Surrender to God! James 4:7 instructs us. I personally struggle with this. How about you? Can you relate? My struggle with God is this: I want to have control but God wants me to surrender control to Him. God wants me to choose to trust His plan. And I want to trust God if He reveals to me what His plan is... So, we fight and argue me and God. And ... God always wins!

https://AnnaSzabo.com/surrender-to-god-james-4-7

Today, let’s discuss how to surrender to God and let go. Thanks so much for tuning in today.

 

My name is Anna Szabo.

 

I am the founder of OnlineDiscipleshipforWomen.com and my life’s purpose is to help YOU create a joyful life by embracing God’s word. This podcast for Christian women is all about living for God!

 

If you’d like to support my work, donate from the heart.

 

 

James 4:7 says: “Submit yourselves to God.” It says:c “Subject yourselves to God.”

 

The Bible is clear: we must step out of our own power, strength, and wisdom and step into Christ’s power, strength, and wisdom . 

 

How? Through faith-based action. 

 

It’s hard to do. What is so hard about it? It requires complete surrender of control. 

 

We must lean not on our own understanding in life. We must trust in the Lord with everything. This requires giving up control. And it is scary... it is hard.

 

Surrender feels like falling backwards into the arms of God trusting that He’ll be there to catch you from crushing. 

 

This is very difficult.

 

 

In 2014, I fell on my knees in the middle of my living room late at night, wept, invited God to take control, and gave my life to Christ that night. I asked Jesus to be my personal Lord and Savior; and I surrendered myself to Him completely.

 

 

God controls my life. 

 

God is the source of my blessings, faith, and strength. I am here alive and productive today not because of my own power but because of the power of Christ in me. 

 

 

Submit to the authority of God - James 4:7 tells us. Place yourselves under God's authority!

 

 

I pondered and questioned everything when it comes to God. Today, I know that God is my creator, that I am God’s child, made in His image, here on earth to do His work, the work He prepared in advance for me to do, and once I do His divine work, I will go to heaven to spend my eternity with Jesus when my time here is up. 

 

These truths about myself and my life I received from God’s word. After understanding that Jesus, who was fully man and fully God, came here on earth to surrender His life so that I could have mine, I was overcome with gratitude for my salvation . 

 

Once I fully - intellectually, spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and wholeheartedly - understood what happened on the cross, that Jesus was sacrificed for my sake... I wept, fell on my knees, and surrendered my life to Christ. What happened? 

 

I accepted God’s grace. 

 

Not in theory but in practice. 

 

I understood how broken and weak and powerless and hopeless I am on my own and how much I need a Savior - Jesus Christ. I surrendered myself to God. 

 

Still, God and argue because I am human.

 

 

God took me from a lost and confused addict to a woman of God, a disciple of Christ, a helper to Jesus Himself.

 

Surrendering everything I had (my life, my habits, my identity, my desires, my control...) surrendering it all to God allowed me to become a woman of God.

 

Thanks to God’s saving grace, I am who I am, how I am, and where I am. 

 

I live a sober ad simple life of peace and joy.

 

 

God’s grace is sufficient for me in all my circumstances and helps me endure adversity, persevere through challenges, and share my testimony with you to encourage and empower Christian women.

 

Biblical faith requires strength from us. Don’t be strong in your own power, be strong in Christ. Biblical faith guarantees that we will have trials in life and asks that we surrender our own power and live in the power of Christ, through whom all things are possible. 

 

To be strong during hard times, you must surrender your own power, admit that you are weak, and ask God for help because in your weakness His strength is displayed and perfected.

 

Here’s what I know from my own experience and experiences of those who received Christ:

When you truly understand who Jesus is and you genuinely believe that He died an unimaginably cruel death on the cross for your sins so that you can live a free life, you will fall on your knees in the act of surrender from a place of heartfelt gratitude for your salvation and redemption, and you will weep.

 

Have you surrendered to God?

“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

 

In today’s Biblical devotional for Christian women, we will ponder Isaiah 41:10 and its practical application in our daily lives as women who follow God and love Jesus.

 

In this Biblical devotional, I will share with you a very specific, unique, and breakthrough spiritual practice I perform regularly that causes many people to fear intensely, and in fact, there’s a record of people being unable to benefit from this spiritual practice that goes back to 1929. Frankly, this very profound spiritual practice caused me to fear for my life initially, but now I perform it several times a month, in faith, with peace.

 

I’ll share with you today HOW exactly I continue this uncommon and bold spiritual practice without giving in to my fears.

 

In this Biblical devotional for Christian women today, I’ll help you examine YOUR fears and show you how confronting them courageously allows God to not only work IN you but also THROUGH you spiritually.

 

The examples of fears and the antidote to fear, which I’ll share today, will be relevant to most of the Christian women listening to my Christian podcast The Anna Szabo Show and reading my Christian blog Onlinediscipleshipforwomen.com

 

This original and authentic Biblical devotional for Christian women will encourage and empower you with God’s truth as we apply it practically to real-life experiences of fear and anxiety we all go through as His disciples and daughters.

 

I am Anna Szabo from AnnaSzabo.com/devotionals, and you are listening to The Anna Szabo Show Christian podcast for women who love Jesus. I make content to help you create a joyful life by embracing God’s word. My passion in life is to help encourage and empower you by sharing testimonies of God’s amazing glory revealed through my own adverse yet faith-filled life story.

