Faith

Finding True Rest

October 7, 2012 by Russ Pond

For anyone who has battled anxiety or panic attacks, the thought of rest can feel foreign, even elusive. Racing thoughts, constant anxiety, and an unsettledness seems to linger no matter how much we pray.

Over the years, and especially in the past couple of years, I’ve experienced a wonderfully deep sense of rest in my soul. It’s not so much the rest from being free from anxiety and panic attacks, although that’s part of it. It’s a deep sense of rest in my relationship with God. That Divine rest has been an anchor in my soul for all the other rest.

Hebrews 4:11 says we should diligently work or even “labor” to enter into this rest of God. Sounds a bit like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? Work hard to find rest. The rest of God is so important that we should diligently pursue it, for when we find it, then we can experience such an abundant life (John 10:10).

Here’s what I’ve learned about God’s rest.

You can’t find rest in what you see around you

God prepared the Promised Land for the children of Israel. As Moses led them through the wilderness, they came to the edge of this new territory. It was time to enter in, so they sent spies to see what was before them.

That was their first mistake. Why didn’t they just believe God? Why did they have to see it with their own eyes?

The key to finding rest is to not focus on what you see, but focus on what God says. The Bible says it this way, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2). When you focus on what you see, you will be discouraged. You will not be able to rest in circumstances. You must find rest in “things above”.

To effectively take your eyes off of this world and to “look above”, it starts with what you believe.

Rest comes from what we believe

The greatest revelation I’ve experienced over these past couple of years is what Christ has done for me. His death and resurrection have wiped away all of my sin. God no longer sees me as a sinner, but as a saint. Jesus took my sin and gave me his righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). Now, I can come boldly into the throne of grace in my time of need (Hebrews 4:11). God is no longer counting sins against me (2 Corinthians 5:19). They have been removed from me as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).

Do you ever wonder…

Does God hear my prayers?
Has God abandoned me?
Have I sinned so badly that God won’t answer my prayers?
Maybe I’ve committed the unpardonable sin.
I sinned too much and I can’t be forgiven.

These are all lies! In Christ…

God hears your prayers.
God has not abandoned you.
All of your sin–ALL OF IT—has been taken away
If you’re worried that you’ve committed the unpardonable sin, then you haven’t.
Where sin abounds, grace much more abounds.

We have been lied to for so long that we find it hard to believe God really loves us and accepts us in Christ. We focus too much on our performance and not enough on the performance of Christ. God does not relate to us through our obedience, but through the obedience of Christ. What we do or don’t do should not determine how we relate to God.

By his grace, we are saved through faith (Ephesians 2:8). “Through faith.” It’s all about what we believe. If you can believe that God loves you, wants you and invites you into his presence as you are, you will find incredible rest!

Prayer: Father, help me to see all that Christ has done for me so that I can enter into the rest you have prepared for me, not by what I do, but by what I believe.

Renewing the Mind: Learning how to Surrender

July 10, 2011 by Russ Pond

For those struggling with anxiety and panic attacks, it often feels like we have to carry the weight, fight the good fight and be strong. While all that may sound good, even Biblical, I believe it’s one of the key reasons why we can’t get free. We believe we have to do all of the work.

Does any of this sound familiar?

If I was just strong enough, I can beat this.
If I try harder, I can overcome this fear.
If I can find the right book (doctor, website, resource), then I can beat this.
If I just had the willpower, I can be free.

The problem with these statements is that the burden for freedom is upon you. In fact, believing it’s up to you may be the very reason you can’t get free. Let me explain.

Who does the Covering?

In the Garden of Eden before sin happened, Adam and Eve were naked and unashamed. There was no fear, no sadness, no lack of purpose. Life was good. Everything they needed, God provided. He was right there, walking with them, talking with them and being their God. He was their Source for everything. Then, sin happened.

Once sin came into the world, Adam and Eve’s first response was to hide and cover themselves. So, “they made themselves coverings” (Genesis 3:7).

Instead of God being their sole provider, now they felt responsible for covering themselves. They carried the weight of something that was not their responsibility. Sin does that. Sin makes you feel like you are the one responsible for making things right and getting things done.

Where does the Power come from?

The power to get free from fear, anxiety, and panic attacks will not come from more willpower, more knowledge, nor more effort. The power to get free comes from God and God alone through Christ. As you surrender your efforts and strength to God, he will move through the power of this Holy Spirit to set you free.

“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6b).

