Do You Struggle with Fear, Worry, or Anxiety?

Do you struggle with fear, worry, or anxiety? Are you always waiting for something horrible to happen? Does your mind jump to the worst-case scenario? Do you wish that instead of holding onto these fears, worries, and anxiety you could embrace the freedom found in God and His promises?

If so, listen in. The message you are about to hear was recorded at Calvary Chapel Mansfield Women’s Retreat in Port Clinton, Ohio. The theme of the retreat was Clothed in Strength and Dignity from Proverbs 31:25.

Your host, Cherie Fresonke, has been discipling brokenhearted people since 1993 in both the United States and Eastern Europe. She is an award-winning author of 7 books, two being Clothed in Righteousness and Clothed in Righteousness In-Depth Devotional Study Guide, which inspired this podcast series. 

Transcript

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Do you struggle with fear, worry, or anxiety? Are you always waiting for something horrible to happen? Does your mind jump to the worst case scenario? Do you wish that instead of holding on to these fears, worries, and anxiety, you could embrace the freedom found in God and his promises? The message you are about to hear was recorded at Calvary Chapel, Mansfield's women's retreat in Port Clinton, Ohio. The theme of the retreat was Clothed in Strength and Dignity, found from Proverbs 31, 25. Welcome to Embrace Truth, a podcast for the woman who desires to become all that God created her to be. I'm your host, Sharif Rzonki, international speaker and teacher, and an award-winning author of seven books, one being clothed in righteousness, which inspired this podcast. And I was honored to be the speaker for session one at the retreat. Let's listen in, shall we? So, as you're turning in Proverbs 31, I have a couple questions for you to consider. You don't have to say them out loud, please don't answer them. Do you struggle with fear, worry, or anxiety? Are you always waiting for something horrible to happen? Does your mind jump to the worst case scenario in situations? Or do you have concerns, real concerns, that others tell you to let go of, that it's not that big of a deal? Have you ever done that? And what about the silly little worries that you know you shouldn't even embrace? Do you wish that instead of holding on to these fears, worries, and anxieties, you could embrace the freedom found in God and his promises? In Proverbs 31, they are the words of King Lamel. And they are wise words which his mother had spoken to him. She had taught him them. And we learn this from verse 1. But today we're going to start in verse 10. And so verse 10 reads, Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. But let's stop there for a moment. In verse 10, the word for wife is Ish Shaw, which could actually be translated as woman, wife, or female, so it applies to all of us, okay? And in this chapter, King Lamel is sharing with others what his mother had encouraged him to look for when he was looking for a good wife. And it contains such wise words that he obviously wanted to pass on to other people. He didn't want to just hold them for himself. He wanted to pass it on to other people. And what we're about to read is not something the Proverbs 31 woman began the moment she was married. Have you ever thought about that? No, it was part of who she was before she even was married because his mom taught him to look for that, right? So he was watching for a woman that had these attributes in her life. And so that's what he learned from his mother. And it is encouraging for you and I to live up to our full potential, no matter what our marital status is. Because others are watching us. Have you ever thought about that? That people are watching you. When we lived in Eastern Europe, my girls had blonde hair, they stood out because everybody there was Burnettes. And the first time they went to Bulgaria, they were 11 and 12. And they're like, Mom, everybody's staring at us. They're always staring at us. And I said, Great, don't worry about it and have fun and do whatever you want to do. However, make sure you're a light unto the Lord. And so people are watching us, even if we might not realize it. So we need to live up to our full potential now. And my whole ministry is I hope that I can help women become all that God created them to be. Have you ever thought about that before? Really thought about it? Have you ever desired to become the woman that God created you to be? Each one of you tonight are here by a divine appointment. It's not by chance that you're here. The Lord wants you to hear different messages. He wants you to be worshiping this weekend. He wants you to have fellowship with one another, and he wants to speak to you. But more importantly, is he wants you to become all that he created you to be. That's his desire for you. There is a reason why he gave you life. You are not a mistake. And so we are we are to be that light for the Lord, and people are watching us. And so if you're single, there might be a young man watching you right now, right? And so live up to that potential and don't worry. Don't be going around looking, well, who is he? Is he this guy? Is he that guy? Just live up to your full potential. Just follow the Lord. Do what he's calling you to do, and you will be amazed that in God's timing, not your timing, God's timing, he will bring that godly man to you. Sometimes counterfeits come before the real thing. So be careful, okay? Watch out. And if you're married, we're called to be a light to those around us, and especially to our families, aren't we? And so let's continue. We'll start again at verse 10. Who can find a virtuous wife, for her worth is far above rubies? The heart of her husband safely trust her, so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life. Not some days, all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax and willingly works with her hands. She is like a merchant ship, and she brings food from afar. She also rises when it's yet night. I'm like, ouch! I like to hit my snooze button, right? She she this one speaks to me. She also rises when it's yet night and provides food for her household and a portion for her maidservants. She