 

Subscribe to my podcast and tell other Christian women about it to help me do God’s work through this women’s ministry.

 

If you’d like to support my ministry, please donate at the link is in the notes below.

 

There are three things you can expect from this Biblical devotional for Christian women today:

 

1. You’ll hear the scriptures-based devotional I prepared for you
2. There will be an exercise for you to do in order to ponder Isaiah 41:10 as it relates to your own faith journey
3. I’ll offer you a prayer to lift you up to God and ask for His peace, protection, provision, and promotion

 

Let’s get started!

 

PART 1. BIBLICAL DEVOTIONAL FOR CHRISTIAN WOMEN

 

“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Isaiah 41:10

 

 

As I’m sharing this Biblical devotional for Christian women with you right now, I have been without any food and any water for 24 hours. This is incomprehensible to many people, and the fasting book from 1929 reveals a story of a man who began fasting but quit when he felt overcome by intense fear for his life. He broke his fast.

 

I practice fasting regularly and have been doing it since early 2018, for three years now. I’m 38 years old, and enjoy the best health of my life after being very sick for decades. My height is 5’10”, my weight is 116 lb, my size is zero, my weekly, monthly, and yearly spendings include zero dollars on medical bills or doctors or hospitals or pills or diets. I’m able to do 10000 steps every day, perform handstands, backbends, jump on the trampoline, run, swim, hike, hula hoop, squat on a BOSU ball, exercise with weights, do all my own chores, travel as I wish, and do all the necessary handy work at home by myself.

 

I’ll leave some links below for you to explore how I live my life free from illnesses, unwanted weight, and useless medical spending.

 

When I started fasting, I practiced water fasting: not eating and only drinking water for up to 5 days. Last year, in 2020, at 37 years old, I discovered dry fasting: no food, no water. I’ve been able to go fir 48 hours without eating and drinking anything, and this has been the most profound spiritual experience with God.

 

Dry fasting became my favorite way of fasting and prayer after I completed my first 24-hour dry fast in 2020. You can find out more about it at AnnaSzabo.com/dry-fasting where I share my diaries, insights, faith testimony, as well as breakthroughs.

 

Dry fasting is my preferred way to fast.

 

I’ve written thousands of words of helpful content to help other Christian women experience the profound spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical benefits of fasting. I’m going to link in the description box below my blog articles about the experience and the journey of fasting in the last 3 years.

 

As I’m sharing this Biblical devotional for Christian women with you right now, not only have I had no food and no water for 24 hours, but I’m getting ready to go to bed after this without eating or drinking.

 

Most people get scared when they hear or think about something like this. Yet, I’ve done it repeatedly because Jesus actually said in the Bible that He expected us to fast after His resurrection. If Jesus expects me to abstain from food and water, He will definitely help me through!

 

“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Isaiah 41:10

 

Why I trust that fasting is good for me has to do with an enormous amount of science I’ve personally studied and even shared on my blog. But most importantly, when I began fasting and got scared, I continued because of what Jesus said.

 

Mark 2:19-20 reports the expectation for  us to fast after His resurrection, which Jesus communicated clearly while He was a man on earth:

 

“Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.”

 

God’s word expresses God’s will. So, I began fasting three years ago and have been faithfully abstaining from food regularly for up to 5 days. I did it first because I heard God’s voice guiding me in this direction when I was depressed recovering from narcissistic abuse and a very dramatic divorce. I had gained weight, was sick, and I wasn’t able to function. God’s voice is always in alignment with God’s word, which reveals God’s will. So I followed God’s will, and He healed me, restored me, and blessed me!

 

But I was very scared initially...

 

“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Isaiah 41:10

 

There’s no humans to comfort me when I am scared. I live alone, I’m single and celibate, and I rely fully on God for all the comfort I ever need. But even more importantly, I fast in secret, so no one ever knows when I am fasting. Why?

 

Matthew 6:16-18 explains:

“When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

 

Do I feel hungry? Yes, and those hunger pangs are what really scares people when attempting fasting. The hunger pangs and the side effects of hunger scared me initially. However, this is no surprise to Jesus because, being fully human, He Himself practiced fasting and felt hungry.

 

Luke 4:2 explains:

“For forty days, being tempted by the devil, Jesus ate nothing and He was hungry.”

 

Jesus expected me to fast, He Himself fasted and felt what I feel when fasting, and He called me to fast in secret to practice my faith and fellowship with God.

 

“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Isaiah 41:10

 

Has God stayed true to His promise? Yes. I’ve been fasting for years, and not only has God been with me, not only did God strengthen me and help me, but also He upheld me with His righteous right hand and blessed me with many blessings.

 

As I’ve been surrendering my fears to God, He hasn’t just worked IN me (growing me, strengthening me, promoting me); He has also been working THROUGH me helping other Christian women.

READ:

• http://annaszabo.com/fasting
• http://annaszabo.com/dry-fasting
• http://annaszabo.com/water-fasting
• http://annaszabo.com/how-to-have-faith

 

What is it in your life that you fear? Let’s do an exercise to allow you to ponder Isaiah 41:10 in practical ways for yourself.