The power of God happens when we surrender to it. If we convince ourselves that we must be strong and do this ourselves, then God graciously steps aside and lets us try. He’s a gentleman. He will not force you to do something you don’t want. It has to be our choice.

How do you Surrender?

Surrender is not easy, because we are often programmed (from our culture and from our upbringing) that surrender is weak. We are taught that we must be strong, that we are in charge of our own destiny, and that we are completely responsible for our fate. While there may be some truth in those statements, the key to surrender is learning how to let go of control. To surrender, you have to give up control to God.

Here are three ways to surrender:

Learn to focus on today. Jesus encourages us not to live in tomorrow, but live in today. “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things” (Matthew 6:34). If you find yourself worrying about tomorrow, ask God to help you focus on today.
Don’t rely on your own knowledge or understanding. Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” You don’t have to figure everything out. Don’t lean on your own understanding. Rather, trust God.
Don’t give into the fear. Fear will scream, yell and roar, but you don’t have to give in. Don’t let fear tell you what to do. I have found that facing my fears head on has been wonderful in my path to freedom. “You are a slave to whatever controls you” (2 Peter 2:19).

As you learn to surrender your life to God in Christ, the more peace you will experience.

Prayer: Father, I’ve been doing all the work in this pursuit of freedom, and I’m tired. I need you to take over. I surrender to you. I give you control. Teach me how to completely surrender my life to you in Christ.

The Faith for Freedom from Panic Attacks, Fear and Anxiety

March 27, 2011 by Russ Pond

How many times have you said to yourself: I wish I had more faith? If I had more faith, I know I could overcome these fears and panic attacks.

I said that for years! Lord, give me more faith. Help my unbelief. Lord, give me a mustard seed of faith. But, nothing really changed in me. My situation stayed the same. I started to wonder if my prayers for more faith were accurate. After some deep study of the Bible in this area of faith, I started to change the way I prayed, because my understanding of faith was not accurate.

Here’s what I learned about faith:

What is Faith?

First, we need to know what faith is. There are two Greek words that appear throughout the new testament: pistis (noun) and pisteuo (verb). Interestingly, most Bible translates the noun as “faith” and the verb as “believe” but these two words have a very similar meaning.

Too often, we define “faith” as something different than “belief.” We talk about the Baptist “faith” or getting more “faith”, but I don’t think that’s Biblically accurate. Faith simply means “belief”. When you say, “I wish I had more faith”, you can also say, “I wish I believed more.”

Faith does not move God

This may sound weird, even heretical, but it’s one of the most powerful truths I’ve learned over the years. Faith does not move God, because God already moved 2,000 years ago. When Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, he reconciled us to God and all the promises of God in Christ are available to us today. Peace, freedom, healing, joy and salvation are all available to us right now. Faith is simply renewing our minds to receive what is already ours. That’s why Romans 12:1, 2 encourages us to be transformed by the renewing of the mind. We need to think differently.

When Paul prayed for the Ephesians, he asked God to give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, that the eyes of their understanding would be enlightened. And, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints (Ephesians 1:17-21). We have available to us today this incredible spiritual inheritance, and we must pray that the eyes of our understanding would be enlightened so that we can see what we already have in Christ.

Misdirected Faith

Too often, we focus our faith on things. We ask God for peace, healing, strength, and provision. I have done this quite a bit myself. And sometimes, those prayers are answered, but I don’t believe this is where we should focus our faith.

When we focus our faith on things, we can easily miss the Source of those things. What you focus on will organize your life. If you focus on freedom, healing and peace, then those things will organize your life, and you will be consumed with finding things instead of finding God. Jesus said it this way, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

Our faith—what we believe—should be focused on knowing Christ and his righteousness. Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). He should be our complete focus.

In John 6:28-29, the disciples came to Jesus and asked him, “What does God want us to do?” They were asking Jesus where they should focus their faith? Jesus responded, “This is what God wants you to do: Believe in the one he has sent.”

I want to encourage you this week to focus your faith on Christ. Seek first his righteousness and all the things you need—freedom, joy, rest, healing and peace—will begin working in your life. Renew your mind through prayer, scripture and Bible study. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and teach you all things.

Prayer: Father, help me refocus my faith on your son, Jesus, the Author and Finisher of my faith.

The Love of God: It Makes us Whole

January 16, 2011 by Russ Pond

This week, as part of our church’s New Year devotional, we’ve been memorizing Ephesians 2:8,

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”

I’ve heard this scripture for years. So much so, that I’ve become quite familiar with it. But, that’s not a good thing. Too often, familiarity breeds complacency. The more we know something, the less importance we give it. It’s the “curse of knowledge”.

