Originated in Tulsa, Oklahoma, ZOE LIVING IS A BLOG BY andrea glenville. Her posts are intended to provoke purposeful, passionate, pro-active living by sharing insight into her favorite aspects of life through personal devotionals, Fitness chat, and Travel experiences.

Fear. Father. Freedom.

Andrea Glenville
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"For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."" - Romans 8:15

Fear can be an underlying presence in so many areas of our lives, most often unidentified for what it really is. Many actions, motives, insecurities, & aspects of our identity are altered or derived from fear of some nature... fear of being misunderstood, failure, commitment, the unknown, isolation, loneliness, a doctor's report, inadequacy, provision, instability, lack, responsibility, change, unfulfilled promises, etc. Unhealthy fears inhibit and cripple our potential and create a compromised "self" that is incapable of operating in the fullness that God intended for us to live in and out of.

The contrast in the above verse is amazing.

The writer counters "bondage again to fear" (it truly holds us captive) with "adoption*." Our recognition of our identity as His sons/daughters & the place we now occupy in His family shatters the presence of fear in our lives. His perfect Love not only gives us permission to live from a place of fearlessness & freedom, but the authority & courage to do so.

adoption = freedom from fear.

and freedom is contagious. xo

 

 

Andrea Glenville
Andrea Glenville

When we realize that life consists of the moments* that occupy our days, weeks, and years on this earth, we find ourselves refraining from looking unto the next thing and allowing ourselves to be immersed in the here and now. In fact, these are the sum total of "life." What a shame it would be to look back on our lives and conclude that we had been waiting for life to truly begin and develop into our wildest dreams when, in fact, life had been eagerly waiting for us to come alive wherever we found ourselves. I had always stated my biggest fear in life would be to arrive at my last breath and think I had "missed" it, missed the divine purpose placed upon my life... I realize I can't miss it if I allow myself to fully live in, remain in, and impact the present moment I find myself. When we seek God's face, align our hearts' desires with His, and follow His voice, we are on our way. "Arriving" to a final destination we have conjectured in our minds is to have been narrow-minded, focused on a rather insignificant component of life in the grand scheme of eternity. Society has painted success in light of mortality. The production, influence, distance traveled up the social ladder as one's popularity reaches platinum level, and wealth associated with a person's name has formed their identity and worth or lack thereof. However, eternal perspective allows the mundane to be extraordinary and failures in life to transform our inner man. An eternal perspective would then lend to different goals and motives than one who must extract all he or she possibly can from a brief 80 years on this earth. 

Thoughts of the day. We seek and strive to be excellent in all that we put our hands to and succeed in every aspect of our lives, be it careers, relationships, health, etc. Yet, our ultimate bull's eye, so to speak, is furthering the Lord's Kingdom and using every ounce of our being, talents, and blessings He gives us to the benefit of others. There's no "final destination," simply checkpoints in our lives that are meant to spur us on to bigger and better ones. xo

 

 

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He is a Good Father.

He is a Good Father.

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