considers a field and buys it. From her prophet, she plants a vineyard. She girds herself with strength and strengthens her arms. She perceives that her merchandise is good and her lamp does not go out at night. She stretches out her hand to the distaff and her hand holds the spindle. This is a mighty woman, isn't it? She extends her hand to the poor. She reaches out her hand to the needy. She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household is clothed with scarlet. She makes tapestry for herself. Her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her husband is known at the gates when he sets among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them and supplies sashes for the merchants. Strength and honor are her clothing. She shall rejoice in time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness. Is the law of kindness on our tongues? Oh my goodness. So much we can learn. She watches over the way of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children raise up and call her blessed. Her husband also, he praises her. Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all. Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing. We see that if you're older like me. But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her the fruits of her hand and let her own works praise her in the gates. Amen. And so verse 25 is our theme verse for the weekend. And here in New King James Version, it says, strength and honor are her clothing. But in other versions of the Bible, it's worded, she is clothed with strength and dignity. And that is our theme. She is clothed with strength of dignity. One of my favorite verses in this chapter is verse 21, and it says, She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household is clothed in scarlet. And in the NIV, it says, when it snows, she has no fear for her household, for all of them are clothed in scarlet. In fact, clothed in scarlet is the title of this session for tonight. And so there's three things that we learn from this verse. First, she's not afraid of the snow. Second, she's not afraid for her household. And third, she and her household are clothed in scarlet. So what does that have to do with you and me? So first we're going to talk about she's not afraid of snow. Now, we like to remember that the Proverbs 31 woman is in Israel. And really, how much snow does Israel get, right? It's in the middle of the desert. And I was like, does it even snow there? You know? And so when I researched it, I was a bit surprised to discover that occasionally, even though they're in the desert, they get some significant snowstorms. In 1934, there's pictures on the internet of this little girl who built a snowman that looked about, looked more like a snow bunny. It had these ears and it was taller than her. In 1950, in January, they got hail and light snow, but a week later, in February, heavy snow fell across the country, and Jerusalem got 39 inches of snow. So that really was surprising. You know, it's like, wow, I would never have thought that. And in 2013, Jerusalem again got three feet of snow. So that was that was pretty interesting. So obviously, snow falls in Jerusalem in Jerusalem and in Israel, and snow can wreak havoc, can't it? It can turn our life upside down. But what does the snow in verse 21 represent for you and me? It represents storms, doesn't it? And trials and even sudden terror. It can represent tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, avalanches, earthquakes. Basically, it represents anything that can rock our world. And we don't like our world rock, do we? And it doesn't even have to be weather related. So the question is what has rocked your world? And usually it's something that's fearful. And so I want to talk about three main types of fear tonight. One, sudden terror, two, legitimate concerns, and three, silly, unreasonable fears and worries. And so first let's talk about the sudden terror. Sudden terror is anything that can rock your world, right? It can be an unexpected death. It could be an accident, especially if it's serious. It could be a surprised health crisis, you know, a horrible diagnose, you know. It can be a financial catastrophe. It can be weather-related. It can be war-related, like in the Middle East right now or in Ukraine. Imagine what those people are going through. All of a sudden the sirens go off and they have to get to the bomb shelter. You know, I heard today, wasn't it today, that a missile actually got through to part of Jerusalem? The sudden terror, you know, we need to keep praying for those people. How scary is that? And so usually it's something scary. So when what happens when that that all of a sudden that sudden terror just comes out of nowhere and just affects us and affects our family? Proverbs 3, 25 and 26 says, do not be afraid of sudden terror. So see, the Lord knew these kinds of things were going to happen in our life. So he has in the his word to tell us, do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble when the from the wicked when it comes. For the Lord will be your confidence, and he will keep your foot from being caught. Isn't that precious? The Lord knows these things are gonna happen. Sudden terror is never a surprise to him. We need to remember that in Jeremiah 29, 11, it says, He knows the plans he has for us. There are plans to prosper us and not to harm us. There are plans to give us a hope and a future. So even though sudden terror might come and we might think this is horrible, and what's gonna happen, and this can't possibly be something that good can come from, it's not a surprise to God. He knows the plans he has for us. When I was in Kosovo during the Kosovo War, I was five miles from the border. The first bomb that fell, I felt not only hurt it, but I felt the concussion of it. And so, you know, that sudden terror, you're not, I was with all these little children in this village, and then I'm like, wa! And they're like, it's okay, NATO, NATO. And I'm like, no, this is not good. No, but you know, it was just amazing. Sudden terror. What do we think of when sudden terror happens? But one of the things the Lord put on my heart in that trip is I know exactly where you are, and I know exactly where the