord put it in His appeal was – “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28 – emphasis added).” 

Panic is Satanic

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anxiety, deception, discerning the spirits, ears of the heart, encouragement, experience, fears, feelings, panic, Satan, spiritual power, thought life

The other day as I was half awake in the morning, still dwelling on some thoughts that could have turned into real worries sooner or later, I suddenly heard a voice that emphatically told me, “Panic is satanic!” Although I knew it was the Holy Spirit speaking to me, I wondered why His voice was not as still and subtle as it often is when God nudges me tenderly to open my ears toward Him. It dawned on me that God wanted to teach me something. Therefore, I would not be that surprised later that day as a black truck passed me by when I was on a prayer walk in the afternoon. On this truck you could read a big-lettered yellow label that said, “Don’t panic!” Aha!  🙂

Spirit-led vs. spirit-driven

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anxiety, blogging, deception, discerning the spirits, exhortation, experience, eyes of the heart, false spirits, following Jesus, God's love, God's voice, heart, Satan, the Kingdom of God

Although I have been posting articles about discerning the spirits for almost 27 months now, I have come to realize that it is often times not possible to explain the difference between these emotions that move our soul habitually and, by contrast, those tender ‘nudges’ or even stronger impressions of restraint in our hearts by which God leads our spirits. Actually, we can only recognize what we have come to know ourselves, right? So, I simply want to tell you today what God’s leading is NOT about.

Susanne Schuberth’s Spiritual Diary (Part 4) – “A Dream Come True…”

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anxiety, church, depression, dreams, experience, family, fears, fellowship, freedom, interpretation, John of the Cross, joy, Michael Clark, my journal, prayer, suicide, the dark night of the spirit, visions

“GRACE behind the fence…” (number five represents GRACE)
Photo by Susanne Schuberth

Well, seven years ago, as I was still all alone in my walk with Daddy and Jesus, I was plagued by several fears. At that time, it was not that clear to me what the root of these fears was. As I know today, it was the fear of death, not of my own death since I had a wonderful NDE (near death experience) in 1998, but of losing my loved ones (parents, daughter, husband… you get the picture). After having already lost our only son through a miscarriage in 2009, these fears kept coming back much stronger than before, again and again. I have been pretty anxious all my life, however, during the Dark Night of the Spirit (see John of the Cross’ same-titled book) that began in 2010, it got worse and worse, i.e., God began to open the deep recesses of my heart so that I could both see AND feel these fears – extremely!!!

Love is Obedience, not Feelings

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anger, anxiety, darkness, doubts, encouragement, experience, faith, fears, feelings, God's Humor, God's love, heart, joy, love, mind, obedience, peace, self-will, thought life, true faith, worries

After the Sunset…
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth, colors enhanced by Michael Clark)

Just for clarification, having chosen this particular title, I did not want to suggest that God’s love would not provide a wide range of wonderful feelings, both for our soul and body, that are intrinsic features of an abundant life in Christ (cf. Jn 10:10). Rather, my intention was to point to the fact that our walk with God is often characterized by a lack of good feelings when we find ourselves in another trial where we suffer according to His will. We might also call our walk with Him in these times a mere walk of faith. It is in these times where we learn to trust in what we cannot see (yet) and in what we cannot understand (yet).

Ha! While writing I just had an interesting experience with God I want to share with you.

Against All Anxieties

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anxiety, darkness, eyes of the heart, fear, following Jesus, freedom, Jesus Christ, light, psychology, spiritual power, the new self

When the Sun comes up…                           (Photo taken from http://villanova.bandcamp.com/album/the-rise-and-shine)

Is it possible to live without anxieties in this world? Is it possible to never worry about anything that might frighten us from the outside or from the inside of our hearts? And if so – HOW???