Take Hold of the Faith You Long For

Sharon Jaynes

Description

On the outside, many women are well-put-together Christians with trendy shoes, beautiful children, and wide, white smiles. On the inside, those same women are little girls cowering at the edge of the playground, hoping no one notices them, yet still wishing they could join in. They've professed faith and know the right things, but they struggle to truly take hold of the "life more abundant" that Jesus offers. Instead they settle for a life that's less than what God has promised them.In this liberating book, Sharon Jaynes reveals the most common reasons women get stuck with a mediocre, mundane faith. Then she shows women how to break free and move forward, leaving behind the feelings of inferiority, inadequacy, and insecurity that are holding them hostage. She uncovers untapped sources of confidence and courage, equipping women to move from knowing the truth to actually believing it--and living it out boldly in a life marked by true freedom.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 03 mai 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781493403103
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2016 by Sharon Jaynes
Published by Baker Books
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakerbooks.com
Ebook edition created 2016
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-0310-3
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
Scripture quotations labeled AMPC are from the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC). Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation.
Scripture quotations labeled ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2011
Scripture quotations labeled KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Scripture quotations labeled Message are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson, copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations labeled NASB are from the New American Standard Bible®, copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations labeled NIV 1984 are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
Scripture quotations labeled NKJV are from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations labeled NLT are from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Italics in quoted Scripture reflect the author’s emphasis.
Endorsements
“For every heart that’s ever longed for more, for every woman who’s asked ‘Is this all there is?’ about her faith, for every one of us who longs for less fear and more courage, Sharon Jaynes’s words and wisdom can be the catalyst God uses to take you from just ‘okay’ to the best He has for you. Get ready to have your world rocked in a way that will make you never want to go back to the way things were before.”
Holley Gerth , Wall Street Journal bestselling author of You’ re Already Amazing
“ Take Hold of the Faith You Long For is an absolute triumph. It is a declaration of truth and freedom for every battle-worn believer who longs to make it to the Promised Land. Jaynes gently yet firmly leads her readers through the desert and into the land of Canaan, teaching us to march seven times around the walls of today’s Jericho and to seize the promises the Lord has for us. A must-read.”
Emily T. Wierenga , founder of The Lulu Tree and author of Atlas Girl and Making It Home
“What this world needs is more women who courageously believe God is the path to living boldly, bravely, and beautifully. Sharon Jaynes challenges and cheers us to let go of our weaknesses and trade them for God’s strengths.”
Pam Farrel , author of 40 books, including 7 Simple Skills for Every Woman : Success in Keeping It All Together
“If you’ve ever come to a point in your Christian walk where you’ve stopped and thought to yourself, ‘Is this really it?’ you will be so blessed by Sharon’s incredible story of how God called her out of the mundane and into the extraordinary. You too will be left challenged and inspired to walk in faith in a whole new way.”
Jennifer Rothschild , author of Lessons I Learned in the Dark ; Self Talk, Soul Talk ; and Invisible: How You Feel Is Not Who You Are ; founder of Fresh Grounded Faith events and womensministry.net
“We have all known what it’s like to be stuck and discouraged in our Christian walk while desiring a faith that’s intimate with Jesus, enriched with experience, and dynamic with power. In her book Take Hold of the Faith You Long For , Sharon Jaynes shows us how to go from a sluggish faith to one that’s truly alive. She offers hope, inspiration, and fresh perspective for faith-worn believers.”
Heidi St. John , speaker, author, and creator of The Busy Mom blog
“If you are ready to move beyond a stagnant, struggling faith, read this book. Filled with biblical depth, relatable stories, and practical strat egies, Take Hold of the Faith You Long For is a powerful narrative that will help you shake off lackluster believing and put on the full-and-abundant-life faith that Christ died for you to experience.”
