“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” Isaiah 43:1-2 (NIV)
As I crawled in bed, paralyzing fear came over me. My husband was out of town for work and I was afraid to go to sleep. Fear had become a constant companion during his nights away.
I knew in my head that I needed to trust God, but my heart wasn’t cooperating. I went through the motions of what I knew I should do: pray, read scriptures, and tape verses to my bedside table and bathroom mirror. But there was also a phone next to my pillow, and a neighborhood directory and Bible next to me in bed.
One night I took it a step further. I put toys on the stairs to trip possible burglars, brought my children into my room to sleep with me, and moved the dresser in front of the bedroom door.
Still fear kept me awake…
I’m sharing my heart and the rest of my story of how God helped me overcome paralyzing fears in my P31 devotion today. BUT BEFORE YOU GO —> be sure to read about a VERY special offer below!
Need a friend to help you overcom your fears? In my book, A Confident Heart, I will walk you you through a powerful process of identifying and overcoming fears and insecurities so you can live with confident faith and courage! ALSO –> When you purchase A Confident Heart through Proverbs 31 Ministries through June 10th, you will receive a SIGNED copy with a prayed over, personal Scripture too. AND you can receive OVER $40 in FREE RESOURCES! All you need to do is EMAIL YOUR P31 ministries RECEIPT to [email protected] —
HERE are the $40 in FREE RESOURCES you could receive:
Chapter 12 – “When I Say… God Says…” 31 Promises {Printable}
Countless readers have said the Chapter 12 chart of promises is their favorite take-away of the whole book! This printable PDF includes the chart in Chapter 12 with 31 different “When I say–God says” statements and promises to help you exchange your most common and crippling self-doubts with God’s transforming truths.
Confident Heart Scripture Prayers {Printable}
A beautiful compilation of prayers from the end of each chapter in A Confident Heart we’ve put together a “Praying God’s Promises” printable PDF so you can print them, post them and carry them with you! “Praying God’s Word is one of the most life-changing ways to live in the security of His promises. “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14 NASB). We can be confident when we pray His Word, we pray God’s will and through the power of prayer His promises are engraved on our hearts.”
Rest Assured– Message on MP3
Ever feel anxious, scattered or depleted? Jesus invites us to bring our rest-less hearts to Him: “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28) Through powerful Biblical teaching and practical life applications, Renee shows us how we can “rest assured” in Jesus by replacing worries that make us weary with God’s perspective and peace. In this one hour message, Renee will help you rest in His presence and rely on His plans as you learn to:
- Depend on the certainty of God’s promises despite the uncertainty of your circumstances
- Improve your relationships by embracing grace-based expectations of yourself and others
- Turn worry into worship by focusing on “what is” instead of “what if”
- Live with a confident heart in Christ by exchanging fear-filled thinking with faith-filled believing
Letting God Fill My Empty Places – Message on MP3
Do you ever measure your worth by how well you’re doing at work, at home, or in your relationship with God? Does is sometimes leave you feeling empty and uncertain that you can ever do enough, or be enough? Weaving powerful truths with practical life applications, in this 50-minute message, Renee shares insights from her personal struggles with performance-based living as she helps you:
- Identify what makes you feel empty and ways to let Jesus fill you
- Find lasting contentment and confidence in God’s unfailing love
- Experience greater joy in the people, positions, and possessions God’s given you
- Stop striving to please and start believing because God’s promises that you are “enough”
Don’t Throw Away Your Confidence – Message on MP3
Ever feel like you’re not good enough, smart enough, or gifted enough? Do the critical words you say to yourself, or hear from others, make you question your worth? Renee Swope offers the voice of a friend who candidly, and humorously, shares her struggles and victories in overcoming self-doubt. Identifying the most common triggers of insecurity, Renee will help you:
- Break free from the comparison trap and embrace the unique woman God created you to be
- Exchange critical “against me” thoughts with scripture-based God is “for me” thoughts
- Learn from conflict and grow more confident through it
- Replace alack of self-confidence with lasting God-confidence
There’s More!