bomb is landing. And I know the plans I have for you. They are plans to prosper you and not to harm you, they are plans to give you a hope and a future. So hold tight to God. If you're worried about sudden terror, memorize this verse in Proverbs 3, 25 and 26. Do not be afraid of sudden terror. But when there's an emergency, right, we're taught here in America to dial 911, right? For an emergency. We grab our phones, dial 911. Well, when you're going through an emergency, call out to God and turn to Psalms 911, 911. Go to Psalms 91, verse 1, and read the whole chapter. I'll let you check out that chapter on your own. In fact, if you do your morning devotions that was in your notebook today, it asks you to look at that chapter and read that chapter and write down which verse in that chapter is your favorite. Now, the second point is legitimate concerns. And we have legitimate concerns in life, don't we? Many times legitimate concerns are the things that are or can be slowly getting worse over time. It could be a health struggle, not necessarily a sudden surprise like in sudden terror, but it could be things are just going down the hill slowly. It could be relationship difficulties, it could be employment or work challenges, it could be deadlines. How many of you like deadlines, right? That's a legitimate concern. I'm not gonna make my deadline. And financial struggles, those are real, and there's things that we have to work through. And the list goes on and on and on. And legitimate concerns are anything that can cause us to worry about the future, right? When we're thinking of a legitimate concern, we're usually concerned about well, what's gonna happen in a week, what's gonna happen in a month? Well, Matthew 6, 34 says, Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow. For tomorrow will worry about its own things. Significant for the day, it is its own trouble. And this verse is so important, it's worthy to be memorized so that you can apply it when need be. In fact, I like how what I just read was the New Came King James Version, but I like the NIV a little bit better. It says, therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own, doesn't it? Each day has enough trouble. We don't need to worry about trouble tomorrow. Today has enough trouble. So, in other words, only worry about what you can take care of today. If you can't take care of it today, it's not for worry today. That's for tomorrow or next week or next month. And so only do what you can take care of today. And let that worry for today inspire you to go handle that worry. If there's something that you can do to move past that worry, go do it. And um, and so let it encourage you. But if any of its aspects can only be handled tomorrow or the next day, there's nothing you can do about it, and it's an absolute waste of time, and it can impact your peace, can't it? It impacts your peace, it impacts your mental and your spiritual health, doesn't it? And therefore, we just need to let it go, and that's a biblical concept which can be really impactful. I'll give you an example of this to help encourage you how to change your thinking. We uh lived in Bulgaria, I've worked in Bulgaria for 30 plus years, and in that 30 years, I also lived in country for 10 of the 30 years, and so there were times that when we weren't living in country, we went to Bulgaria usually two times a year, sometimes one time a year. There were times in our missions life that we were like Paul. You know, when you read about the Apostle Paul, there was times that he had plenty and times he had nothing, right? And he learned to be content in both situations. So there were many times that we had nothing, we had very little, right? And so one time we're getting ready to go to Bulgaria, and my husband's like, I can't go, because it was the middle of a recession, and we just really didn't have the money to go, and he hadn't really been working, and he's like, I need to stay home in case they call so I can work. And the trip was supposed to be a month, so if he went, you know, he'd miss a whole month's worth of income. And so I went up to a retreat in the mountains, and you know, I took quiet time and I'm spending with the Lord, and the Lord put on my heart, Keith is supposed to go. And I'm like, okay, and I was supposed to go. So I came home and I'm like, you're supposed to go to Bulgaria with me. And he's like, No, I can't. And I'm like, no, the Lord put on my heart, you're supposed to go. Now, all the trips past, you know, when we were broke, somehow the Lord always in some way would just provide for us before we got onto the plane. And he would provide enough for the trip, he would provide enough for to cover our bills while we were gone and right when we got home. And sometimes it would be through gifts, and sometimes it would be like weird insurance check refunds that you never even expected, just weird random things, right? And in fact, one time there was a huge fire by our house, and the insurance company gave us smoke damage. I'm like, I already cleaned the whole house. Here, here's a check for like $5,000. Okay, thank you. And so, you know, God just provides. So, in all the years of walking with him, he always provided before the trip. So now it's time to get on the plane. And no provision had come in yet. We had had enough to pay for all our plane tickets, we had enough to pay that those bills, get on the plane, make it for the month in Bulgaria, but when we would get home, we had no money. We didn't have money for the house payment, we didn't have money for anything. Food, bills, nothing. So I'm like, okay, I can't worry about it today, right? Today has enough worries of its own. I don't have to worry about that till I get back from Bulgaria, right? So we went to Bulgaria, we just served the Lord, God just did this amazing work. Keith was supposed to be there, he had these divine appointments. Appointments. And so, anyhow, we're in Sofia, the capital city, and I'm getting ready to pack because we're gonna be flying. And all of a sudden, I had this, you know, just in my heart, have you just had that fear all of a sudden, like, oh my goodness, what am I gonna do? I don't have money for our house payment because I do the bills. I we