 

PART 2. ISAIAH 41:10  SPIRITUAL EXERCISE TO GROW YOUR FAITH

 

I want you to think right now about YOUR journey with God and what it is that you fear. It can be one thing or many. Think about what that is that makes you feel overwhelmed with anxiety, preventing you from God’s blessings and faith growth?

 

Once you identify what that is, go to AnnaSzabo.com/isaiah-4110  and let me know in the comments how you plan to courageously surrender your fears to God so that He can be with you, strengthen you, help you, and uphold you with His righteous right hand. Once you share it with me, I want to hold you accountable because your next step is this:

 

“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Isaiah 41:10

 

For this exercise, I want you to think about a time you surrendered your fears to God and He worked in you and through you. An example of this is how I surrendered my fears, God upheld and strengthen me, He led me to share my experiences with other Christian women who benefited from God’s work in and through me, and now I’m sharing this Biblical devotional with you and you are benefiting from God’s work in and through me. Have YOU had a similar experience? Recalling and pondering it through introspection can help you witness how God has already helped you whenever you felt scared. These testimonies from your own past can fuel your future faith growth.

 

Before I offer you prayer in a moment, I want to invite you to support my ministry: make a donation and also shop my Christian apparel collection with encouraging and empowering Biblical affirmations to help you create a joyful life by embracing God’s word.

 

Let’s pray together!

 

PART 3: “DO NOT FEAR” BIBLICAL PRAYER

 

Father God, I am experiencing fear and anxiety in life. In my own power, I can do nothing but with Christ, all things are possible. God, I want to grow in my faith. You gave me a promise. Now, it’s up to me to deploy my faith and take action courageously, trusting your promise.

 

“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Isaiah 41:10

 

Father in Heaven, I pray for courage to trust you and take actions courageously. Faith without works in dead. Help my faith survive and thrive through adversity. Help me take action in faith so that my faith can be tested, strengthened, and increased. God, bless me with your divine purpose, peace, provision, protection, and promotion throughout my spiritual journey. I am yours. I belong to you. My heart is focused on you. I want more of you. To experience you, God, I am committed to taking bold actions courageously in faith. Help me, God. I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. Amen.

 

Donate to support my Christian ministry: http://bit.ly/EncourageAndEmpowerWomen

 

My testimony https://AnnaSzabo.com/my-testimony

 

My life story https://onlinediscipleshipforwomen.com/anna-szabo

 

 

Subscribe to my Christian Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3Ov7nEByxO4i0KwtLTY6tw?sub_confirmation=1

 

Subscribe to my Christian Poems: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8QbWd_SW84W-VdWaF-0VTQ?sub_confirmation=1

 

Subscribe to my Christian Devotionals: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbIxZQLVKQYQMtJcjALqzEw?sub_confirmation=1

 

Subscribe to my Christian Meditations: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWhMhxk8x2qS9m9Qqc3StPA?sub_confirmation=1

 

Subscribe to my Christian Prayers: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXYyRkw_vDeGpDm4hCoXubg?sub_confirmation=1

 

Subscribe to my Christian Coaching: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe3rjKvt8hXPe8dP9kcq1eQ?sub_confirmation=1

 

Subscribe to my main channel  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8HrGuEZ26l5Oq7fjWY5x5Q?sub_confirmation=1

 

Download my free ebook "52 Things God Says About You" http://bit.ly/52DEVOTIONALS

 

Shop my merch for Christian women on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Jwh8hL

 

Shop my merch for Christian women on TeeSpiring: https://annaszaboart.myteespring.co

 

Visit my Christian art store on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/AnnaSzaboArt

 

Buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/annaszabo

 

 

In today’s Biblical devotional for Christian women, we will ponder Proverbs 3:25-26 (how to not be afraid) and its practical application in our daily lives: “Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin, for the Lord will be at your side and will keep your foot from being trapped.” I will share with you an example from my life of how I stay mentally strong in the midst of a global pandemic, nationwide unemployment, and an economic crisis. 

I will also explain why learning how to not be afraid is critical. We will review the consequences of allowing the fear of a sudden disaster and ruin to overwhelm you. At the end of my message, I’ll offer you a powerful prayer. In this Biblical devotional for Christian women today, I’ll help you examine your own faith journey with God. We will explore why it’s so critical for us as Christian women, the disciples of Jesus, to always remember that it’s the Lord who is at our side and keeps us from being trapped. 

“Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin, for the Lord will be at your side and will keep your foot from being trapped.” Proverbs 3:25-26. Fearing sudden disasters and ruin leaves you anxious, scared, mentally paralyzed, emotionally overwhelmed, physically exhausted, and unable to do God’s work, incapable to fulfill His purpose for your life. That is why learning and practicing how to not be afraid is so critical.

The CDC reports: “Communities have faced mental health challenges related to COVID-19–associated morbidity, mortality, and mitigation activities, including the impact of physical distancing and stay-at-home orders. The percentage of respondents who reported having seriously considered suicide in the 30 days before completing the survey (10.7%) was significantly higher among respondents aged 18–24 years (25.5%).

This Biblical devotional for Christian women will be relevant and helpful to all of the listeners of my Christian podcast – The Anna Szabo Show – and all the readers of my Christian blog everywhere in the world. We all need to learn now how to not be afraid because being afraid is deadly in the midst of this ongoing global crisis.

This original and authentic Biblical devotional will encourage and empower you with God’s truth as we apply it practically to real-life experiences we all are going through all around the globe because we are all facing a continuous sudden disaster and have been affected by it for over a year already.

