Embracing Fearlessness and Divine Guidance in Our Personal Journeys - Part 2 | Ep 12

Imagine peering over the edge of the cliff, the unknown before you, and taking that leap anyway. That's the essence of our conversation today - conquering fear and embracing change. Being fearless doesn't mean the absence of fear, but taking actions in spite of it.

Courageously packing up your life and home for an unknown future, or  symbolizing a fearless leap of faith. With a powerful testimony, Mary shares her conscious choice to take charge and the role of faith in her journey is inspiring and comforting. We also share practical tips on incorporating faith into your daily routine. Meet us on the other side of fear with this episode as we navigate through life's highs and lows, and understand faith's true power during testing times.

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Transcript

Announcer: 0:00

Welcome to In His Hands podcast from Women for Women. We're here to help you find peace in knowing you are in God's hands. Our goal is sharing the Word of God in simple conversations. You're here to help you thrive every day. And now here are your hosts.

Tiffany Windsor: 0:18

Good morning. I'm Tiffany Windsor and I'm Mary, and I would like to welcome everyone back to part two of Fearless. We were chatting for so long last week. I wanted to make sure that we got our full message out, so, Mary, let's continue the conversation.

Mary Koning: 0:38

I love what you said about there will be ups and downs, and sometimes I focus on the down will never be coming up again. And it will. It will, dear ones. I think when we did the podcast on wise women, I was on a down that I didn't think was ever going to end, and I even told you you had given me some wise counsel, and I even said these words out loud. I remember if I want something different, I have to do something different. Well, that involves packing up my house. So I'm kind of grumbling as I do it, but I want something different, and I have to remind myself of that. And so I'm standing there packing boxes, saying to myself I want this new future, I want it, and I'm not going to sit here and do my same old, same old, worn out things that don't work anymore.

Tiffany Windsor: 1:26

Can I just say wow, oh, thank you very much, because I've been watching you go through this over the past couple of weeks but you haven't spoken those words. That is amazing to hear how you have embraced that. That is the power of God working in your life and you listening you talk about. Oh, I don't think I listen. You are listening, my friend.

Mary Koning: 1:49

Thank goodness. And finally, and part of what's really helping me, I actually do this is to just do my part. You know, when I get to fear it's what about next week and next year and what about the finances and what about the kids. And I just use my fist in my hand and I say God has to do this, he has to have an answer. And he's like the father I needed but didn't have, and he's giving me the advice. He's like just do this, just go there, just do this. And there's such a piece in that, because I don't have all the answers and I'm not supposed to. I'm nearly human.

Tiffany Windsor: 2:24

And that's so comforting because a lot of times when we talk I went through a divorce over 40 years ago, so those memories are very vague to me.

Tiffany Windsor: 2:33

It's harder for me to remember as to how to relate, so to hear it fresh from you is really exciting. There are certain things that I can give my wise women advice, but I don't have children, so I don't know the struggles that women who are around us, who are beautiful Christian women but have made the choice through their prayer to leave their marriage, and how difficult that is. For you to be able to speak to them is a miracle Is I? That's what I'm hearing, that's I'm going to say that word, because that's what I'm hearing is a miracle in the healing that you are going to be able to show these other women that they can move through this. What's happening is through your experiences and listening to you, and I hope anyone who has missed any of our past podcasts goes back and listens to them, because the great thing is we're going back and looking at ourselves and realizing the change, and for you to be able to give that hope to other women is phenomenal.

Mary Koning: 3:42

And I'm not sure I could have spoken about this even six months ago Six months ago was in fear, in real deep, probably depression, if I'm honest, probably really deep sadness, and I think those waves are some of the places we can get caught in this journey. Instead of writing the top of the waves down in the trough, thinking that that's it, I'm going to be in the trough forever, maybe the Lord gives us ocean so we can take a look and know we have to just write the waves and the troughs and it won't be forever.

Tiffany Windsor: 4:15

So a few things. There were action items that we talked about in church today. Action item number one is build yourself up in your faith. When you do that, your faith becomes your everyday movement and motion. It's your go-to. Faith is a muscle you use. Faith is about action, and what do we always need to do when we feel like we're stuck? We need to take action, because it's the fear that holds us in inaction and then we feel like there's no place to go. Do you want to talk about action item number two? Pray in the.

