Joy In Every Step

Welcome to a place of peace, hope, and divine encouragement. This is Joy In Every Step with your host, beloved preacher, retired teacher, and faithful faithful servant of the Lord, Sarita Bernadette. Each week, Sarita shares heartfelt messages rooted in the Word of God, filled with wisdom, joy, and the gentle reminder that God cares deeply for you. Whether you're walking through the valleys or dancing on the mountaintops, Sarita's voice will guide you back to his promises step by step. So open your heart, settle your spirit, and take the next step in faith with Joy In Every Step.

Hi, I'm Sarita Bernadette, and welcome back to another episode of Joy In Every Step. I'm glad you're here. So we're switching things up just a little bit this week. I'm here with a recap of the past four episodes. I hope you heard them.

God was just speaking so clearly. They were good to me. They were good to me. The topics were fear and courage. So, beloved, we are living through a time fraught with division and distrust.

It's all around us. You're hearing it every day. If you're paying any attention at all to the news, you know that we are being bombarded with information that can be overwhelming. But God is also speaking. He is speaking and I have been led to share those messages with you over the past four weeks.

Second Timothy one:seven For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. It's a scripture that many of us know by heart, right? God is reminding us to study that scripture, study that scripture and hang on to it like never before. There is no reason to live in fear. Remember Job, he worried about something that wasn't his responsibility.

He worried so much that it actually came to pass. He lost all that he had. And beloved, we need to remember that yielding to fear opens the door for the enemy to operate in our lives. He has a sole mission. It involves stealing, killing, and destroying the plan of God for our lives.

Confronting fear is key. Second Corinthians ten and five reminds us to demolish, yep, demolish any arguments and unfounded claims that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God. We are to challenge actively, actively challenge those thoughts that don't align with the Word of God. Search the Word for scriptures that build you up, beloved, Then memorize them, speak them out loud and pray them. That is make them into prayers.

Convert them, if you will, into prayers. Turn those scriptures into prayers and pray them regularly. Remember, your worship is also a weapon. Your worship is a weapon against fear. You cannot worship and worry at the same time.

Worship shifts our focus. It shifts our focus to God's presence. He is an ever present help in times of trouble. Remember that? He is ever present.

And when we surrender all to Him and trust Him completely, He will work things out for us. Psalm 20 three:four, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Even in dark times, we will fear no evil. We will walk in confidence knowing that God's got us.

Joshua one:nine This is my command. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Beloved, we can be courageous because God has promised us His presence and His protection. Courage is bold confidence deeply rooted in faith.

Joshua was able to succeed Moses and lead the nation of Israel into the Promised Land because he trusted God and he believed they could take the land. I encourage you to do as Moses was instructed to do for Joshua in Exodus 17 fourteen-fifteen. You can go back and read that on your own time. The Lord told Moses to write the victory up as a reminder and a reassurance that God would take care of the enemy for once and for all. My Lord, make a note of the victories God gives you beloved.

This seemingly small practice gives us the courage we need to face the challenges that come up in our lives. Note again in the fourth chapter of Joshua, after the crossing of the Jordan River, the people were instructed to make a memorial of that miracle and to tell their children about it. What if we focused more on our victories? I'm going to ask that question one more time. What if we focused more on our victories?

I am confident we'd see more of them. Remember here, reminder here rather, obedience plays an essential part in fulfilling our purpose with confidence and courage. The accounting of those three Hebrew teenagers in the book of Daniel serves as another example of the way courage is buoyed by faith and obedience. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stood in the face of danger and testified about the power of a sovereign God. Note, they had prepared themselves for that moment by refusing to submit to the demands of the culture around them.

They refused the food and they refused the God little g. They understood that they had been set apart for the Almighty God, the Sovereign One. God promises us His abiding presence and protection. Isaiah 40 three:two When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers difficulty, you will not drown.

When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up. The flames will not consume you. God is faithful, beloved. During life's most overwhelming trials we can be sure that we will not be consumed or destroyed. God walks through our challenges with us.

He's right there in the midst offering his comfort and his strength. Thank you for watching this special episode of Joy In Every Step. We are so grateful for every single download, every follow, every message. God bless you. We love you.

Tune in next week for another good episode. Going to be sharing on mercy, mercy, God's mercy, divine mercy. Feel free to share this episode with someone you know would appreciate it. You can find Joy In Every Step wherever you listen to your podcasts. Check out our website at joyineverystep.org.

See you next time.