I make content to help you create a joyful life by embracing God’s word. My passion in life is to help encourage and empower you by sharing testimonies of God’s amazing glory revealed through my life story. I personally have adjusted my life a lot due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I myself have a history of suicidal depression, and also during the pandemic, the number of women who came to my Christian blog because of their self-harm impulses has increased significantly. I have to practice every day how to not be afraid by leaning on God.

I love you. When I was depressed and suicidal during my marriage with a narcissist a few years ago, as God was working in me to keep me alive in the midst of cruel abuse, I thought of you: the Christian woman facing challenges. I thought to myself: if I ever make it out of this abusive marriage alive, I’ll dedicate myself to ministry and help other Christian women. And I’ve been doing this since 2017 when I started my Christian podcast for women and founded Online Discipleship For Women.

Subscribe to my podcast and tell other Christian women about it to help me do God’s work through this women’s ministry. If you’d like to support my ministry, you can donate here.

There are three things you can expect from this Biblical devotional for Christian women today:

1. You’ll hear the scriptures-based devotional I prepared for you
2. There will be an exercise for you to do in order to ponder Proverbs 3:25-26 as it relates to your own faith journey (how to not be afraid)
3. I’ll offer you a prayer to lift you up to God and ask for His peace, protection, provision, and promotion

Let’s get started!

PART 1. BIBLICAL DEVOTIONAL FOR CHRISTIAN WOMEN

“Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin, for the Lord will be at your side and will keep your foot from being trapped.” Proverbs 3:25-26 

Many times in my life, I faced disasters. 

When I was little, my mother molested me and would physically torture me by spreading dry toasted triangular grain over the bare hardwood floor and forcing me to kneel for hours at a time. 

God protected, saved, and restored me. 

When I was 25, I emigrated to America to live my happily-ever-after with a real-life Prince Charming. As soon as I arrived in 2008, I was beaten and enslaved. After 8 months of domestic violence, the Dunwoody Police Department conducted a rescue operation and helped me escape on April 9th of 2009. I was homeless in a foreign country without speaking any English. I had no money and no friends. 

God protected, saved, and restored me. 

On May 14th of 2016, I married an amazing Christian man, a seminary graduate who worked at a mega-Church in Alpharetta and officiated weddings, doing marriage counseling for couples. After our wedding night, he started disappearing, admitted to cheating on me, spent all my money leaving me without food, threatened me with violence any time I tried to talk to him about our marriage, and he filed for divorce twice in our first year of marriage, costing me $25k. I was diagnosed with Complex PTSD while married to him. He dehumanized, manipulated, gaslighted, stonewalled me, and staged circumstances to make me believe that I was crazy. I became severely depressed and suicidal. After our divorce jury trial, I was left with no energy, and with massive debt. Most of my friends were gone, and I had to start my life over. 

God protected, saved, and restored me. 

Today, I live a single and celibate life with God serving Him through my ministry for Christian women to share my powerful testimony and life story to give God all the glory. I was supporting myself by doing marketing contracts when the pandemic hit early in 2020. I felt so devastated… But … “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” – Psalms 40:1-2. I was patient in faith and because of my faith, I remained productive and proactive.

“Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin, for the Lord will be at your side and will keep your foot from being trapped.” Proverbs 3:25-26 

Now, let me tell you exactly how to not be afraid.

How do I stay faithful when faced with disaster and potential ruin?

1. I pray and remain in God’s word daily, and I share the fruit of this spiritual practice at AnnaSzabo.com/prayers
2. I practice fasting from food and water at least 2-3 times a month for 24 hours to up to 5 days, and I explain it on AnnaSzabo.com/fasting
3. I keep a gratitude journal where I ponder God’s goodness and grace, and I explain my thanksgiving habits on AnnaSzabo.com/thanksgiving
4. I don’t force my emotions to build up and explode; instead, I cry whenever I want to, freely and intensely; and I explain it on AnnaSzabo.com/feelings
5. I maintain healthy daily habits to practice meaningful self-care, and I explained it at AnnaSzabo.com/self-care
6. I read helpful books that empower me, and my journey is shared on AnnaSzabo.com/reading-challenge
7. I exercise every day and also stretch, which is explained in great detail at AnnaSzabo.com/fitness 
8. I eat good food that promotes brain health, such as colorful fruits, vegetables, herbs, berries, nuts, and seeds. I elaborate on this topic at AnnaSzabo.com/food
9. I leverage introspection to witness God’s good plan for my life unfolding as I look back and document what happened, literally seeing God’s glory throughout my entire life story.
10. I am careful in choosing whom I talk to and to whom I listen and whom I allow to influence me. I’ve had a friend say the pandemic was a hoax. I haven’t talked to her in months. I had a friend call me always panicked and telling me to practically save her. Of course, I’m not Jesus. I serve Jesus. But everyone must take action to practice their faith. No human can save another human. I can share my testimony with you and ponder God’s word with you, but you are responsible for you. I am not responsible for you. I limited my communication with that friend because I am responsible for né and for my own mental health and God asked me to guard my heart for everything I do flows from it. Last week’s devotional was about that.  

“Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin, for the Lord will be at your side and will keep your foot from being trapped.” Proverbs 3:25-26 

While the Lord is indeed by out side, God gave us free will so that we can choose to do what’s fight based on our faith. The Bible says “faith without works is dead,” in other words having faith but not mobilizing and deploying it every day through actions and decisions is as if having no faith at all.

One of the comments I received on my recent YouTube video about faith during trials and tribulations is from a woman who goes by K R. She explained how terrible she feels and how much she needs hope, so I prayed for her as I often do on my YouTube and blog for Christian women. The next thing I know, she transfers her responsibility for her actions and thoughts on me!!! And she goes on to reveal to me her faith in a Santa Clause God who is supposed to grant her wishes through me. Here’s a part of that conversation.

“Anna, thank you for your words. I am so weak… I can barely function. My brain is foggy, and I am amazed at your clarity and energy level… 20 years with an evil narcissistic husband and a lifetime with a narcissistic mother – and I can’t make good decisions. Why aren’t your prayers answered and I am healed of brain fog, despair, depression, and suicidal ideation? I have believed for it. What am I doing wrong? How do you make yourself function?”

To which I responded:

““How” is explained in detail in the free helpful resources I shared with you. Also, tonight’s video at 7:45 pm expands on the “how” of the process of healing. It is definitely an active everyday process of taking productive action in faith as I described at AnnaSzabo.com/what-is-faith” and I gave her the Bible verse that’s the most applicable in tis situation – James 2:26

   

As you can see from this example, having faith but not practicing it while expecting a Santa Clause God to make your life easy will never get you anywhere. God gave this woman my YouTube channel full of powerful testimony to encourage and empower her. God gave this woman my Christian blog with over 100000 words of Biblical content to encourage and empower her. God kept me up at night writing a heartfelt Biblical prayer genuinely lifting this woman up to encourage and empower her. Yet, she comes back and says: “Where is God? Why is my life not rainbow-univorny yet? Why have my trials and tribulations not disappeared after your prayer, Anna? Why is your prayer not working?”

And this brings me to my main point.

Have faith when you’re dealing with adversity, be prayerful, and have a grateful heart, not an entitled one. Practice your faith through faith-based decisions and actions every day. That’s HOW you demonstrate that you “Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin, for the Lord will be at your side and will keep your foot from being trapped.”

PART 2. PROVERBS 3:25-26 SPIRITUAL EXERCISE TO GROW YOUR FAITH 

I want you to think right now about YOUR journey with God and what kinds of disasters and ruin you are facing. What is it that makes you feel overwhelmed, depressed, and hopeless, derailing you from God’s purpose and His purpose for your life?

Once you identify what that is, let me know in the comments how you plan to courageously practice your faith through faith-based decisions and actions now. Once you share it with me, I want to hold you accountable because your next step is this: “Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin, for the Lord will be at your side and will keep your foot from being trapped.” Proverbs 3:25-26 

Before we pray, I’d like to invite you to support my ministry by making a donation. Shop my Christian apparel collection with encouraging and empowering Biblical affirmations to help you create a joyful life by embracing God’s word. Let’s pray together!

PART 3: “HAVE NO FEAR OF DISASTER OR RUIN” BIBLICAL PRAYER

Father God, I thank you for your 3573 promises in my life, among which is this powerful promise to keep me from being overtaken by disaster and ruin.

“Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin, for the Lord will be at your side and will keep your foot from being trapped.” Proverbs 3:25-26 

God, you gave me your promises AND my free will. You warned me that without works faith is dead. It’s up to me to trust your promises. Trusting your promises is not a theory; it’s a process through which is make decisions and take action. If I exercise my faith, I make decisions and take actions based on me believing your Proverbs 3:25-26 promise. It means that I’ll have hope when faced with pandemics and other disasters, that I’ll be productive every day knowing that the Lord is by my side, keeping me from ruin. Please help me, God, to  deploy my free will and stay actively faithful every day even during trials and tribulations. Help me be focused on you and productive for you. I pray this in the marvelous name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. Amen. 

 

Enjoy the best Christian podcasts for women who love Jesus: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOphFuDzDaVZcWhri3Qg80QnzJ8BnHV45

Post your review for The Anna Szabo Show: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-anna-szabo-show/id1291722423

Donate to support my Christian ministry: http://bit.ly/EncourageAndEmpowerWomen

Subscribe to my Christian Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3Ov7nEByxO4i0KwtLTY6tw?sub_confirmation=1

Subscribe to my Christian Poems: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8QbWd_SW84W-VdWaF-0VTQ?sub_confirmation=1

Subscribe to my Christian Devotionals: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbIxZQLVKQYQMtJcjALqzEw?sub_confirmation=1

Subscribe to my Christian Meditations: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWhMhxk8x2qS9m9Qqc3StPA?sub_confirmation=1

Subscribe to my Christian Prayers: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXYyRkw_vDeGpDm4hCoXubg?sub_confirmation=1

Subscribe to my Christian Coaching: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe3rjKvt8hXPe8dP9kcq1eQ?sub_confirmation=1

Subscribe to my main channel for Christian women: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8HrGuEZ26l5Oq7fjWY5x5Q?sub_confirmation=1

Download my free ebook "52 Things God Says About You" http://bit.ly/52DEVOTIONALS

Shop my Christian apparel on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Jwh8hL

Shop my Christian apparel on TeeSpiring: https://annaszaboart.myteespring.co

Visit my Christian art store on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/AnnaSzaboArt

Buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/annaszabo

 

“Guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” - Proverbs 4:23. In this Biblical devotional for Christian women today, I’ll help you examine your journey and witness how not guarding your heart leaves you overwhelmed, exhausted, paralyzed by anxiety, unable or unwilling to do God’s work, and incapable to fulfill His purpose for your life. We will ponder Proverbs 4:23 and its practical application in our daily lives. I will share with you how I personally guard my heart and how I realized the deadly implications of leaving my heart unguarded, defenseless, unprotected, and exposed. The deadly consequences were a paralyzing anxiety and suicidal depression.