Each day this week as I said those words, something started to stir my soul. I began to realize that incredible freedom lies in the truth of these words. Freedom from fear, anxiety, torment and panic attacks is right there in these words.

Let me show you.

By grace
You have been saved
Through faith

By Grace

I’ve been sharing these past few weeks about how righteousness is a gift from God. It’s not something we can earn or work for. It’s a gift, just it says in Ephesians 2:8 and 9. In Romans 4, Paul contrasts the difference between a wage and gift, “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness” (v4, 5).

When you work for your right standing with God, then it’s accounted to you as a wage. The problem is that God requires perfection, so the wage becomes a debt against you that you’ll never be able to pay. None of us will ever be able to meet his requirements for righteousness, but he knew that, and he sent his Son to take our sin and give us his righteousness as a gift.

So, what is this gift that we have received by grace?

You have been Saved

The gift is salvation, but again, we are so familiar with this word. Do we really know what it means to be saved? What are we saved from?

To fully understand what it means, let’s go to the original language of the New Testament. This word saved comes from the Greek word sozo (sode’-zo). This word literally means “to be made whole in our body, soul and spirit.”

Too often, we think of it as being saved from hell. Salvation is so much more than that. Jesus didn’t just die to keep you out of hell–he died to make you whole (Isaiah 53:4-5), give you freedom (John 8:32), and to give you an abundant life (John 10:10).

Fear, panic, depression, and anxiety are often the results of deep, emotional wounds and trauma. You need to know that Jesus died to set you free from those crippling things, so that you can live life abundantly. He died to make you whole!

Through Faith

Like the word saved, I believe we have also become too familiar with this word faith. We’ve given it a variety of meanings and variations. She’s of this faith and he’s of that faith. If I just had more faith, then God surely would respond to my prayers.

Again, let me go back to the original language. This word faith comes from the Greek word pistis. Throughout the New Testament, it is translated as “faith”. Interestingly, the verb variation of this word is pisteuo, which is translated as “believe”. The word “faith” in the New Testament simply means belief or believing. To have faith is simply to believe.

Now, combine these three phrases: By grace, you have been saved, through faith.

Here’s the Season of Peace paraphrase: When you can truly believe that righteousness in Christ is a gift from God, you will be made whole in your body, soul and spirit.

This is such truth to me. I have experienced deeper levels of freedom and peace knowing that God is pleased with me. I can now boldly come into the throne of grace in my time of need (Hebrews 4:16), and talk to God as my Father. I don’t have to strive and strain to please him. He’s happy with me just as I am, because he has given me a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26).

Prayer: Father, help me understand more and more how by grace I have been saved through faith.

Faith versus Fear

January 10, 2010 by Russ Pond

Over the years, I’ve heard numerous people teach on faith versus fear? It goes something like this: “Faith and fear are opposites. When you have faith, there is no fear.”

I’ve heard these types of messages for years. But honestly, I don’t believe faith and fear are opposing forces that directly fight against one another. Rather, I believe that exist together. When fear strikes, what do you need most during that difficult time–faith!

When fear pounds your mind, you have to reach up to God and trust him. You have to believe that God is there for you. That’s faith. Fear will demand many things from you:

“What if something happens to you.”
“You’ve failed before.”
“Something is wrong.”

You respond to fear with faith. You see, faith and fear happen at the same time.

Looking through the Bible, I cannot find any direct references that faith and fear are opposites. Rather, this is what I found: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18).

In this scripture, I do see two opposites: fear and love. The scripture does not say, “perfect faith casts out fear.” No. Perfect love casts out fear.

There is something about the love of God that breaks down the walls of fear. In my quest for peace, I’ve learned about my Father in heaven who loves me so much and cares for me in ways I could never comprehend. Truly, perfect love casts out fear.

The faith you need to fight fear is the faith that God really loves you, and that he cares for you. How much does he love you? Let the following scripture speak to your heart: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38).

There is nothing natural or supernatural than can separate you from the love of God in Christ. Nothing. But, you must receive it. If I give you a gift, it does you no good until you receive it. Today, receive the love of God in a new way–a way that you can be made perfect in his love.

Prayer: Lord, when the fear comes pounding on my mind, give me the strength I need to trust you. Your perfect love casts out all fear. Lord, I know you love me, and I trust in your love. Thank you for watching over me. My hope is in you.