I wrote this spoken word poem to perform at my church’s gospel fest last year, August 2016. And since I’ve been away for a while, I thought I’d post this to encourage someone.
Unfortunately, I haven’t had time to write because I’ve been too weak and tired from my first chemo last week, but today was the first day that I started to feel a little more productive. Hope you enjoy.
Living in the Faith Zone:
Are You A Chronic Worrier or A Prayer Warrior?
© Elizabeth Roman
One day, as I was in prayer, over worry and fear and anxiety, I cried out to the Lord, My God,“Father, will you help my Unbelief?” (Mark 9:24 ESV)
And the Lord answered and said, “Daughter, ‘All things are possible to you if you believe.’ (Mark 9:23 ESV)
Will you choose to live in faith or will you choose to live in fear?Will you remain safe or you will trust in me and my word?
And that day, I made a bold and courageous decision.
I chose faith!
Because “without faith it is impossible to please Him,” (Heb 11:6 NKJV)
You see, God is asking you and me to step outside of our comfort zone.
He is asking us to allow Him to stretch us and to grow us and this stretching will require our faith.
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Heb 11:1)
You are either going to be a chronic worrier or a prayer warrior.
You will either confront your fears and do what God has called you to do,
Or you will live in darkness, never allowing God’s word
To be “a lamp to [your] feet and a light to [your] path.” (Ps 119:105 ESV)
So, today, I declare, and I decree that God is calling you, like He has called me,
to step out of my comfort zone and into His faith zone.
Today, I will live fearlessly like David and face my Goliath
I will not flee to Tarshish but I “will arise [and go to] Nineveh (Jonah 1:2 ESV)
[I] will submit [myself] to God, [I] will resist the devil and he will flee. (James 4:7 ESV)
Because God has not given me “a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Tim 1:7 NKJV)
And though I walk in the flesh, I do not wage a “war according to the flesh,
the weapons of my warfare are faith, prayer, and the word of God,
and they “have divine power to destroy strongholds.” (2 Cor 10:3-4 ESV)
I know my “adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
But my fears cannot be fought by my might, nor by my power, but only by His Spirit. (Zechariah 4:6 ESV)
For in this war, [I] “do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12 ESV)
I am a soldier enlisted in the Army of Christ. (2 Tim 2:3 ESV)
And “No soldier [in God’s Army] gets entangled in civilian pursuits,
[My only] aim is to please the one who [has] enlisted [me]” in His army.
I have been trained by the Holy Spirit, tried by my adversities, and refined in the Lord’s furnace. (Ps 12:6)
I will buy everything for a price and I will not offer anything to God “that has cost me nothing.” (2 Sam 24:24 ESV)
“Even [when] I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for [He is] with me; [his] rod and [his] staff, comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4)
I know who I am. “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps. 139:4)
And I will not be pushed around, beaten, or made afraid.
In the midst of my worries, I will “put on the whole armor of God, [so] that [I] may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:12 ESV)
I will lift up “the shield of faith with to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. [I will put on] the helmet of salvation, and [pickup] the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; (Eph 6:14-17 NKJV)
God’s word is my weapon.
It is “living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.” (Heb 4:12 NKJV)
This is not my mind-over-matter, this is God’s word over the matter.
God’s word is right and true. Whose word will you choose to listen to?
Have you forgotten that “God is not a man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind.” (Numbers 23:19 ESV)
Your “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17 ESV)
And “If you have faith [as small as a] mustard seed, you will say to this mountain,
‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matt 17:20 ESV)
You see Fear is your Faith in reverse.
Everything you receive from Christ will come thru faith.
Everything you receive from Satan will come through fear.
You were NOT designed by God to worry.
You were designed to live a victorious life.
Therefore, Today, declare and decree that You will live, as God has chosen You to Be.
Choose “not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all [human] understanding, overcomer will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:6-7 ESV)
Brothers and sister, you are in a race.
“Do you not know that… all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So, run [your race] to win! (1 Cor 9:24 NLT)
Condition your mind’s like athletes with daily practice.
And “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Rom 12:2 ESV)
It’s your mind that tells your body to what to do!
“Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable [wreath].
26 So… do not run aimlessly; … do not box as one beating the air. 27
But… discipline [your] body [and your mind] and keep it under God’s control” (1 Cor 9:25-27 ESV)
I know exercise is hard and that for the moment, “all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:11-13 ESV)
“Count it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds” for through them our faith is tested and it produces perseverance. (James 1:2)
Do not waste your time dwelling on fears, worry, and panic.
“Proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9 NKJV)
The things which have happened to you “serve to advance the gospel” of Jesus Christ. (Phil 1:12)
In Him, you an overcomer In Him, you are more than a conqueror. (Rom 8:37)
“For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world.