Mary Koning: 4:51

Spirit and I am talking to my students a lot about this, but I need to listen to. What I tell them is Jesus had to go back to heaven to send us the helper, the counselor, the advocate, the one who walks with us and tells us go this way, don't go this way. But my part is listening, our part is listening. Our part is cooperating with the Spirit and doing what we're told to do. And am I too arrogant or unsure of myself, or unsure of myself to hear and listen? It's a combination. It's very simple when I'm doing it correctly.

Tiffany Windsor: 5:31

My note in this item. Number two pray in the Spirit, big star next to it. Prayer is our first response, not our last resort, and this ties into everything that we've been talking about today. I love to because I'm seeing right now the image of the hand and the fist is that praying people are powerful people and I think just that motion say you can't speak the words in the moment and you're needing to shift out of something, and if you just use that motion, that's going to remind you to go into prayer and prayer is so powerful.

Tiffany Windsor: 6:07

Number three is keep yourself in the love of God. We talked about love notes recently and I love this because in the love of God is love letters to us. God is writing love letters to us and how sweet is that when we're hurting. So God is always writing us love letters and I love that. I've told you, as a woman who's been independent for many, many years, one of the things I crave is just a nice hug from a dear friend God's hugs are in his love letters and a reminder that prayer is a dialogue. It's not just you speaking. Pray and listen and let that dialogue happen. I was really happy to hear that because there are a lot of times in the morning when I will pray and I feel like I have to keep asking or saying something and I have to realize through this that I can say something and just be quiet and see what the Lord has to speak to me in my prayerful time, that I don't have to keep chatting.

Mary Koning: 7:11

That is so important. I want to kind of focus on that, because my interactions with God have been all just a laundry list of things I need from him, and not so much in the listening, because I don't necessarily want to hear what he's going to ask me to do, and so a lot of my fear was based around that. He's going to ask me to do something scary like apologize to my ex. I can't see it. But if he wants me to do it, then I will obey, because I know there's such blessing and peace on the other side. And also, god has moved me from a place of fear so many times. And that place of fear is choosing my way and the constant telling, telling, telling God what's going on instead of listening, instead of doing. If I want to live in a place of peace, I have to stop talking so much and start listening and then start doing being that obedient child. Not that he wants us to be robots or ignore our own will, but he wants our cooperation, because that's the loving relationship.

Tiffany Windsor: 8:17

It's so interesting as I'm listening to you, because in the past, when God was not in my life, I took a lot of action. I've never had a problem taking action. I've mentioned before I've moved 30 plus times. I've moved in and out of jobs. So for me, my challenge is, when God asked me to wait, be still and wait. So it's so interesting to me to see the different action that you can hear from God, because for me it's wait, wait on me.

Tiffany Windsor: 8:48

I've been wanting to move and so in the past I would have moved, and now I'm waiting on the Lord to tell me where he wants me to be, that I can continue to speak like this. That is in the right place to build the community that, mary, you and I are working on and praying and listening about. I have this sense at some place else other than where I'm living right now. I would have liked to have moved two years ago, but the Lord is saying wait, wait, I will show you the time and the place, and I've come to peace with that. I have so much more energy, rather than me using all of my thoughts and all of my energy and making the planning, and I don't have fear in doing that. It's just tiring.

Mary Koning: 9:33

The striving, the struggling, the spinning, the ruminating.

Tiffany Windsor: 9:38

It's no wonder.

Mary Koning: 9:38

I'm exhausted, but the waiting, I feel like that's a whole nother talk.

Tiffany Windsor: 9:44

We really want to get this message across about the hope, the hope that's behind the fear, and I'll just pray us out.

Mary Koning: 9:51

In Romans 16, 20, it says the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet, and so I ask you to be wise women, warrior women, who know where your power comes from. And, lord, this only comes from you. But your fist in your hand as many times as you need to, and be blessed, because this is what God wants for you. And we ask all this in Jesus' name, amen.

Announcer: 10:19

Amen. Thank you for joining us for today's podcast. For more information, go to inhishandscommunitycom. Sign up for our newsletter and social media. We love your feedback. Please leave reviews, comments and subscribe to this podcast to help us get the word out about In His Hands. Thank you and dear friends, have a blessed day.