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God Says: Don’t Be Afraid

Posted on July 26, 2015

The other day I shared 13 Things God Told Joshua. I wanted to expand on one of the thoughts as I know it is something we all struggle with at times. Fear. In verse 9 of chapter 1, God tells Joshua, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

It was easy for God to say this, but think about Joshua for a second. Are you kidding me? Don’t be afraid? What are you talking about God? I am terrified! At least that would be my response. Not only was Joshua now the leader of the God’s people, but he was now responsible for taking this group of people into a land they don’t know much about. Yes, Joshua was one who went into the land with the other spies and brought back a positive report, but let’s be honest, Joshua’s role now was a lot different then when he was Moses’s assistant.

Fear affects all of us. It manifests itself in various ways and it usually involves torment. According to phobialist.com, there are 530 known phobias. Fear is defined as: an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, like to cause pain, or a threat. God knew exactly what the Israelites were about to face. As I ponder this story, I wonder what the conversation between God and Joshua was like? Was all fear eradicated as soon as God spoke? Did it disappear as soon as Joshua stepped out in faith or was there still a tinge of fear? We may never know fully, but one thing we do know is that Joshua was obedient to lead the people of God into the promised land.

Fear has a way of changing us, causing us to do things we wouldn’t normally do. It is interesting to note that fear is mentioned in the Bible 411 different times. God wants us to be free from fear. He understands us. He knows what we struggle with, the fears that keep us in bondage. He is a good God who wants nothing more for us than to be free from all our fears. One of the greatest reasons why we struggle with fear I believe is because we do not have a correct view of Him. We do not always know His proximity to us, His concern for us, nor do we fully know His power to free us from all our fears. The Bible says, “perfect love casts out all fear.” (1 John 4:18) God is love, therefore, it is He who will dispel fear in our lives. You can trust Him, just as Joshua did. Joshua took Gods word to him literally. He hid the words of his God in his heart and he led the people to the Promised land. Remember His word to you, “I will be with you wherever you go.”

Blog My Story

My Story

Posted on March 7, 2015

It was pitch black and I couldn’t see a thing. All I could smell was vomit. Confused and and freezing cold all I could think about was, how did I end up here? Everyone has a story and this is mine – the Reader’s Digest version anyways.

I was born in Scarborough, Ontario to a teenage mother who was on her way to prison. Rather than raising me in the prison system, she decided to give me something she would be unable to, a family. She decided to place me up for adoption, the single most difficult decision she would ever have to make.

At the age of 10 weeks, I was adopted by Raymond & Patricia Sabourin, a loving couple with two daughters. I was raised in a small town called, Stratford, Ontario. I had anything and everything a kid could ever want. My parents did the best job they knew how raising my sisters and I. They would tell me daily they loved me and I was their God chosen son. Little did they know, this had a negative affect on my sisters.

I was approximately 4 years old when they told me I was adopted. I remember the day like it was yesterday. In the moment, I don’t believe it affected me outwardly, but I believe something was awakened within me – something which would affect my life in a profound and destructive way. Fast forward 10 years.

One, cool, Fall day after school, a friend of mine approached me and asked me if I wanted to get high. Get high? What was that? Curiosity won that day. We wandered behind the elementary school and attempted to smoke our first joint. When I say attempted, I mean, neither of us really had any idea of what we were doing. Nathan lit it up and I never looked back. Two weeks later we dropped acid.

Now I don’t want to bore you with all the details of my 10 year adventure. There are many things I have done which I am not proud of. I have seen and know tremendous despair. Darkness was everywhere. It consumed me and I couldn’t see a way out. It finally took me waking up in my own vomit one night to finally realize I needed to change. I had come to my senses.

My sister had told me about a place I could go and get help. I was finally ready. With the help of my family, I went to a one year program and got the help I needed. This was just a start. I was able to address some of the issues in my life, such as rejection. I was given tools to make good, healthy decisions and received inner healing which was necessary for me to live a life free from and dependency on drugs. One of the most important gifts I was given during my program was the Word of God. Four days after entering the program, a group of men from the Gideons came and shared about what they did and they gave each of us our own personal Bible. This was the first time I was ever given a Bible as an adult. We had a Bible in our home growing up, but this was my very own, personal Bible. Upon completion of the program I moved to BC and began to help establish a new work in the lower mainland to help those who were trapped in addiction.

This move was the beginning of a new life. A new life filled with hope and purpose. An opportunity to use what I was given to help others and in the process help my self by becoming the person God had always intended for me to be. There is so much more to my story, but it isn’t over yet. My story, just like yours is still being written. Exciting isn’t it? Knowing there are many more chapters to be written and you and I are the writers. Enjoy!