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We all have a blanket of faith.
Our blanket is woven together with the strands of what we believe about God and what we’ve experienced in our relationship with Him. We wrap ourselves in this blanket, and it helps us to feel protected and comforted.
Some of us have well-worn blankets of faith because we’ve walked with God for years and years. I do. My blanket of faith is over forty years old!
Others of us may have a brand-new blanket of faith, and we’re still learning how to wrap ourselves in it.
No matter how long we’ve had our blanket of faith, though, we all feel more secure when we’re wrapped in it.
But then life happens.
Rip.
And it tears a big hole in our blanket of faith. We feel exposed and insecure. We wonder if our faith will really be enough to protect and comfort us.
Every heartache we endure raises difficult questions, and each question has the potential to tear a new hole in our blanket of faith. The very faith we had hoped would shelter and comfort us suddenly feels inadequate and leaves us feeling even more vulnerable to the harsh winds of sorrow and fear.
So, what do you do when rips in your blanket leave you feeling captive to fear? How do you break free from fear’s grip on your heart?
On today’s episode of the 4:13 Podcast, Wendy Blight tells her very hard story of coming home to find a masked man with a knife waiting in her apartment. What followed is what every woman fears.
Wendy is an author, Bible teacher, attorney, and the biblical content coordinator for Proverbs 31 Ministries’ Online Bible Studies. She’s authored four books and has been a featured guest on Oprah Radio and The 700 Club, just to name a few. Wendy lives with her husband, Monty, in Charlotte, North Carolina. And today, she’s an honorary 4:13er.
In this eye-opening conversation, Wendy shares how praying God’s Word set her free from the fear and unforgiveness that dogged her for years. And, friend, her story can be your story too. If you’ve got fear or anger or unforgiveness, this may be the day you get set free. So pull up a chair and hear what moved me so much when Wendy and I talked.
How to Break Free from the Stronghold of Fear
- Be honest with God. After the masked man spent the afternoon sexually and physically assaulting her, Wendy was confused and angry with God. “I grew up going to church every Sunday with my family,” she shares, “but I didn’t really have a deep and abiding faith. But I believed in God and Jesus.” But, Wendy says God wasn’t acting the way she was taught. She believed that if she was good and obeyed—which she did overall—then these bad things wouldn’t happen to her.
Wendy remembers sitting on the floor of her bathroom with the Bible her grandmother had given her and praying, “God, if you really love me and You are who You say You are, You have to show me. Because, right now, I don’t know if I believe in You anymore.” Through this, Wendy learned it was okay for her to be mad and cry out to God.
It’s okay for you to do the same. God wants you to. We even see David and other individuals in the Bible do this. God understands your anger and when you are honest with Him, you are inviting Him to do His healing, redeeming, and restoring work in your life.
- Choose forgiveness. Wendy says her grandmother was the one person she openly talked to in the years after the attack. She remembers her grandma saying, “Wendy, unless you forgive this person who has done this to you, you will never, ever move forward in your healing process.”
Wendy couldn’t understand how her grandma could ever ask her to forgive this man or to forgive God because “He sat on His throne and watched what happened to me and didn’t do anything.” But, Wendy shares how she began to take her grandmother’s words to heart.
Wendy started to study verses on forgiveness. She also read a quote from Beth Moore that talked about how forgiveness means “handing over to God the responsibility for justice.” And, the more Wendy read and studied, the more she understood that God wasn’t asking her to get over and forget about what happened to her. Her pain and hurt were valid in His eyes. But, her grandmother was right. Unforgiveness consumed and ruled her heart—and, as long as it continued to, she couldn’t move forward.
So, one afternoon, Wendy sat on her couch all by herself and listed every horrible thing this man had done. She spoke them out to God. She says it was hard, but when she did, it was like a burden was lifted off of her. There are still times when anger and the desire for justice do come back, but because of this memory on the couch of giving it all to God, unforgiveness no longer takes root in her heart.
You may be struggling to forgive too. Maybe you’ve mistakenly believed that forgiveness means you need to “get over” your pain and forget how you were hurt. But, sister, as Wendy shares, this isn’t what forgiveness is. As Stormie Omartian states, “Forgiveness doesn’t make the other person right, it makes you free.”
There is something all-consuming and destructive about unforgiveness. So, sister, today begin to choose to forgive. And, if you have to make the choice day after day after day, don’t feel defeated. It is a process. You may still think the thoughts and feel the feelings, but choosing forgiveness means not allowing them to take root and rule your life.
- Pray God’s Word. Wendy says the primary way she broke the stronghold of fear in her own life was by praying God’s Word. First, she went to Scripture and looked up verses on fear. Next, she took the verses and personalized them into prayers. One of her favorite verses was Psalm 91:4-6:
He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.Wendy says these verses reflected her life. She feared the dark and also feared everything during the day. So, she took this verse and started praying, “God, You will shield me with Your wings. You will shelter me. Your faithful promises are my armor. I don’t need to be afraid of the dark anymore. I don’t need to fear the dangers of the day.”
You can do the same. Isaiah 55:11 says, “… so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Start looking up verses that talk about fear. You can begin with these Fear-Fighting Scriptures.
you can even included in the free download below—and personalize them. Start praying them back to God.
Sister, you don’t have to remain in your place of pain if that’s where you are. You don’t have to remain in your fear. You can trust God’s voice more than your feelings and more than your past. God’s Word can be your healing and rescue too.
So, let’s do what Wendy said. Let’s saturate ourselves in the Truth so that the fear and the lies cannot take root. And, even if they do land, the Truth will kick them out before they can nestle in and take root in our hearts.
No matter how much fear you struggle with, you can break free. Because remember, you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you!
Related Resources
Free Download
Books and Bible Studies by Jennifer Rothschild
- Missing Pieces: Real Hope When Life Doesn’t Make Sense Bible Study
- God Is Just Not Fair: Finding Hope When Life Doesn’t Make Sense
More from Wendy Blight
- Wendy’s website
- Encouraging free resources from Wendy, including a sample chapter from her book
- Hidden Joy in a Dark Corner: The Transforming Power of God’s Story
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What’s your favorite Scripture to pray back to God?