Each person who buys a copy and sends in their receipt will also be put into a drawing for additional GIVEAWAYS!
These giveaways include a copy of our new P31 Real-life Devotional Bible for Women with devotions written by our Proverbs 31 Ministries writers {including me, Lysa TerKeurst, Karen Ehman, Glynnis Whitwer, Micca Campbell and many more!}
Also, thanks to my friend Donna Bostick, I’ll be giving away (3) Panera gift cards and (2) P31 Store certificates to additional winners.
Hi Renee! I have listened to you on the radio, Z88.3 for as long as I can remember. I’m a stay at home mom of 3 and have really started growing closer to the Lord through motherhood as I have seen the strong parallels of our love for our children and His love for us. God has been impressing on my heart for a while to start a blog also and has confirmed it a few ways through you! Fear has been an issue of mine for too long. As I hold firmly on to God’s hand sometimes(a lot of times) it seems like my other hand is holding fear’s as well. I so appreciate when God put someone or something in my path to remind me that He is greater and to not lose focus. Thanks for being obedient to Him and His call for you!
I totally missed the cut off date for the free resources. Is there any way I can still buy the book and get them?
Yes Terri – I extended it to June 30th so you’ve got through this weekend :)!
I ordered your book and I am excited to see what the Lord will do through this book. I know I struggle with trust and confidence in my self and admittedly in God too. I have grown leaps and bounds from where I started years ago… but am always looking to grow more. I came to read the website again, I have no idea why but I thought I was getting 2 copies. It doesn’t say that at all, so I have no idea why I thought that…. maybe cuz God knew I would buy it if I thought I could bless someone else too and wouldn’t if I thought it was only for me. LOL funny!!
I just want to say Thank You! Thank You Lord for this book and Thank You Renee for letting God use you to write it! I purchased “A Confident Heart,” after the holdiday season 2012. I call this period “MY BIG MELT DOWN” I prayed for God to guide me to a book that would help me. You see I didn’t like myself very much and I couldn’t understand how I got to this dark place. I had a relationship with Christ but I saw that I was believing God’s promises for others but not for myself. I did not see value in myself and did not think in any way that I was pleasing to God. Your book helped God break through to my heart and He began to show me through your story of “SAM” that I do have value, that God does love me too and that I am pleasing to Him. Thank you so much for this Blessing.
MUCH LOVE IN CHRIST
Michelle Blauer
Las Vegas, NV
Oh Michelle, it’s so good to read your story!! I love hearing how God clearly led you to just what HE wanted you to know about His amazing love for you!! I think we all have those “melt down” times that make us cry out to God for a break-through. As hard as they are, I can look back and see His biggest movements in my life in those seasons. Honored to be part of your story and one of the ways He’s lavishing His love and grace on you!
Hello Renee! I just found your web site by accident (or may not so much after all)!! I Googled bible verses for women and your site was under there. Just so happened that you’re speaking of fear!! I’ve been trying for the last 3-4 years to be strong and trust God to do the impossible for me with my home. I am widowed and my twins just graduated high school last year. About 3-4 years ago (just about the time the recession hit), I had a drastic drop in income. Up to 2007, I didn’t work outside of the home. My husband passed in 2002 and in 2003, my children and I moved a nearby town where I had a new home built for us to have a fresh start. Well, I made the terrible mistake of not paying cash for the home at that time because it would’ve taken just about all I had at that time and I was still trying to raise the kids at that point. I have beaten myself up about this so many times, but there’s nothing I can do about it now!! I’d been trying to get my mortgage company to give me a lower payment, attended NACA events, called the HOPE hotline, all of it with no success. That’s when I started praying for God to allow me to pay the house off. I continued to work, but I knew it would take a large windfall to come into my life to make this happen. Even though I know God’s ways are not our ways; I was not asking Him for the impossible because he’s done that for people over and over again in the past so I knew he’d do it for me, too. Jumping ahead, my house was foreclosed on last month, May 21, 2013. I’m in the stage of the ejectment lawsuit. I have no place to go, no money, no help from any family, and my credit is so damaged, I probably can’t even rent an apartment at this point. I started praying for God to work a miracle that would allow me get my house back and for Him to fight this battle because it’s too big for me, but it’s nothing to Him. I know He’s got something planned and I know He won’t allow us to be put out in the streets. I just need peace at this point. I can’t share this with anyone especially my children!! I’m carrying an awful lot of weight around and I don’t want to get sick behind it. I just need your prayers because I know whenever two or more touch and agree on something, it is done!! Thank You Renee!!
