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Fuel Your Life! Clothed in Strength and Dignity: Laugh Without Fear Of The Future! · She Speaks Life - Christian Women, Strengthen Your Faith, Bible Study, Grow Spiritually In Christ

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  Hey beautiful friends, welcome back to the She Speaks Live
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  podcast for the Fuel Your Life series where we just don't talk
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  about faith. We walk in it.
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  We don't just study scripture. We live it, breathe it and let
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  it transform us from the inside out.
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  I'm your host, Jamie Elizabeth, and today we are diving into one
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  power packed verse, one that the Lord has had circling in my
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  heart for weeks. It's in the Serenity journal,
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  Calm your soul, strengthen your spirit, which these journals,
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  you can find the personalized scripture on my website, but
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  it's absolutely not required for us to be walking through these
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  little mini Bible studies. I just want to invite everyone
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  to these and we take a Bible verse and we break it down.
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  And so we are going to be diving into Proverbs 3125 today, and
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  I'll be reading out of the NLT version.
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  And it says she is clothed with strength and dignity and she
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  laughs without fear of the future.
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  And I just got to say, this is not just a poetic phrase.
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  This is a spiritual blueprint for how God calls his daughters
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  to stand, especially in those uncertain times.
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  And if there's anything, we all all can walk through life in
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  uncertainty. And we, I got to say it's OK.
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  Because if you're anything like me, that's when my faith gets
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  strengthened. And that's where my character
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  becomes refined to be more Christ like.
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  And I cling on to God's promises, knowing that he has
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  the best for me and he has the best for you always.
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  So today we're going deep. We're not surface reading this
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  verse. We're letting it it really take
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  root in our hearts. And that is my prayer for each
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  one of these episodes. So we're going to unpack it word
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  by word. And by the end, I'm going to
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  lead you in personalizing this verse into a declaration of
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  faith over your life. So let's start with where this
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  verse sits. It's in the chapter of 31.
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  It's in chapter 31 of Proverbs where you may be all familiar
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  with the Proverbs 31 woman. If not, you can go and read up
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  on it. It starts in verse 10.
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  So, but first I want to start by saying this woman described in
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  this chapter is not there to make us feel bad or that we
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  can't measure up to her. This is what I used to think,
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  and I pull things out of it that I didn't do or I thought was not
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  for me or it's too hard. But let me just tell you, I had
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  it all wrong. Because as I grew in the Word
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  and I took a sense of studies on the Proverbs 31 woman, I
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  realized this wasn't about perfection or performance, but
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  it was knowing that this woman has a covenant relationship with
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  God. She's not just rising early to
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  open her Bible to check it off on her list.
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  She is opening her Bible to commune with her Heavenly
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  Father. She knows that her confidence
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  comes from knowing who she is in Christ.
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  She knows that God is faithful and He's trustworthy.
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  She is virtuous because she revere's the Lord.
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  She gives to God and knows without Him she can't be the
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  best wife and mother that God designed her to be.
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  So ladies, when we are living in an upright relationship with God
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  and walking obedience to His Word, these things that are
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  listed in this chapter, we'll find some of these things
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  already going on in our lives, flowing in our lives.
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  So let's just begin with verse 25, the first part of this
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  verse, and it says she is clothed with strength.
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  What does it mean to be clothed with strength?
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  So notice it doesn't say she feels strong, it says she is
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  clothed in strength. That is a pretty confident
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  stance there. And I got to say, there are many
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  references in the Bible on being clothed or it might say put on.
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  And it's one of identity, of knowing who you are in Christ.
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  It says in Isaiah 61, it says that you are in Christ, clothed
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  or robed in the righteousness of Christ.
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  Ephesians 6 it says put on the armor of God.