don't have money for the house payment. I don't have this, we don't have this. What are we gonna do? Oh my goodness, what are we gonna do? And right then the Lord reminded me of this verse that, you know, don't worry about tomorrow, because today has enough worries of its own. And I'm like, well, okay, well, I'm not gonna worry about it today. I'm not gonna worry about it tomorrow while we're flying home, and I'm not gonna worry for three days because I'll have jet lag. And so I just am not gonna worry because with jet lag, it's gonna be so much worse, right? So I will wait three days after we get home, and then I will worry. That's when my house payments due. I'll worry then what I'm gonna do. Till then I don't have to worry. So we get on the plane, we leave Sofia, we fly into uh Germany, I can't remember if it was Frankfurt or Munich, Munich, and we're there, and we hear this announcement. Hey, if the plane is full, would anybody like to give up their seat and we'll give you a voucher? And it was something like 800 euro or something. And I'm like, Keith, let's give up our ticket. You don't have work anyhow, you know, there's no reason to go back today. Let's give up our ticket. Let's see if they'll buy both of our tickets, you know. And what I was thinking is that they would give us a voucher to use for the next flight. And I'm like, we need to come back to Bulgaria in the fall. We don't have any money to come, so it'll be our next plane ticket, right? And he's like, okay, so we go up and we're like, can we get turn in our tickets? And he goes, Yes, you can. And we're like, great. And he goes, Hey, the next plane is full. Do you want to give up your tickets on that plane too, the one we're switching you to? And we're like, can we? And he goes, sure, why not? He goes, I'm not working that gate, but I'll tell my colleague that you guys get it first. And we're like, I mean, we don't even know this guy, and he's just gonna give it. He goes, but I have to warn you, if we do that, you're gonna have to spend the night in Germany. But don't worry, we'll give you the hotel room and we'll even give you 25 euro each, which was a lot of money back then, to for a meal, and you guys can go. And we're like, okay, that's fine with us, right? And so, anyhow, he gives us the voucher, he's filling it out, and he goes, Oh, by the way, as you're going to the gate for your next flight, that they're gonna give you vouchers for again, and they'll tell you how to get the shuttle to the hotel, uh, stop at the Lufthansa desk. And when you're at the Lufthansa desk, um, they will if they will um put the the 800 euro each on your Mastercard. And I'm like, really? I don't have to only use it for a plane ticket? He goes, No, they're put it on your MasterCard. And I'm like, so are you telling me if I have a debit card to my bank account that has a MasterCard logo on it, it will go into my personal bank account? And he's like, sure, why not? And I'm like, praise the Lord. So we're going to the Luftanza desk and we get up there. And she goes, Okay, do you have a master's card? I'm like, yes, for my bank account. So are you saying it will go into my bank account? Yeah, sure. Why not? And I'm like, can you tell me when it will be in my bank account? Yes, three days. Three days is God good. Memorize this verse and apply it in those situations where you're going, oh my goodness, this is a legitimate concern, but we're not to worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow has enough worries of its own. God already knew we needed to pay all our bills. He had it figured out, right? So we go to the next gate, and the the guy goes, Hey, he goes, My colleague told me about you guys. He goes, So you want to sell your seats? Yes, okay. Well, here's the vouchers. So he gives us two more vouchers, like for 800 euro each, and we're like, cool. And so then they told us to go to the hotel, and man, did we have the nicest dinner on Lufthansa? It was sweet. So then the next morning we're going back. In fact, TSA started looking at Keith and I like, what are you guys doing? You have come through this line so many times because when we switched gates, we had to leave one terminal and go to another. It was funny. They knew us. And so then we're going back to the airport, and I'm like, Keith, what if the plane's full again? You know, do you just want to stay? And we thought of Pastor Larry, our missions pastor in California, he'd say, just ride the wave as long as the wave and just going, right? So we're like, okay, let's sell our seats. So as soon as the crew got to the desk, we went up. Is the plane full? And they're like, No, it's not full. That's okay. It was fun why it lasted, and off we flew home, right? Three days later. Do you know what was in our bank account? It was enough to pay our house payment. It was enough to pay every bill we had for that month, and it was enough to pay all of our food. And Keith called his work and said, Had you had any work for me this month? They said, Absolutely nothing. You wouldn't have been working at all. See, God knows. We just have to trust him and do what he's putting on our heart. And then he got a job like the next day, and we had enough money until he finally was back on getting a paycheck. Is God good? He's so good, and he wants to do those types of things in your life. Yet if we fret and we're worrying, we miss out on some of the coolest things that he wants to teach us, right? He wants to become so real in your life. Do you know that he is your everything? He is your husband and he is your maker, he is your protector, he is your caregiver, he will provide everything. And usually he does it in ways that we never expect. When we're worrying, we're usually going through all these different plans and trying to work it out ourselves, right? Like maybe it could go this way, maybe it could go this way, maybe it could go this way. Just rest. Just rest and just trust in the Lord and know He'll take care of you. That doesn't mean you go and say, Well, I can just go do whatever, I don't even have to work because God will take care of me. No. God's word says, if a man doesn't work, he doesn't eat. You know, one time I had a woman in Bulgaria, she came up to me and she goes, Could