And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” (1 John 5:4-5)
A Chronic Worrier seeks control but a Prayer Warrior relinquishes control to the sovereign King:
For all that is in heaven and in earth [belongs to Him];
“Yours is the kingdom, O Lord…
And You reign over all.” (1 Chron 29:11 ESV)
Your Worry will make you weary but Your Prayers will give you Strength:
31 [For those who] wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.” (Isa 40:31)
Apart from God, worry is all consuming,
but “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Phil 4:3 NKJV)
I will not dwell on the past or the future.
Because The Lord has commanded that I forget “what lies behind and [strain] forward to what lies ahead,” 14 [that I ] press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 3:13 ESV)
“With man [fighting worry is] impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matt 19:26)
But with the Lord on my side; “I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Psalm 118:6)
My Lord has given me the “authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt [me].” (Luke 10:19 ESV)
The fight may be hard “[but] the battle is not yours, but God’s.” (2 Chron. 20:15 ESV)
And If “God is for [me], who [can be] against [me]?” (Rom. 8:31 ESV)
Therefore I will “not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.
Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matt 6:34)
And though “Anxiety in [my] heart [may sometimes] weigh [me] down, [Your] good word [will always] make [me] glad. (Pr. 12:25)
And when the enemies try to take my life,
I will “walk by faith, [and] not by sight.” (2 Cor 5:7 ESV)
I will “not fear those who [can] kill the body but cannot kill the soul.
[I would] rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)
“And the gates of hell will not prevail” (Matthew 16:18)
For “I shall not die but Live and declare the works of the Lord,” (Ps 118:17 ESV)
My Lord has “commanded [me to] be strong and courageous. do not be frightened and do not be dismayed,
for the Lord [my] God is with [me] wherever [I] go.” (Joshua 1:9 ESV)
[He] is a mighty rock and my refuge.
[And I will] trust in him at all times.” (Psalm 62:7-8)
Therefore I will not fear, for “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.” (Ps 91:1 ESV)
He will cover [me] with his feathers and shelter me with wings
His faithful promises are [my] armor and [my] protection.” (Ps 91:4 NLT)
No matter the circumstance,
5 [I] will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day,” (Ps 91:5 ESV)
7 A thousand may fall at [my] side, ten thousand at [my] right hand, but it will not come near [me]” (Ps 91:7 NLT)
“the God of [Abraham, Isaac, and] Jacob is [my] fortress.” (Matthew 22:42 ESV and Psalm 46:11 ESV)
I will “cast all [my] anxieties on him,” (1 Peter 5:6-7)
and He “will deliver me from all my fears.” (Ps 34:4)
“He is my light and my salvation. “(Ps 27:1 ESV)
He will “Strengthen [my] weak hands, and [make] firm [my] feeble knees.” (Isa 35:3)
And though I may be attacked, I will not be “crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. (2 Cor 4:8-9)
Instead, I will “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thes 5:17)
I will not condemn myself. “…for He who is in me, is greater than He who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)
Jesus has commanded me not to “worry about everyday life—whether [I] have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. 23 For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing. 24 Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And [I] are far more valuable to him than any birds!” (Luke 12:22-26)
25 Can all [my] worries add a single moment to [my] life? (Luke 12:22-26)
Father God, I thank you for your words, they are nourishment for my mind
Pleasant as “a honeycomb: sweet to the taste and health to the body.” (Prov 16:24 HCSB)
Brothers and sister, Jesus said, “Have faith in God.” (Matt 11:22 ESV)
“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received[a]it, and it will be yours.” (Matt 11:24 ESV)
Ladies and Gentlemen, The Key to Everything is right here in this book.
This book is not a book of information; this book is a book of transformation.
“In here are the…stones of remembrance.” (Josh 4)
Remember who you belong to.
God and His word is your source of power and strength.
“Give attention to [His] words; Incline your ear to [His] sayings.
21 Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart;
22 For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.” (Prov 4:20-22 )
He will give you the “endurance [that] produces character, and [the] character [that] produces hope,” (Rom 5:4 ESV)
Finally, brothers and sisters, stop investing in worry. It is empty and provides no return.
Invest your thoughts in “whatever is true, …honorable, …just, …pure, …lovely, …and commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Phil 4:8 ESV)
Stand firm, Align your words to His words
“Let no corrupt talk come out of your mouths, but only [that which is] good for building up” (Eph. 4:29)
Worry, Fear, and Anxiety are deadly poisons.
But God’s “word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.” (Pr 24:11 ESV)
“Arise [and] shine, for your light has come” (Isa 60:1)
You belong to God
Start living in the Faith Zone.
You were NOT designed to be a Chronic Worrier
But A Prayer Warrior by the Prince of Peace.
And You have been given “the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 15:57 ESV)
Amen.
© Elizabeth Roman and www.clothedandinmyrightmind.com, 2016 to present. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Elizabeth Roman and www.clothedandimnyrightmind.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Click here to see me perform this spoken word: Chronic Worrier or Prayer Warrior
If you would like a printed copy of this spoken word/poem, which is formatted much differently in the printed version, please send me an email at: clothedandinmyrightmind.com and write “Please send Warrior Poem” in the subject line.” Please also include your name.
In Love and Christ,
Liz
