Dont be Afraid. Just Have Faith.

"And Jesus said Dont be afraid just have Faith" - Mark 5:36

The word afraid in that scripture can be substituted for many words. Do not worry, Do not be anxious, Do not be discouraged. 

So if you get a chance to read Mark chapter 5 there is a story about a a man named Jairus, whose daughter was very sick and on the verge of death and he wanted to seek the healing power of Jesus but people in the crowd were telling him his daughter was already dead and that it is not worth it to bother Jesus. But Jesus did not listen to them he told Jairus not to be afraid just have faith. 

How many times in your life have you told someone about a dream or a goal you are trying to achieve and they say it can not be done, that it does not make sense, it will not work or worse they say "well I hope it works out" but you hear the doubt in their voice?

Better yet how many times have you doubted yourself? You believed the lie that you were not good enough, you could never achieve that goal or that you weren't going to make it.? First of all who told you that lie? Don't you know once we believe those lies they become rooted in our hearts and then we speak those same lies over someone elses life? (Matthew 12:34)
Second why would you tell yourself that lie? We have the tendency to be extremely hard and unloving towards ourselves. This maybe cliche but it all starts with self love. Why do you think it says Love your neighbor as you love yoursel. (Matthew 22:39 Galations 5:14) If you can not love yourself properly then you probably do not know how to treat people.
What if I told you that you could achieve anything you tried? Dont be afriad just have Faith. Apply for that job your "friend" said you were not going to get. Dont be afriad just have faith. Nervous about a test? Dont be anxious, Just have Faith. Go ahead and DO something that you told yourself you couldnt do. Stop Doubting and Just do it. Step out on Faith. Block out the nay-sayers and people who speak doubt on your life. You have too much potential to believe the crowd. One day they are with you the next day their against you. They will remind you of your failures but root for you when you make it. As Sweety Brown said "aint nobody got the time for that"

Dont put your trust in mere humans. Humans are as frail as breath. (Isaiah 2:22)

There is a man out there who isnt listening to the crowd. He is not swayed by opinions or emotions, He is not like us. Jesus believes in you and loves you so much that he died for you. 

And we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.- Romans 8:28

The Prayer App

How many avenues of communication do we need to talk to each other? We are constantly connected via text, imessage, email, twitter, facebook, vine, instagram, viber, groupme, whatsapp etc. Thats if we are not constantly talking on the phone. Whenever something happens good or bad we are conditioned to pick up the phone and call a friend. There is absolutly nothing wrong with that. But how often are we in constant communication with God? We have all these apps to talk to our friends and people we "entertain" but how many apps do you need to talk to God?... oh ... just one. Its called Prayer. Prayer is so important when it comes to our walk with God. Prayer changes our heart, keeps us from dwelling in the past, gives us no fear of the future, stops us from worrying and most importantly is our direct link to God. When we worry it is usually fear based over something in the future we have no control over. Why stress yourself when there is someone that can give you a peace and handles it all. 
I once was told  that worry is prayer to self. How often are you praying to yourself, or venting to a friend about an issue? Do you give God a 2 minute prayer before bed and think its all good? God yearns for quiet time with us. Since joining the Peace Corps I've had plenty of conversations with people and apart from thinking God isnt real. They think he is some entity that wants to suck all the fun out of your life, control you and punish you. Well they are wrong. Besides being a protector and provider God wants a relationship with us.
Think about this if you had a friend who came to you and asked you for something, expected you to give it to them how would you feel? Especially if you only heard from them when they needed something. When you reach out to them they never answer, never pick up the phone or return emails. You would probably feel neglected. How do you think God feels? The difference between us and God is that his love is not conditional no matter how many times he tries to reach us and we ignore him he keeps reaching out and reaching out he will never stop. 

okay so... What does it mean to pray? The literal definition is to address God with adoration, confession, supplication, thanksgiving and Adoration.
Supplication- To ask earnestly
Thanksgiving- expressing gratitude
Adoration- Expressing Love

Through prayer God reveals his character and blessings not only does prayer allow us to be honest with God it forces us to be honest with ourselves. When we pray and give thanks God enhabits our praise which fills us with joy. The situation is left in Gods hands and we do not worry.because everything is going to be worked out for our good !!