you really pray for my son? He's 30 years old, he doesn't work, he never works. And you know, in Bulgaria, they're poor, a lot of them. And this woman, she did not have hardly anything. She couldn't afford just for her, let alone taking care of a 30-year-old son. And and she's like, you know, he just really needs to get a job. And she's telling me all the different jobs she's tried to get him because we try to control these situations as moms, right? Doesn't work, and the jobs would he'd get fired or whatever. So she's going on and she looks at me and she goes, What should I do? And I said, Stop feeding him. And her face was like, What? And I said, Do not feed your son. And she says, How could you say that? If I don't feed him, he'll starve. Exactly. And what happens if he's starving? Well, he'll have to go, he'll go dig in the trash. I'm like, maybe, but he's only gonna do that so long before he goes and gets a job. That's why God's word says that. Sometimes we end up enabling bad behavior when we think we're helping and we're not helping. So trust God. Three is our silly little worries. We all have them. Now, my silly little worry this last week I'm gonna share with you. Um, my husband has heart issues, and his heart is not getting better. It's usually getting a little bit worse, and so that's hard. Now, that is a legitimate concern, isn't it? So it falls into two categories. It's it's a legitimate well, actually three, because at one point when he needed open heart surgery, I guess that was a sudden terror, right? So we've been there with the sudden terror, the legitimate concern. It is a legitimate concern. But we also have these super silly little worries that we let our mind go down, all these little rabbit trails. And so my little what-ifs, you know, what if this happens, what if that happens? We all say what-ifs, right? Well, how many of you like to drive your car through the car wash? You know, some of you like it, okay. I don't like it, it freaks me out, okay? I if oh, in fact, my husband drives me through, she's going, yeah, it freaks me out. Okay, my car is going beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, right? And I'm so worried it's gonna hop off the thing, you know. Then you just fix the car. What's a big deal? Don't worry about it today, right? You fix it tomorrow. So, anyhow, this is just my weird, silly little worry, yeah. So we're going through the car wash, and I'm sitting there thinking, you know, what's gonna happen if something happens to Keith? I won't be able to wash my car. It's gonna be filthy, you know. And then I'm like, well, you know, my grandkids when they get a little bit older, they could drive it through the car wash, you know. Is these kinds of things just so silly? In California, you can take it to the car wash and they would drive it through for you, but they don't do that here in Ohio. And so, anyhow, it's just so funny. But God doesn't want us to worry about these silly little things and to sit there and think, what if this something happens to Keith? Now, I cannot fix the legitimate concern, right? It's out of my hands, it's in God's hands, but I can control the silly worries, and so how can we control silly worries in a tangible way? By praying, right? By getting off that silly hamster wheel that we just don't we do that in our minds, just let that wheel go, and we're just that hamster, just you know, going on, you know, and we just go crazy. Just stop, jump off the hamster wheel, start praying, seek God's word. More importantly, walk in God's word, be a doer of God's word. Remember that your feelings are fickled, they change moment by moment, but God's word never changed. It's the same yesterday, today, and forever. Matthew 6, 27 says, Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Can you add a single hour to your life? No, we can't. And I can't even add a single hour to my husband's life, can I? I can't do it, it's out of my hands. But I can trust God. And one of my favorite verses in Psalms, in fact, Psalms 139 is my favorite chapter in the whole Bible. But verse 16 says, Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Do you know what that means? That means that God knew the exact day you would be born. In fact, in Jeremiah 1, it says that about Jeremiah. So he knew the exact day that each one of us would be born. But he also already knows the exact day he's gonna take each one of us home. And it's not going to be a surprise to him. It's going to be perfect, it's going to be in his plan so we can trust in him. Many years ago, I was trying to figure out how many, many years ago, maybe about 38 years ago, 38 years ago, I was diagnosed with lupus. When I was diagnosed with lupus, I had two little babies. My girls were 13 months apart. And the first thing I read said, most people who are diagnosed with lupus will be dead within five years. And I started going, Lord, my kids are just babies. Now it doesn't say that anymore. And I later read, do not read anything about lupus that's older than five years because medical things are changing so fast. So if somebody has lupus in here or a friend with lupus, don't freak out. But this is what I happened to read at the time that, you know, I could be dad within five years. And I thought, but Lord, I have two little girls, and they're just babies, and my and girls need their mom. And girls, especially teenagers, they need their mom. And so I started praying and going, Lord, you know, and he's like, What are you doing? Why are you worrying about what day you could die? He says, He gave me this verse, you're that all the days ordained for me were written in his book before one of them came to be. And he put on my heart, I know the exact day you are going to die, and it will be okay. It's in his plan. It's not sudden terror to him. It might be sudden terror to us, but it's not sudden terror to him. And he even knows the day that my husband will die if he dies before me. He knows that. So Keith and I talk about these things. I'm like, what do you want to do? Do you have a bucket list? Let's go. He goes, I want a new Corvette. And I'm like, no. You are not getting a new Corvette. But anyhow, you know, it's funny. So let's see what else is. What's number two on your