 

The examples of an unguarded heart, which I’ll share today, will be relevant to most of the Christian women listening to my Christian podcast The Anna Szabo Show and reading my Christian blog Onlinediscipleshipforwomen.com

This original and authentic Biblical devotional for Christian women will encourage and empower you with God’s truth as we apply it practically to real-life experiences we all go through as His disciples and daughters.

 

I am Anna Szabo from AnnaSzabo.com, and you are listening to The Anna Szabo Show Christian podcast for women who love Jesus. I make content to help you create a joyful life by embracing God’s word. My passion in life is to help encourage and empower you by sharing testimonies of God’s amazing glory revealed through my life story.

 

Subscribe to my podcast and tell other Christian women about it to help me do God’s work through this women’s ministry.

 

If you’d like to support my ministry, you can donate at onlinediscipleshipforwomen.com, the link is in the notes below.

 

There are three things you can expect from this Biblical devotional for Christian women today:

 

1. You’ll hear the scriptures-based devotional I prepared for you
2. There will be an exercise for you to do in order to ponder Proverbs 4:23 as it relates to your own faith journey
3. I’ll pray for you to lift you up to God and ask for His peace, protection, provision, and promotion in your life

 

Let’s get started!

 

PART 1. BIBLICAL DEVOTIONAL FOR CHRISTIAN WOMEN

 

“Guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” - Proverbs 4:23

 

I was raised by a very abusive mother. This year, in 2021, I have been sharing my story as a scapegoat daughter of a narcissistic mother on my main YouTube channel every day. Every day, I post a new helpful video on YouTube to share what happened to me and how the narcissistic trauma affected me. I always mention that the best way to deal with abuse is to block the abuser. I blocked my abusive mother on social media everywhere even when I still had social media, before I permanently deleted my Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter in 2020. I also blocked my abusive, hostile, cruel mother on email and phone. But while those were effective measures, in February on 2021, as I went to my email trash can to clean it, I was stunned to see that, despite all the blocking filters I applied, almost 100 hateful, abusive, death-focused emails from my toxic mother made their way to my email. As I saw her messages terrorizing me, denouncing me, harassing me, and condemning me, I immediately spiraled down into a deep and very dark place.

 

It’s important to disclose here something significant. My mother tried to kill me many times, and she repeatedly told me: I hate you and I just want you dead. This was the main theme of her 25-year long relationship with me while I lived with her on Russia. I’m 38 now, and I’ve lived in America for almost 13 years. I haven’t seen my mother for this long but her hatred and cruelty are deadly.

 

“Guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” - Proverbs 4:23

 

I became unable to work out or get out of bed many times before due to her hateful, cruel, evil, death-wishing attacks. This time, I knew that even technology is imperfect, and I needed to build guardrails around my heart in addition to blocking my toxic narcissistic mother with technology. Not guarding my heart, leaving it exposed to my mother’s negativity, I attempted to kill myself twice.

 

When I protect my heart by guarding myself against hateful people, evil cookers, gossipers, manipulators, and abusers, I am able to be very productive, live a life of joy and peace, stay healthy, and focus on my future. When I don’t guard my heart, abusers suck the life out of me, leaving me lifeless and depressed.

 

It happened to me many times: my abusive mother sucked the life out of my heart and my three abusive husbands did the same. Today, I live a peaceful and productive life with God. I am single and celibate, healing from all the trauma inflicted on me by cruel abusers. I did not guard myself from them very well.

 

“Guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” - Proverbs 4:23

 

How do I guard my heart?

 

1. I pray and stay in God’s word daily
2. I have an attitude of gratitude
3. I have a gratitude journal where I ponder God’s goodness and grace
4. I don’t force my emotions to build up and explode; instead, I cry whenever I want to, freely and intensely.
5. I use technology to block abusers.
6. I don’t participate in gossip.
7. I don’t go places where my heart will be crushed: strip clubs, casinos, night clubs, violent shows, cruel movie demonstrations, and other similar places where I used to go for fun.
8. I don’t do the kinds of things that would suck the life out of my heart: I’m not on social media, I have no TV or cable at home, I am mot on any dating apps, and instead of l that, I spend quality tome with God doing productive work He called me to do, as well as enjoying my fellowship with God and worshiping Him through poetry, art, my Christian blog, my podcast for Christian women, my Biblical devotionals, prayers, meditations, and videos.
9. I leverage introspection to witness God’s good plan for my life unfolding as I look back and document what happened, literally seeing God’s glory throughout my entire life story.
10. I am careful choosing friends and whom I invite into my home and into my circle. I practice discernment in order to guard my heart, for everything I do flows from it (Proverbs 4:23).