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  So that means strength is not only upon us or on us, but we as
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  believers have strength that lives in us because we have the
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  living power of the Holy Spirit. And therefore when the Holy
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  Spirit is in us, we have many things that the Holy Spirit, the
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  Spirit of God does. And one of the things is he,
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  He's our strengthener. We we find that in Ephesians 316
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  and I'm paraphrasing this, but it says that God will grant us
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  according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with
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  might through the Holy Spirit. So we are strengthened with
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  might through the Holy Spirit. So strength is not only in us,
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  but it's upon us, Something we wear.
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  It's not based on mood, it's not based on circumstance.
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  Thank you Jesus. It's something God puts on you
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  like armor, like a covering. Our job is to use what God has
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  given us already. Don't just read it and forget
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  it, but actually act on it. Make it visible that we are
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  clothed by Him with His strength.
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  And it's not our strength but his given to us.
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  And the Hebrew word for strength here is 'cause which means power
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  might force security and boldness.
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  This is not a self-made strength.
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  It's not from hitting the gym or pretending to have it all
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  together making it seem like you're strong.
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  I'm a strong woman. But really underneath breeds
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  worry of fear or insecurity. This is Holy Spirit strength
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  rooted in God's unchanging character.
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  The kind of strength that allows you to hold your peace when
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  everything around you is chaotic.
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  So, quick testimony, my husband and I, we lost our home in
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  California in 2008, and we went through some tremendous
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  financial hardship when the recession hit.
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  And I just remember hanging on to God's every word like it was
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  my lifeline, which it, it was and it still is.
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  But when those times are dark, I mean I clinged on, white
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  knuckled it as I did. He gave me His strength.
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  The supernatural gift of strength that just came from
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  knowing Him, just came from feeding on His truth daily.
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  And in fact, a verse in Isaiah 4029, it says He gives strength
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  to the weary and increases the power of the week.
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  So if you've been feeling weary lately, that doesn't disqualify
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  you. It qualifies you for a fresh
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  outpouring of His strength. Let this be your personalized
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  declaration. Here we go.
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  I am clothed in the strength of the Lord.
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  His power lives in me. When I feel weak, His strength
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  rises up. I wear supernatural endurance.
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  I wear courage. I wear confidence not in myself,
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  but in Christ. So next it says she is clothed
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  with dignity. This word speaks of worth,
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  nobility, honor, value. So let's be honest, the world
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  tries to define our dignity by things like appearance,
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  performance, social status, or approval.
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  But none of those things can dress you in true dignity.
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  True dignity comes from being redeemed by Him, from knowing
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  that you're no longer a slave to sin, but a daughter of the King,
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  that you have a spiritual inheritance, blessings upon
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  blessings, and your identity is rooted in who God says you are.
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  You're loved unconditionally, valuable, worthy, and
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  wonderfully made to do great things that He planned before we
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  were even born. Jesus has clothed you in
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  righteousness, which means you don't walk with shame, you walk
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  with holy confidence, Psalm 33 says.
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  But you, Lord, are a shield around me, My glory, the one who
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  lifts my head high. Let that sink in.
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  He lifts your head. He is a head lifter.
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  That's dignity. So speak this over yourself.
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  Ready. I walk in dignity because I
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  belong to Jesus. I am not defined by my past, my
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  trauma, or what I lack. My worth is anchored in heaven.
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  I wear a crown of righteousness, and I walk with confidence and
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  grace. Now let's lean into the latter
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  part of the verse. The boldest part of this verse
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  says she laughs without fear of the future.
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  Or another version translation says she can laugh at the days
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  to come. This is not some nervous laugh.
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  This isn't sarcasm. This is a joyful, fearless,
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  prophetic laugh. It means she's not shaken by
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  what's coming because she knows who goes before her.
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  She knows that the God that she serves is always faithful.
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  In Psalm 112, seven, it echoes this truth.
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  It says she is not afraid of bad news.
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  Her heart is firm, trusting in the Lord friend.
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  Laughing at the future doesn't mean we know how each and
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  everything will turn out. But we do know with Him, in Him,
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  that things will turn out, and we know who holds it together.
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  We know where our help comes from.
