Group 2 – Section 4

… (Your name), let your heart find joy and delight that the protection I need…

…is not by escaping through self-induced and self-controlled failure. I can keep doing good because even if there is a failure outside my control, I can be confident that God will draw near to soothe and love me through it. (pause to let yourself feel confident and be reassured by faith about God’s presence drawing near!)

…is not to make myself fail now in order to avoid uncontrolled failure in the future. Lord God, I am directing my heart to depend on You as my God. Heart, by God’s presence drawing near, He becomes my security, my refuge of power and strength. I humble myself from staying shut down inside to the presence of God until I feel enough pride and think I deserve His nearness somehow. I turn away from pride and holding back from God. I humble myself into trusting that He is drawing near because He is good. Lord, as I think with faith about Your nearness, I am letting myself feel soothed and reassured.

…is not from self-sabotage because of fear that I might not be able to keep doing the right things. Heart, because of salvation, God is my righteousness and perfection inside. When the holy presence of God touches my skin, God becomes righteousness and perfection for my humanity! (pause to hear, believe, and love it as the truth!)

…is not to use sin as a way to sabotage myself with the hard shell of depression that results—I don’t have to be afraid to draw near to God. I rejoice about NOT having to fear success. It is safe and right and good to stand open before God and enjoy receiving the Holy Spirit being radiated into me and onto other people around me.

…is not to force myself to fail by ______________________ because of insecurity or fear—God is always gracious and giving. He never stops radiating the Holy Spirit upon those who draw near.

…I grab my soul and turn it from having to damage myself in order to feel protected from failure. My hope is in God—not in how well I achieve and then maintain human success. I am turning my heart to enjoy confidently trusting God’s grace to draw near to me intensely. And heart, rejoice about the truth that I don’t have to be afraid to succeed spiritually. (pause to let yourself be reassured!)

“My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth” (Psa. 121:2)…

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?” (Psa. 27:1). (let yourself feel confidence from the closeness of God’s power and glory!)

“Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is the sustainer of my soul” (Psa. 54:4)…

“You are my hiding place and my shield…” (Psa. 119:114)

“O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You…” (Isa. 25:1)

…Lord, “You are my hiding place and my shield…” (Psa. 119:114)…

“I have set the Lord continually before me…Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will dwell securely.” (Psa. 16:8,9) (pause to hear, believe, and love that God is near!)

God is my protection: “…My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped…” (Psa. 28:7)

“When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?” (Psa. 56:3,4)

… (Your name), let your heart find joy and delight that the protection I need…

…is not by sabotaging myself with distractions that keep me away from God. The protection I need is NOT from self-sabotage that keeps me from doing God’s will! (pause to hear, believe, and love it as the truth!)

…is not to sabotage myself with sin or with failure because of fear that I might not be enough somehow. It is God who is my adequacy. Lord God, I love that I can turn to You as my God, and I don’t have to depend on myself!

…is not to sabotage myself by holding firmly to disbelief—God is a better fortress for protection.

…is not to use sin as a way to prevent my willingness to stand before God. The protection I need is NOT from holding back about being open with faith so I can welcome His presence. (pause to hear, believe, and love it as the truth!)

…is not by escaping through self-induced or self-controlled failure.

…I grab my soul and turn it from fear about not having enough discipline to be faithful at drinking from God. I will open up to the fountain of God that I am trusting is before me here, and I will drink like a branch drinks from the trunk of the tree and like its leaves drink from the rain. God is here … (Your name) , I love that I can receive from the radiance of God like a sponge. I CAN draw near to God, and my need is so great that the more I love and enjoy being secure and strong in God’s presence, the more it helps motivate me to keep the “drinking straw” of my inner being pointed toward the closeness of Lord and His Kingdom 24 hours-a-day.

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psa. 73:26 NIV).

I don’t have to escape by forcing myself to fail because “…You are my hope; O Lord God, You are my confidence…” (Psa. 71:5); “…My soul clings to You…” (Psa. 63:8)

I “…have boldness and confident access through faith in Him” (Eph. 3:12).

“…Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence.” (Psa. 42:5)…

“…as for me, I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more.” (Psa. 71:14)

(Your name) , let yourself be boldly hopeful because God gives me reason to have hope — God plans to give me a good future and reasons for hope (Jer. 29:11). (pause to let yourself feel confident because of the truth!)

God has promised with an “…everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants…” (Gen. 17:7; Gal. 3:29).

“Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the Lord.” (Psa. 31:24)…

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psa. 34:18).

… (Your name ), let your heart find joy and delight that the protection I need…

…is not by forcing myself to fail because of fear that God might not like me back. I repent of feeling comfortable with believing lies and making darkness an old friend! Heart, God is good and kind. He loves me and wants to draw near to me.

…is not for me to sabotage or distract myself from entering the throne room and confidently receiving Heaven upon and around me here. I turn my heart to trust that Heaven is coming so that I can “set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will dwell securely” (Psa. 16:8-9). The safest thing for me to trust that the glorified Jesus and the Father are right here with me right now…. (pause to hear, believe, and love the truth!)

…I grab my soul and turn it from having to damage myself in order to feel protected from failure. My hope is in God—not in how well I achieve and then maintain human success. I am turning my heart to enjoy confidently trusting God’s grace to draw near to me intensely. And heart, rejoice about the truth that I don’t have to be afraid to succeed spiritually… (pause to let yourself feel confident because of it!)

…I have access to enter and draw near to God by faith in the Holy Spirit to make it happen.

“for through Him we…have our access in one Spirit to the Father” (Eph. 2:18).

“…have boldness and confident access through faith in Him” (Eph. 3:12).

“…O Lord God, You are my confidence…” (Psa. 71:5)…

My “…confidence…is…through Christ before God…competence comes from God” (2 Cor. 3:4,5 NIV).

“…You, O Lord, are…the lifter of my head.” (Psa. 3:3 TAB).

“‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘Therefore I have hope in Him’” (Lam. 3:24)…

“Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk on my high places” (Hab. 3:17-19). (pause to hear, believe, and love the God who is close!)

“I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!’” (Psa. 91:2).

Be encouraged because “…the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His…” (2 Chron. 16:9)… (I set my heart to love God and His drawing near!)

“My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth” (Psa. 121:2).

“I love You, O Lord…” (Psa. 18:1); “…My soul clings to You…” (Psa. 63:8).