Knowing That Freedom is Possible and How to Handle Our Fear – Purity 1902
Purity 1902 03/04/2026 Purity 1902 Audio Podcast
Purity 1902 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of Rockwell Kent’s (1882-1971), oil on canvas, “Untitled: Asgaard Farm” (1961) comes to us from your truly, as I captured this work of art while visiting the Adirondack Experience, The Museum on Blue Mountain Lake, on August 9th, 2023.
Well, it’s Wednesday, and I share today’s photo that features Kent’s painting of the Adirondack Mountains and the contrast of green and golden harvested farmlands to visually represent our arrival at another midweek summit, happy hump day, and to reveal that fact that our growth is not dependent on the particular days or months on the calendar or the weather outside. God has given us the capacity for growth spiritually, intellectually, mentally, and even physically, regardless of the season of the year but our ability to grow depends upon our efforts, our focus, and our patience.
I created a simple, customizable “Weight Loss Goal Poster” back in November of 2025 to motivate me to take back the ground I had lost during my short-term disability last summer. Little did I know that I would have more things to worry about than the “battle of ten pounds” at the time, as I no sooner returned to work in November than I was fired for the egregious safety violation that caused my injury. In the mad scramble to make ends meet, to fend off depression, to celebrate the holiday season and my fourth anniversary with a Carribean cruise, and to pray for and find the next chapter of my career, the weight loss gohal was not achieved, and the poster went though a period of amendments were the only thing that changed was the date by which I had hope to accomplish the “race to 220”. I renewed my efforts to pursue it last month, but was inconsistent in my resolve and efforts, and again failed to achieve it. So, I printed out a new weight loss goal poster a couple of days ago and will seek to achieve it by the end of the month.
When our goals seem like pipe dreams, we can easily lose hope, and it is at times like these that we have to go to the Lord to ask for help. All things are possible with God, but if we attempt to achieve our goals without going to God for help, we may never see the “miracle” that God has for us. We have to know that we can accomplish our goals – that they are indeed possible – and we have to have faith that not only are our goals theoretically possible, but we also have to believe that we can, with the Lord’s help, achieve them. If we believe we can do it or if we believe that we can’t do it, we will be right because our success will be greatly aided by determined efforts that are based on our beliefs. If we believe we can accomplish our goals and allow our belief to affect our thoughts and behaviors, we will see the impossible happen in our lifetime.
Thankfully, in the case of my weight loss goal, not only do I believe I can accomplish my goal, I have experience of success in this area that should give me the confidence and ability to achieve it, IF I don’t fall into “sin” (wrong thoughts and actions that will hinder or prevent my success), and trust in the Lord, I will attain my goal and overcome the fear of having to reprint another weight loss poster in April with the same goal and just a new date.
Speaking of overcoming fear, the In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley devotion for today tells us how to handle our fear, and I am sharing it on the blog to help us all to be bold and courageous in asking the Lord for help.
“How to Handle Our Fear
When we take our fears to God, He will set us free.
Isaiah 41:10-13
At some point, everyone experiences anxiety, but the good news is that we don’t have to become imprisoned by it. Christians have tools and a Helper to break that kind of bondage.
To confront and overcome our fear, we must first acknowledge its presence. After admitting to being afraid, it’s important to identify the nature of our worry. Sometimes we feel anxious without knowing exactly why, but the Holy Spirit can reveal what is holding us in chains.
The next step is to begin the process of defeating anxiety’s hold on us. And there’s no better tool for breaking chains than the “sword of the Spirit”—the Bible (Ephesians 6:17). God’s Word speaks to many specific fears. For practical help, use a concordance to find verses that address your particular concerns.
When you feel anxious, pray Isaiah 41:10 back to God and say, “Here’s the promise You made, and I believe it because You never lie. So I will trust You to work in this situation.” Trusting the Lord is the best way to be freed from fear. Yes, our emotions are powerful, but we shouldn’t allow them to run our lives. Instead, we can trust God’s many promises and know that we are safe in His loving care. – Charles Stanley
Amen. The word of God in 2 Timothy 1.7 tells us that “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
While our fear response is natural and helps us to protect us from danger, when we are fearful and full of worry, we need to recognize that our fear has gone too far and may be driven by unseen forces of spiritual darkness.
When we are anxious or fearful, we must challenge and resist this “spirit of fear” with the truth of God’s word and intentional thoughts and actions that will fully establish us according to who we are in Christ. When we declare truth from Scripture and when we rely on the strength and wisdom of the Lord, we can overcome our fears and be bold and courageous in our faith, even if we have to “do it afraid”.
The world is a dangerous place, so fear will always be present, but God is omnipresent, which means that where you go, God goes with you, and He can help you to overcome your fears when you stand in your identity and rely on His power rather than your own.
When we step out in faith and successfully overcome our fears, we prove that we are brave and, with God’s help, can increase our capacity for boldness and brave actions. If we trust God, just like David, we can face our giants and be able to declare how God is faithful in taking away all our fears.
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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/.
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Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By John G. Kruis.
(While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick Google search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late author’s work. (The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling By John G. Kruis on Amazon )
This morning’s meditation verse comes from the section on the Providence of God.
Ezra 7:1–10 (God moved King Artaxerxes to give Ezra what he asked for, because “the hand of the LORD his God was on him.”)
Ezra 7:6 (NASB) This Ezra went up from Babylon, and he was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given; and the king granted him all he requested because the hand of the LORD his God was upon him.
Today’s verses are the second of three passages of scripture that fall under the eighth point of our counseling reference guide resource section on the Providence of God.
8. God uses wicked rulers to fulfill his purposes for his children.
Today’s Bible verse tells us of how a simple scribe skilled in the law of Moses was used by God to influence a pagan king to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.
God’s ways are higher than our ways, but God often uses us to accomplish His plans. So if the Lord puts something on your heart, ask those who can help for assistance; they might just say “yes” and help to make you an integral part of God’s will being done on the earth.
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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.com, where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from “Pause for Power” By Warren Wiersbe.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase Wiersbe’s books for your own private study and to support the late author’s work. This resource is available online for less than $20 at many sites.
Day 36 – Step toward Knowledge – Read Ecclesiastes 8:14–17
No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all his efforts to search it out, man cannot discover its meaning. – Ecclesiastes 8:17
People who have to know everything are destined for disappointment. Through many difficult days and sleepless nights, the Preacher applied himself diligently to the mysteries of life. He came to the conclusion that “no one can comprehend what goes on under the sun” (v. 17). Perhaps we can solve a puzzle here and there, but none of us can comprehend the totality of things.
Historian Will Durant surveyed human history in his multivolume Story of Civilization and came to the conclusion that “our knowledge is a receding mirage in an expanding desert of ignorance.” Of course, this fact must not be used as an excuse for stupidity. “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children and to us forever, that we may follow all the words of this law” (Deut. 29:29). God doesn’t expect us to know the unknowable, but He does expect us to learn all that we can and obey what He teaches us.
A confession of ignorance is the first step toward knowledge. “The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know” (1 Cor. 8:2). The person who wants to learn God’s truth must possess honesty and humility.
Something to Ponder – What are some of the mysteries of life that you frequently ponder?[1]
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[1] Warren W. Wiersbe, Pause for Power: A 365-Day Journey through the Scriptures, 2nd Ed., Year in the Word Series (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2010).
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