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  Our laughter is a declaration that fear doesn't get the final
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  say. Fear makes no residence in us
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  because the fear that we're talking about is a spirit that
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  does not come from God. In fact, Second Timothy 17 says
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  for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a power,
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  love and sound mind. And when we treat fear like the
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  enemy which it is and declare truth by saying fear has got to
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  go in Jesus mighty name for God, You gave me power, not fear.
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  You gave me love, not fear. You gave me a sound mind, not
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  fear, and a sound mind is a mind that's disciplined to submit
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  your word and not feelings and emotions and what they have to
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  say, but what you say in your written truth over anything
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  else, what you say in your truth over feelings, anything that my
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  body is going through, I will submit it to the Word of God.
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  So filling ourselves up with His presence by prayer, worship,
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  praise, His word so much that we can fill ourselves up with His
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  presence. Joy and peace is there.
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  It becomes our weapon against worry and fear.
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  So if you've been holding your breath about the unknown, I
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  invite you to release that fear and say this with me.
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  I can laugh at the days to come because God is already in my
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  tomorrow. He is faithful.
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  He is writing my story. I will not fear bad news.
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  My heart is steadfast. My eyes are fixed on Jesus.
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  I choose joy now, not because I see the outcome, but because I
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  know the author of my life. So let's wrap this episode by
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  speaking Proverbs 3125 over ourselves.
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  And this is one of the things that we have in this journal
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  where you personalize the Scripture verse.
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  So if you're in a space where you can say this out loud, I
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  invite you to join me right now. So let's personalize Proverbs
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  3125. So instead of she is clothed
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  with strength and dignity, you say I am clothed with strength
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  and dignity. Or Jamie, your name is clothed
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  with strength and dignity. And I want to declare this over
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  you and over us. God has wrapped me in His power
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  and covered me in His courage. His Spirit strengthens me when I
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  feel weak. I am never alone, I am clothed
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  in dignity. So I walk with holy confidence
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  because I know who I am and whose I am.
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  I'm not ashamed. I am not diminished.
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  I carry the beauty and worth of a daughter of the king.
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  And then the latter part of the verse.
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  I laugh at the days to come, or Jimmy laughs without fear of the
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  future, or I laugh without fear of the future.
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  Say this with me, declaration. The future doesn't frighten me,
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  it fuels me because my God is already in it.
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  I will not be shaken. I will not be silenced.
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  I will walk in joy and peace and in bold expectation in Jesus
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  mighty name when you spoke that over yourself, those
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  declarations. I truly believe that there's
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  something that shifts in our spirit, in our hearts when when
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  we declare that it, it gives us a fresh mindset.
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  We become, we start to see how God sees us when we take heed of
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  scripture verses and make them personal to us like that.
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  So I just want to encourage you. You're not just reading Proverbs
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  3125 today. You are living it.
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  If this episode spoke to your heart, would you mind sharing it
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  with a friend? Because you never know who needs
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  to, who needs to be reminded of their strengths and their
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  dignity and the joy that's available in the known and the
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  unknowns of life. So until next time, keep
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  speaking life. Keep wearing your strength and
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  don't forget you were made to laugh at the future.
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  Hey there, thank you for listening to this to the end.
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  Stay tuned for more teachings as we go through the contentment
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  series straight from my journal, Serenity.
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  Calm your soul and strengthen your spirit.
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  And if you'd like to own your own copy, go to
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  jamieelizabeth.com or you can hit the link below in the show
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  notes. And since this is a new release,
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  I'd love love to bless you with a checkout discount of 15% off
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  plus free shipping. Use code VIP15 in the promo code
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  section as you check out. And also I do have a fun quiz
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  going on. It's on my website where you can
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  find out what kind of journal writer you are.
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  So go ahead explorer on my website.
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  Again, that's Jamie elizabeth.com, JAYME
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  elizabeth.com. And don't forget this episode is
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  live on in video on YouTube and Spotify.
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  So hit the subscribe button and never miss newly least She
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  Speaks life episodes. OK, have a blessed day, we'll
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  chat.