 

 

Now I would like to show you some practical examples of how different people guard their hearts in their everyday lives.

 

“Guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” - Proverbs 4:23

 

Kary wrote:

 

“I am the daughter of a narcissistic mother. She is jealous of my life. She is angry when I am happy. She has told lies about me, tried to kill me, tried to have me arrested, tried to have my children taken away, fakes illnesses and injuries, tells me she is depressed all the time for the last 30 years - all this as a way to manipulate me.  Now she is getting older and has poor health. I can’t take care of her because I would kill myself. She sends me into panic attacks and deep depression.”

 

As you can see, staying as far physically as possible from toxicity and manipulation is an effective way to guard your heart so that you can continue living a life, for which God Himself created you.

K.P. wrote:

 

“I had to run away from my mother at age 15. Narcissists can be dangerous and toxic to our souls.”

 

As you can see, running away from abuse and danger is an effective way to guard your heart so that you can continue living a life, for which God Himself created you.

 

And now I want to show you how everything you do, which flows from your heart, can come to an end if you don’t guard your heart in Christ.

 

K R writes:

 

“I am the only parent to a teenager, and I am alone. I am struggling with getting out of bed and functioning. I am trying to hide it from my child. I am overwhelmed. I’m so weary. I watched your TED talk. I use my normal false cheer with my child who is angry with God and has no father, he is angry at what his father has done and continues to do. He tried to commit suicide because of what his father did to us. I have to have my fake positive Christian talk and face.”

 

What is it in your life that is hurting your heart and from which you must guard your heart in order to continue living a productive life of purpose as God ordained for you? Let’s do an exercise to allow you to ponder Proverbs 4:23 in practical ways.

 

 

PART 2. PROVERBS 4:23 SPIRITUAL EXERCISE TO GROW YOUR FAITH

 

 

I want you to think right now about YOUR journey with God and what things or events or people or hobbies or habits suck the life out of you. What is it that makes you feel overwhelmed, depressed, and hopeless, derailing you from God’s purpose and His straight path for your life?

 

Once you identify what that is, go to AnnaSzabo.com/proverbs-423 and let me know in the comments how you plan to courageously guard your heart. Once you share it with me, I want to hold you accountable because your next step is this: “Guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” - Proverbs 4:23

 

Tell me what you are working to protect your heart from, and I’ll be your accountability partner and your personal prayer warrior. Now, I want to pray for you.

 

Before I do, if you’d like to support my ministry, there’s a link in the description where you can make a donation and shop my Christian apparel collection with encouraging and empowering Biblical affirmations to help you create a joyful life by embracing God’s word.

 

Let’s pray together!

 

 

PART 3: “GUARD YOUR HEART” BIBLICAL PRAYER

 

Father God, I thank you for your presence in my heart and your reign over my life. I rely on your holy word. I seek your wisdom. I pay attention to hear your voice. I follow your divine guidance to live a life of purpose, peace, and prosperity.

 

“Guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” - Proverbs 4:23 says.

 

God, I pray that you show me what I need to guard my heart from and also give me wisdom to see how to guard my heart effectively and courageously.

 

Father in Heaven, I know that when I establish boundaries in order to guard my heart, many people in my current circle won’t like it, they won’t accept my boundaries. But my heart is mine to guard, and the responsibility to guard my heart, God, you put on me. I know that once I commit to guarding my heart in accordance with your holy word, my habits and lifestyle will change. Guide my way, lead me, show me how to do this, God! I am yours, God. I’m here to obey you out of gratitude for my salvation. I want to honor you with my life, God. I want to practice my faith through my actions. My intentions are focused on you. Show me the way. Take me where I need to go.

 

“Guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” - Proverbs 4:23 instructs me. God, let me guard my heart from evil, not in my own power but through Christ in me. I pray this in His name, in the name of Jesus, my Lord and Savior. Amen.

 

 

Post your review for The Anna Szabo Show: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-anna-szabo-show/id1291722423

 

Donate to support my Christian ministry: http://bit.ly/EncourageAndEmpowerWomen

 

Subscribe to my Christian Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3Ov7nEByxO4i0KwtLTY6tw?sub_confirmation=1

 

Subscribe to my Christian Poems: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8QbWd_SW84W-VdWaF-0VTQ?sub_confirmation=1

 

Subscribe to my Christian Devotionals: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbIxZQLVKQYQMtJcjALqzEw?sub_confirmation=1

 

Subscribe to my Christian Meditations: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWhMhxk8x2qS9m9Qqc3StPA?sub_confirmation=1

Subscribe to my Christian Prayers: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXYyRkw_vDeGpDm4hCoXubg?sub_confirmation=1

 

Subscribe to my Christian Coaching: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe3rjKvt8hXPe8dP9kcq1eQ?sub_confirmation=1

 

Subscribe to my main channel for Christian women: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8HrGuEZ26l5Oq7fjWY5x5Q?sub_confirmation=1

Download my free ebook "52 Things God Says About You" http://bit.ly/52DEVOTIONALS

 

Shop my Christian apparel on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Jwh8hL

 

Shop my Christian apparel on TeeSpiring: https://annaszaboart.myteespring.co

 

Visit my Christian art store on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/AnnaSzaboArt

 

Buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/annaszabo

In today’s Biblical devotional for Christian women, we will ponder Proverbs 4:27 and its practical application in our daily lives. I will share with you how I personally battle two TWO evils in my own life (lust and gluttony), and I’ll help you examine your life and witness how God is leading your path straight.

https://onlinediscipleshipforwomen.com/proverbs-4-27

The examples I’ll be sharing are for adults only. Children should not be listening to this content. The examples of evil from my own personal life, which I’ll share today, will be relevant to most of the Christian women listening to my Christian podcast The Anna Szabo Show and reading my Christian blog Onlinediscipleshipforwomen.com

 

I am Anna Szabo, and right now you’re listening to The Anna Szabo Show Christian podcast for women who love Jesus. I make content to help you create a joyful life by embracing God’s word. My passion in life is to help encourage and empower you by sharing my testimony of God’s amazing glory in my own life story.

