God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, of power and of a sound mind. 11 Timothy 1: 7
Hello Friend,
If you have a spirit of fear, timidity or anxiety, it didn’t come from God. God does not give to his people a spirit of fear. For you were born for courage, not for fear. You may remember the story of the 1980 American Hockey Team that played in the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. The team was basically made up of men barely out of their teens. Some of them just out of college, some of them still in college, all basically amateurs. They were given no chance of winning the gold medal because to win it, they would have to defeat the mighty, awesome, unbelievably talented Russian hockey team, a team that we have not beaten in Olympic competition in 20 years, a team that was considered to be invincible. In 1980 the American team won the first game, the second and third games, and moved into the medal round. There they were to face the Russian team in the semi-finals. Almost nobody thought they could win that game. Gathered in the locker room before the game, the coach, Herb Brooks, looked at the faces of his players and knew that he had just one chance to say something to them. He said one sentence, “Men, you were born to play this game.” As one man, they arose and went out on the ice and defeated the mighty Russian team and went on the beat Finland to win the gold medal against all odds.
Friend, I will say the same thing to you. You were born to play this game of life. You were born for courage, for bravery, for strength, to be an overcomer. God has given you his Spirit. You were not born to be a loser. You were born through Jesus Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit to be victorious over your problems, your struggles, over the trials of your life. Remember that in Christ you are strong, victorious, accepted, justified, redeemed, saved, and completely forgiven. Whatever happens in this new year, you can handle it with grace. Wishing you a very healthy and happy new year.
Linda