Linda, Im praying for you right now. Sweet friend, you said you can’t share this with anyone else but have you let your church or your family know you are in need? Do they know you are about to lose your home? I know that is so hard and can be filled with embarrassment. I have a friend who went through the same thing and she was so ashamed yet it wasn’t due to lack of responsibility but her husband’s loss of his job and them having three little children to feed. They lost their house.
I just want to encourage you to not bear this weight along. Often times we ask God to help us, but we keep our needs all to ourselves. Yet so often, He provides through people. Plus I bet those who know and love you would want to know before it’s too late.
I hope that is helpful advice. We’re going to be praying for God’s leading and provision, for a break-through and a halt in the process so you don’t lose your home. In Jesus’ Name amen!!
I am so excited to have ordered your book! I cannot.wait to dig in.
So many different kinds of things we fear…When I fly to California to visit my Motherinlaw, I fear getting there safe, I fear something at home will happen with my kids and too far away, I fear getting back home safley..
It is not enough to keep me from doing anything, but mostly my thoughts running away…So the FM and AM lesson along with the boo A Confident Heart, has been so good for me and have shared it with others for what ever they are dealing with…This book is amazing and a tool to be used daily for every situation..
And to be able to share woth one another here to encourage and build us up in the FATIH, that conquers ALL fear…Love you ladies and Pray for the Lord to give you all the desires of your heart and to release you into another level with him…
Blessings,
Patty
Thank you for that beautiful verse that washed over me and helped me to take a big breath. My son in law is being deployed next week. Our hearts are heavy but this verse is such a promise. I actually sent this verse in a letter when he was deployed 10 years ago. My daughter has 3 young children, the youngest being 2 . This will be such a burden for her, but at least we are only 20 min. away. Please pray for Jack and Sarah , for Gods protection and for strength for Sarah.
Loved this study! I ordered another book to give to someone.
I have struggled in my walk with the lord. Longing to be wise and gracious. Oh how I need to get my mouth and words a lined with what God says about me. I have let what people say and at times how they look at me cause to negative at times, and this comes from church family. Keep me in you prayers, I am in need of healing spiritually and emotionally. God bless and keep up the good work.
Renee I have been living everyday for the last three years in FEAR!!! I am doing your online bible study with your book. I have posted a couple of times about the abuse I endured as a child and the fact that I have been receiving mri’s and cat scans every three months watching this abnormality I have of the brain. it is a growth that has been maintaining one size and just recently has increased in size. So I am of course on lots of meds. Well a couple of weeks ago I received healing and prayer for this specific ailment. Today was my three month testing and the amount of time it was taking for the the tests seemed endless. I was told The doctor would call me around two with the results. So now was the endless wait of FEAR one more time. you know what, I was not anxious, stressed, and I had no anxiety at all. Was calm my time waiting on the phone call was Gods complete cover. The doctor called around 3:30 to tell me that there was NO evidence of an abnormality !!! Praise God it was totally his healing and wonderful promises that have restored my health. God is so faithful and loving.
Where do I send receipt into. Love the book, Can’t put it down, will reread after the first time!! Thank you!!
Please send your receipt to:
[email protected]
🙂
I don’t have your book a Confident Heart but I do follow you on Proverbs 31 and read all the devotionals regarding the study you are doing. Just wanted you to know that the scripture verses today are very personal to me and this is God’s promise to me. Whenever I am afraid or overwhelmed I always go these verses in Isaiah. Thank you.