A Recipe For Overcoming Fear – Learning to Trust God
Fear can overcome us at times but Tandy shares her “recipe” to help us on the way. Trust in God and His ability to work through us.
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Recipes
I have enjoyed baking for many years. When health dictated I go gluten and dairy free, my love of baking kept me experimenting so I could create some of the treats I didn’t want to give up. The test runs were not always successful but I knew each failure brought me closer to success so persevered.
In the early days my family wouldn’t eat anything they thought was gluten free, so I would serve dessert and sit back watching them eat. When they were almost finished, I’d help myself to a piece. The shock on their faces was priceless. They had no idea they’d been eating something that wasn’t made with their normal ingredients. That’s when I knew I’d been successful.
Struggling With Pastry
One item I struggled with was pastry. Sometimes my pies had light and flaky crusts and other times they were dry and crumbly. Fitting the crumbling pieces into the pan and trying to glue them together with water was time consuming and frustrating. I was discouraged to see people eat the filling and leave most of the crust. Because of this, my pie making became a rare occurrence.
Not long ago, I took my original standby recipe and made a few slight changes. The result was a delicious gluten-free pie with a flaky crust. I was so excited; I took a picture and posted it on social media!
Recipe Requests
To my surprise, this became one of my more popular posts. Requests for the recipe soon flooded in. I was happy to share my successful recipe. After all, gluten-free people need their pie, too!
All of this got me to thinking. When I have a successful recipe for anything, I should be willing to share it. This relates to food for the mind and spirit as well as for the body.
Something that has made a difference in my life needs to be passed along so it can do the same for others.
Fighting Fear
Fear is something that ruled my life for many years. It can still raise its ugly head today but I am learning how to effectively fight it.
An acquaintance heard me mention the impact fear once had on my life. There was a time when I would only say what I thought you wanted to hear. In fact, I could even change what I was saying in mid-sentence if I thought you weren’t approving. On the outside I did my best to appear confident, but inside I was walled in a prison of self-doubts and fears.
She had not seen that side of me and reached out to tell me her story of fear and ask for tips to combat it. After saying I don’t pretend to have all the answers, I shared what had worked for me. My recipe may not give her the desired results but she now has a template to customize for her life.
Trusting God
I learned to trust God and his ability to work through me. Biblical promises such as “Don’t be afraid, because I am with you”; “God didn’t give us a cowardly spirit, but a spirit of power, love and good judgment,” and one of my personal favourites, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” gave me confidence. When I stepped into my fear, knowing God would be there to guide me through, I realized I didn’t have to be strong because He is strong enough to handle whatever comes my way. This was life changing!
Fear of Sharing the Good News
Fear of how others may react has too often kept me from sharing the Good News of Jesus.
I recently faced this dilemma. A loved one was gravely ill in the hospital and I wanted to make sure he knew the peace that only Jesus can bring. I also wanted to know he’d be going to heaven and we’d be reunited one day. My fear was that he would think I was ‘preaching’ to him and would not listen; or worse yet, send me away.
As it turned out, he was not well enough to have visitors for more than a few minutes. Our limited time together provided little opportunity to share. Before I knew it, I was on my way out of the hospital and made up my mind I’d go back the next day and be braver. The first words he spoke when I entered his room the next morning were, “I don’t feel like visitors today.” All I could do was to take his hand, tell him I loved him and respect his wishes. Then came the 11 hour drive back to my home.
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A Recipe for Spending Eternity With Jesus
Once home, God prompted me to write a letter. I put it off for several days, not knowing what to say. When I sat down to write, the words that poured out of me were affirming and possibly life changing. I shared of the difference Jesus had made in my life, of the peace I’d found and the promise of eternal life. I said I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t share the greatest gift I’d ever been given and told him how to experience this for himself.
In essence, I gave him the recipe for spending eternity with Jesus. He didn’t have to do it my way, maybe he personalized it to better suit his needs. I won’t know the results until I reach heaven.
One thing I do know for certain that of all the recipes I’ve shared, this was the most precious of all.
Tandy Balson
Tandy Balson is a wife, mother, grandmother, friend, volunteer and observer of life. She is also a also a contributor to our Christian internet radio station, HopeStreamRadio. Read and hear more from Tandy Balson on the producers page or on her website, www.timewithtandy.com
Tandy’s show, “Time With Tandy” airs on HopeStreamRadio. In her program she reflects on spiritual lessons from her observations of life, to encourage and strengthen us in our faith.
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Images Courtesy Of:
Cheesecake – ponce_photography
Pie – dustytoes
Conversation – pasja1000
Conversation and Coffee – nastyagep
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