Whom Shall I Fear?

Our God – Chris Tomlin

And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us?

And if our God is with us, then what could stand against?

During this next week, we are continuing to prepare for mountain we are approaching. As time closes in on us, God is constantly reminding us that He would not allow us to go through anything that we cannot handle… The key is to not rely on ourselves, but on Christ. He has already prepared us. He has equipped us with everything we might need to live a Godly life – through His Word, He has encouraged us & prepared us for any and all circumstances, including deployment.

¹²In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, ¹³while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it,¹⁵and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.. (2 Timothy 3:12-17)

Austin is about to enter into a warfare-torn, spiritually-dead place… There will be challenges around every corner, & satan is ready to step in at a moment’s notice. HOWEVER, God has already won 🙂 God already has Austin in His hands…. He dwells within his heart, speaks to him through His Word, encourages Him through his family & friends, and has “equipped (him) for every good work”, including whatever God’s plans are for Austin during the next 12 months….

FAMILY PHOTO ❤

While we would choose NOT deploying over deploying (duh… haha)… it is happening. Aside from all the dangers, extreme weather, being surrounded by guys who might not have access to showers, and being apart from his wife, family, & friends…. Austin is EXCITED to be going on “the most awesome adventure any boy has ever dreamed of” 🙂 If you know Austin, this will not come as a surprise to you! He is pumped about facing new challenges, having extreme & unique experience for his future career, & of course…. being able to carry a really big gun 🙂

After a few brief (ok… maybe not so brief) moments of worry, fear, panic, etc… over packing lists, mailing addresses, briefings, LACK of information, making sure he has anything & everything he might possibly need…. I handed the situation, and Austin, over to the only ONE who has all the information. I have a feeling this is going to be a daily occurrence for me.

While no one will ever feel fully prepared for any deployment scenario… I feel that we are as prepared as we can be. We have prayed UNCEASINGLY for safety & protection over Austin & all his fellow soldiers as they travel, in-process, & begin their mission… we’ve got the sunscreen, bugspray, 3 toothbrushes, SOAP… you get the picture 🙂 Today as we continued to pack, and as I LABELED absolutely everything I could get my hands on (Thanks, MOM!!!!!! haha) I turned all of Austin’s ACU’s inside out and wrote Scriptures on the sleeves & pants legs as I prayed over them…. that each time he puts them on, he would read the verses and be encouraged… & that he would be covered in the Armor of God.

We have been given a day that he is leaving…. obviously, I cannot share this for security reasons. Please keep us in your thoughts & prayers over the next few weeks as we go through this transition…. Austin & I have been looking for a book/devotion of sorts to go through together as part of our “Marriage Goals” during the next year – so far we have decided on The Love Dare… any ideas? suggestions?

As some may know, I do not like to ask for help…. however, God’s Word does say only if you ask will you receive… so if God says it 🙂

Our needs for the next year include, but are not limited to: PRAYER!!! Unending prayer (I posted a link about how to pray for a soldier on my previous post)…. LETTERS/CARDS – as soon as I get Austin’s address, I will give it out to those that want it. Please let me know if you want his address!…. BOOKS – we invested in a Kindle (electronic book) for Austin, as he is an AVID reader 🙂 we have a wish-list on Amazon, but can only receive gift-certificates in order to buy those books as a gift. If you would like to donate a book to Austin, please send me a message/email/call etc. & I will tell you how you can do this…. The BEST way to communicate with Austin is through email – if you need his email, please leave a comment, send a facebook message, send me an email, call me…. just get in touch with me or my parents somehow and we will give it to you 🙂 Even if its just an encouraging note, a Bible verse… anything is appreciated!

Psalm 27:1-6
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident. One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.