bucket list? Let's just go live our life for the Lord. And so trust God. Trust God in sudden terror. Trust him in your legitimate concerns. They're real. He knows they're real, but it's okay. He has them. And he usually uses those things to grow us. James 1:5, this isn't in my notes, says, consider it pure joy when you encounter trials of various kinds. And it goes on to say, because the testing of your faith, all these things, he will grow in you, perseverance and all of these things. And then it goes on and says, so that you will be mature and complete, not lacking anything. And so I always, when a new trial start, I just go, Well, Lord, obviously I'm not mature and complete yet because I'm going through this trial. And one of my prayers is always, Lord, teach me whatever you want to teach me in this trial, because I don't want to go through this trial again. Have you ever gone in this through the same kinds of trials in your life? Why? What is the Lord trying to teach you? Sometimes it's not because we're doing something, but sometimes it is, right? So ask them, what are you trying to teach me? Like I used to read the Israelites wandering in the desert for 40 years. I'm like, why don't they get it? And then it was like, why don't you get it, Cherie? Oh yeah, why don't I get it? You know? And so think about that. And so ask the Lord, Lord, just teach me. What do you want to teach me? Help me become the woman you want me to be. The verse that says, can any one of you add by worrying add a single hour to your life? You can't. It's impossible, it's out of your hand. And so basically, Jesus is saying, don't worry. So instead, what can we do? And if you're like me and you catch yourself worrying over these silly little issues, what can you do to be productive? Focus on God and His Word. Just stop. Same thing with the other legitimate concerns, just focus on God and His Word. When I'm scared or worried, I like to say, come quickly, Lord. Have you ever said that? Perhaps he'll rapture us all before either one of us was gonna die, anyhow, right? So it's like, come quickly, Lord, Maranatha. And um, and also there's other things you can do. Turn on worship music, just do so much to change your your mindset. Listen to the word. There's so many Bible apps now. You can listen to the word being read if you don't have time to read it. Just somehow get into the word. Now, another issue we need to look concerning our fears is um sometimes our fears can come from what we're holding deep inside. Sometimes there were horrible tragedies that we've gone through, huge, scary things, enormous hurts. And when we have these types of issues in our life, if they have not been given to God in a tangible way and totally healed by Him, then a lot of times these can affect our household. It can affect our marriages, it can affect our children, because a lot of times from this infection in our heart, we start to control our life. And we become a lot of women like to control and manipulate. I know for me, I was super overprotective when my kids were really little until the Lord hailed my heart, because I never wanted them to be hurt like I had been hurt. I never wanted somebody to do horrible things to them. And so if you know that there's something in your heart, some type of infection, um, there's a verse that's repeated twice in Proverbs, and it says, the words of a gossip are like choice morsels, and they go down to a man's inmost part. And that verse talks about if somebody gossips about us, what do we do? We usually sort of chew on it and chew on it and think about it over and over again, don't we? And then when we can't handle it anymore and we don't know what to do with that hurt, we stuff it deep down inside and we think, oh, I've forgiven them because as Christians we know we're supposed to forgive them, and it's really easy to say, oh, I've forgiven them, but then something reminds us of that past hurt, and we regurgitate it again and we chew on it some more, don't we? And so that happens with gossip, but it also happens with any kind of big hurt or infection we have in our heart. I don't have time tonight to go into that more, but if I'm sort of uh you're sort of interested in what I'm saying during the free time tomorrow, I will be doing a workshop in depth on this topic and teach you tangible ways how to give that hurt and infection to the Lord so you'll be set free. It will be in my cottage. I don't know the time yet tomorrow. I'll announce it tomorrow. Um, but if you know you struggle with things, if you know there's an infection there, if there's bitterness there, if there's unforgiveness, come to that. Now, looking at our verse again, it says, when it snows, she has no fear for her household, for all of them are clothed in scarlet. Her fear, the infection in her heart, is not affecting her household. It's not touching them. But I know before what I'll teach you tomorrow, before I got healed and did what God taught me, it was affecting my household. Well, sometimes we try to portray to the whole world that we have it all together, don't we? We don't want people to see the yuck that we have in the depths of our heart. But God knows the yuck is there. He knows we're not perfect. And we might always try to put on the perfect clothes, we might be try to put on a perfect dress, we might try to put on a perfect white dress that's all sequency on the outside, but inside we're really torn and stained and ruined, just like this dress here tonight represents. You know, we can think that it's all beautiful, but God sees the heart, doesn't He? And He can see what's taking place inside. In and of ourself, we are a mess. And this dress symbolizes us without Christ. Now I know most of you, I hope all of you in this room have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and you want to know more about it, just talk to one of us this weekend. Talk to me or Janice or some of the other leaders that you see around, and we'd love to talk to you. But which part of It is the good part. So remember our three main points, not the fear, but the other three main points. She's not afraid of snow, which were the trials. She's not afraid for her household, which we're going to talk about in a moment. I'm going