Gwen Smith , speaker, worship leader, cofounder of Girlfriends in God, and author of I Want It All and Broken into Beautiful
Dedication
To my mom, Louise Anderson Edwards. In her last days, she reminded me once again, “It’s not how you start; it’s how you finish.” She finished well. 1932–2014
Contents
Cover 1
Title Page 3
Copyright Page 4
Endorsements 5
Dedication 7
1. Stuck on a Feelin’ 11
2. Who Do You Think You Are? 23
Let Go of Your Insecurity and Take Hold of Your True Identity
3. You’ve Got What It Takes 45
Let Go of the Scarcity Mentality and Take Hold of Abundant Promises
4. The God Who Fills In Your Gaps 63
Let Go of Feelings of Inadequacy and Take Hold of God’s All-Sufficiency
5. The Freedom of Forgiveness 81
Let Go of Crippling Bitterness and Take Hold of Radical Forgiveness
6. When Your Rooster Crows 103
Let Go of Shame-Filled Condemnation and Take Hold of Grace-Filled Acceptance
7. Give Fear the Boot 123
Let Go of Weak-Kneed Worry and Take Hold of Sure-Footed Confidence
8. The Measuring Stick Will Get You Stuck 143
Let Go of Comparison to Others and Take Hold of Your God-Fashioned Uniqueness
9. Get Up and Get Going 157
Let Go of Debilitating Discouragement and Take Hold of Your Next Assignment
10. One Rock Is All You Need 175
Let Go of Timid Reluctance and Take Hold of Bold Believing
11. Taking Hold of Your Promised Land 191
Bible Study Guide 211
Acknowledgments 239
Notes 241
About the Author 245
Back Ads 247
Back Cover 248
one Stuck on a Feelin’
I was alone, or at least I felt that way. Women huddled in happy clusters chatting about first one thing and then another. Some propped babies on their hips. Others clutched Bibles in their hands. Most wore smiles on their faces. I wore one too. But it wasn’t a reflection of what was in my heart. The upturned lips were simply the camouflage I wore to blend in—to avoid being found out. What I really wanted to do was run and hide. On the outside I was a well-put-together church mom with trendy shoes and snappy jeans, but on the inside I was a little girl cowering in the far recesses of the playground hoping no one would notice my reluctance to join in.
What’s wrong with me? I wondered. Why don’t I feel the joy these other women feel? What holds me back from experiencing the confidence and assurance they seem to experience? Why do they seem so happy? Where is that abundant life Jesus talked about? If I am a new creation like the Bible says, why don’t I feel like one? Why do I continue to act like the same old me, struggle with the same negative emotions, and wrestle with the same old sins? Why do I feel like I’m wandering around in a maze trying to find a way out of these feelings of inadequacy?
The problem was, I was stuck. Yes, I had professed Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I had done that. I knew Christ had set me free, but honestly, I couldn’t tell you exactly what He had set me free from. He had set me free from the penalty of sin and spending eternity in hell. I got that. But I had a niggling feeling that was not what Jesus meant when He said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). I had a hunch He meant something more than heaven when He said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). That sounded earthy to me.
My early years in the faith were filled with wonder, expectancy, and downright giddiness. But somewhere along the line, I had settled into being a good church girl—a Bible-study mom who moved into cul-de-sac Christianity, pitched my lawn chair under a shade tree, and waved at other well-mannered believers doing the same. Year after year I hoped, Maybe this will be the Bible study that will make it all better. And the truth is, I didn’t even know what the “it” was.
What do you do when your walk becomes a crawl? When you feel like you are a disappointment to yourself and to God? When spiritual chronic fatigue leaves you wondering if it’s all worth it? When you feel stuck between the Red Sea and the Promised Land—saved from slavery but never quite making it to the land of milk and honey? What do you do when you realize your once-passionate faith has morphed into the safe confines of a predictable, domesticated belief system, far away from “Go ye therefore” and “Greater things than these”?
Sometimes the gap between the faith we long for and the faith we experience seems vast, beyond bridging. We stand on the east ledge of the great expanse, thinking the west rim is out of reach or possibly not worth the effort. We think going from where we are to where we want to be is impossible, implausible, or unrealistic, so we pull up a lounge chair in the land of in-between and settle in. Content, but not really. Longing, but not quite enough. Satisfied, but not completely. We settle for reading about the adventure