to flip these. And she and her household are clothed in scarlet. So what did the writer of Proverbs mean? For she and her household are all clothed with scarlet. Now, for those of you who know the word well, you might immediately jump to Christ's righteousness. Perhaps she and her household are clothed in scarlet because they are clothed with Christ's righteousness. But this verse was written before Jesus came and hung on the cross. It's an Old Testament teaching. So what does it mean? Some Bible commentaries said that being clothed in scarlet represents expensive clothing and wealth. But I don't think that's what this verse represents. Because God doesn't look on the outside, does he? He doesn't look at the wealth. Whether the heart is pure and clean or whether the heart is infected. Always with God things come down to a heart issue. So he doesn't look on the outside. And if you think about it, in a real storm, in real sudden terror, a huge flood or an earthquake or whatever, the rich and the poor suffer the same, don't they? They suffer the same. And it's almost as if the ground at the foot of the storm is level, isn't it? Well, does that remind you of another phrase? That the ground at the foot of the cross is level. But since this verse, she has no fear for her household, for all of them are clothed in scarlet, is an Old Testament verse. What exactly does it mean? In 2 Samuel 124, we learn that Saul clothed the daughters of Israel in scarlet. So you could see, okay, maybe there is a reference there to clothing. And scarlet did represent scarlet cloth, purple cloth. All of that was super expensive to make. So it does have that element of wealth, but I still think it's deeper. Throughout the Old Testament, there's a scarlet thread woven throughout every page of the Old Testament. Some say the Old Testament is Christ concealed and the New Testament is Christ revealed. I remember years ago, a pastor challenged his listeners to see if they could find Christ on every page of the Old Testament. Have you ever thought about that? Have you ever been challenged to do that? When you read the Old Testament, see if you can find Christ on those pages. According to many theologians, Jesus is patterned, promised, or present on every page of the Old Testament. While he's not mentioned by name, he is found through prophetic predictions, stories, types, foreshadowing figures like Moses and Boaz and Isaac and David. And if you think about it, Rahab hung a scarlet cord from her window to be saved during the destruction of Jericho. That's redemption. And Isaiah 118 uses scarlet and crimson to represent sin, which God promised to wash white as snow. And in Leviticus 14, scarlet yarn was used throughout that chapter in purification rituals. So the scarlet thread is woven throughout the Old Testament, and the Proverbs 31 woman would have known this. In fact, we have to talk about the scarlet fabric. The scarlet dye, in Hebrew called tola or worm scarlet, was derived from a female insect that when crushed, sound familiar? Produced a deep color fast red dye. I learned from Blue Letter Bible that when the female of the scarlet worm species was ready to give birth to her young, she would attach her body to the trunk of a tree, fixing herself so firmly and permanently that she would never leave the tree again. The eggs deposited beneath her body were thus protected until the larvae were hatched and able to enter their own life cycle. As the mother died, the crimson fluid stained her body and the surrounding wood. From the dead bodies of such female scarlet worms, the commercial scarlet dyes of antiquity were extracted. And in the book of Exodus alone, various forms of the word tola, that's our scarlet worm, are used over 20 times. And scarlet was one of the colors of the curtains in the tabernacle. It was woven into the veil that separated the holy of holies, and it was also in the garments of the priest. And in each case, scarlet is a symbolic of blood of the sacrifice. And so it's just amazing. The sacrifice which was needed for the forgiveness of sin. But it even gets better. The word Tola is also found in Psalms 22, 6, which is a messianic psalm. Here the Messiah said, But I am a worm. The Messiah said, I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by people. And the chapter goes on to describe his pierced hands, the mockery of his onlookers, and the gambling over his clothing. Like the crimson worm, the Messiah was deemed frail, lowly, and insignificant. He made himself to become nothing so that he could cover your and my sin, and so that we could have eternal life. Henry Morris wrote, What a picture this is of Christ dying on the tree, shedding his precious blood. He died for you and me so that we might live through him. Psalms 22, 6 describes such a worm and gives us a picture of Christ. And then in Isaiah 53, 5, he, speaking of Jesus, was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our inequities. The punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. So do you see a scarlet thread woven throughout the Old Testament? Do you see it? And an Old Testament believer, an Old Testament believer would have known it. They would have seen it. For when it snows, she has no fear for her household, for all of them are clothed in scarlet. So, yes, for those of you who know the word well and immediately jump that she's covered by Christ's righteousness, you're right. Without the washing of blood, there's no forgiveness of sin. And the moment we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, our wretchedness, our filth, our sin is washed clean, covered by the blood of Christ. In and of ourselves, we are clothed in filthy rags like this represents to us tonight. It's beautiful, but it's stained, it's torn, it's ruined, and but in Christ Jesus we are clothed in his righteousness. Zechariah 3, 1 through 4 says, Then he showed me Joshua, the high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. The Lord said to Satan, the Lord rebuke you, Satan, and the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you. Is not the man with a burning stick snatched from the fire? Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes, filthy rags. That's what we are when we come to God on our own. We have to come to God the Father by Christ's righteousness. Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. This is the Old Testament, and when you see the angel or the phrase the Lord of the angel in the Old Testament, it's a pre-incarnate of Jesus. That's Jesus on this page in the Old Testament. So it says, now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, Take off his filthy clothes. Then he said to Joshua, See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you. The angel of the Lord, Jesus Christ, in the Old Testament said, Take off your filthy clothes, and I will clothe you in fine garments. And so tonight, for those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are clothed in his crimson scarlet. His righteousness covers us. It covers all that filth. You see, when God the Father looks down upon us in and of ourselves, he sees that filth. And God the Father cannot look upon sin. And so if we haven't accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, God the Father, even though you might be crying out to him, cannot look upon you because he sees the yuck in your heart. But the moment we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are covered in Christ's righteousness. His blood washes us clean. And so that's what being clothed in scarlet represents. God covers it all. Jesus covers it all. And then God the Father can look upon us because he doesn't see our wretchedness, he only sees Christ's righteousness. So the moment that we accept him, we are clothed in scarlet and we are clothed in Christ's righteousness. It's just amazing. Which brings us to our set our second, which is now our third final point, because I did them out of order and this is really short. She is not afraid for her household. Why wouldn't she be afraid of her household? Because she knows her household is clothed in scarlet. She's not afraid for them. Now, do not fear for your household. Don't we fear as mothers, as sisters, as aunts, as grandmas, whatever we are, friends, don't we feel fear for our loved ones so often? But we don't need to. God's word calls us to raise up a child in the way they should go. And when they grow old, they will not depart from it. May they depart from it for a while? Yes, that's in Proverbs 22.6. God's word calls us to be a light. When we're clothed in scarlet, be that light. Matthew chapter 5. But don't only just say, I'm to be a light. Live the light. James 1.22 says, do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourself. Do what it says. Just live the word. Do it. If you have children in your home, this is so important because our children watch us. I've been a biblical lay counselor for way over 30 years. When I was in Calvary, I was the overseer of our women's biblical counseling ministry. I had all kinds of teens, rebellious teens coming in to see me that got dragged there by their parents, right? And they didn't want to be there. And when I would talk to them and find out what was really going on, a lot of times they were angry at their parents because they saw the hypocrisy in their parents' lives. They would see their parents one day on Sunday, but different during the week. So I want to encourage you, if you are a parent with young children in the house, live the word. Don't preach it at them. Live the word. Let them see. My girls one time said to me, Mom, you really love people, don't you? You know, because they just watched us ministering to people in Bulgaria all the time. Live the word. Does it mean we will be perfect? No way. We won't even be close to being perfect. But when you blow it, just admit it to them, because they know you blew it. Just say, I'm really, I blew it. Please forgive me. I'm gonna try better and just live the word. Avoid the hypocrisy. Don't let the children see that in your life. If you have a prodigal, pray for the prodigal. I'm sure you're already praying for the prodigal, but pray scripture over the prodigal. Have you ever thought about just opening up like Psalms 1 and praying Psalms 1 over your prodigal? Just pray that for them. But also be ready for when they return. Have you ever pictured that? What are you gonna do when they return? I know many women fear for their prodigal's life. And if they still have a relationship with their prodigal, sometimes they want to control it. I would have moms call me up. And I had one mom call me up one time and told me I needed to drive an hour and a half to go rescue her daughter off of the streets near Camp Pendleton. And I said, no, I'm not gonna do that. There's no way I will pray for her, and you know, but I can't go force her to come want to be in counseling with me. And the more that you try to do that, you're going to push her further and further and further away from you. Let go, let God pray. And she's like, but something bad will happen to her. Maybe, maybe that's what it's gonna take. It's hard, it's horrible. I'm not saying it to be cruel, but sometimes that's where God reaches them, right? So just pray for protection. A great prayer is, Lord, put solid Christians around them. Because sometimes we can't share God's word with them anymore, but God can send somebody else that can reach them. Pray for these things. Don't be afraid of the snow, for all of our household is clothed in scarlet. I'm not saying your child will be saved because you're saved. Scripture doesn't teach that. What I'm saying is if you're clothed in scarlet and you're praying God's word for them and you're asking God to save them, know that you can leave them in God's hands and God's will. Because God knows the plans he has for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, but God also knows the plans that he has for your child and their plans to prosper them and not to harm them. So trust God and give it to him and let God's will be accomplished. Amen. Let's pray. Thank you for listening to Embrace Truth today. I'm your host, Sharif Rzonke. I hope you enjoyed session one from our latest women's retreat. If so, could you take a moment and rate it on the podcast app, subscribe to it, and share it with not just one friend, but two. Oh, and stay tuned for session two. My dear friend Janice Schatzinger will be sharing. So don't miss out. God bless.