 

Subscribe to my podcast and tell other Christian women about it to help me do God’s work through this women’s ministry.

 

If you’d like to support my ministry, you can donate at onlinediscipleshipforwomen.com, the link is in the notes below.

 

There are three things you can expect:

 

1. You’ll hear the Biblical devotional I prepared for you
2. There will be an exercise for you to do in order to ponder Proverbs 4:27 as it relates to your own faith journey
3. I’ll pray for you to lift you up to God and ask for His peace, protection, provision, and promotion in your life

 

 

PART 1. BIBLICAL DEVOTIONAL FOR CHRISTIAN WOMEN

 

 

This is the most difficult devotional I have ever set out to create. I’m going to share with you my deepest struggles, which I’d prefer to forever keep to myself of course, but God called me to share my testimony and tell you my story to display His glory. 

 

God’s glory is not the only thing you’ll see displayed throughout this Biblical devotional for Christian women. You’ll witness what’s called “the human condition,” which is my endless struggle with the flesh. The flesh and the spirit always at odds within us, the Christian women who desire to obey and honor God. I desire to obey and honor God.

 

My Heavenly Father God specified two evils, and told me personally to flee from these two evils. What are they?

 

Proverbs 23:2 says: “put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.”

 

Why is gluttony so evil?

 

Proverbs 23:21 explains this: “the glutton will come to poverty, and the drowsiness of overindulgence will clothe them with rags.”

 

Not only is it expensive to indulge in gluttony but also overindulgence in food leads to drowsiness, which is the opposite of what God’s word directs us to be - alert, aware, awake, and alive fully as His daughters and disciples of Jesus Christ. We can’t serve God being drowsy, which is a feeling of being sleepy and lethargic.

 

Whenever I indulge in gluttony, I feel not only sleepy and lethargic but also powerless as the desire for food overwhelms me. After I indulge in gluttony, I feel off my path, exactly the opposite of what Proverbs 4:27 teaches: “Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” Whenever I surrender to this first evil, the sin of gluttony, I stray away from God.

 

1 John 2:16 explains this in great detail:

“For all that is in the world - the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes - are not from the Father but are from the world.” So what it means is that whenever I give into the desires of the flesh, such as the sin of gluttony, indulging in food, it is not from God, so it is evil.

 

The first evil I battle is gluttony.

 

Only a few people know this: my best friend Maria, my neighbors Gabby and Mary, and the readers on my Christian blog posts about fasting and the plant-based diet. I will link those resources below in the description box if you want to read. There, I shared my food diaries, and they reveal my struggles with gluttony, the first evil that’s distracting me from God.

 

The second evil in my life is lust.

 

“Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” - Proverbs 4:27 says. How does lust lead me to the left and toward evil when I’ve been celibate for many many years?

 

Matthew 5:28 establishes this very clearly: “a woman who looks at a man with lustful intent has already committed adultery with him in her heart.”

 

If you know my addiction story, you know that I struggled with promiscuity and slept around for years. I am divorced three times, and I live a simple, single, celibate life with Jesus Christ who has my heart.

 

But this celibacy is fragile, though I’ve stayed faithful to God for many years, I know how fragile I am, and how strong the enemy is, so I battle this evil courageously every time lust is lurking around looking to devour me and lead me astray from Jesus.

 

A few days ago, I went to the UPS, and there was a new employee there: tall, handsome, beautiful curly hair, very gorgeous man. As soon as I began noticing these thing I just shared with you, I became alarmed knowing where they lead. They never ever lead toward purity and faithfulness to God, and you know it.

 

I was doing a return of an ab roller. He asked me about my abs, told me he is a fitness instructor, and with my return label, he gave me his cell phone number. Once I got out and to my car, I saw the paper, which said: “Joseph” and his cell number.

 

In that moment, I knew exactly where this would lead, so I immediately threw away this piece of paper and prayed to God for calmness and purity of my thoughts.

 

I’m 38, and I first gave myself away at 16. While I’ve been single and celibate for years, I know those fire works that I saw coming from Joseph. They are beautiful but very dangerous, and I stay away from them at all times.

 

“Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” - Proverbs 4:27 and I keep my foot away from this evil. As far as the evil of gluttony, as I’m sharing this devotional with you, I have missed my timeframe for releasing it as I promised you’ll have it by 7:15 pm on Sunday. It’s 11 pm, I feel exactly as the Bible warns: lethargic. Why? Because I gave in and indulged in gluttony today so now I feel physically sick and mentally foggy.

 

This is the human condition.

 

It’s why I need Jesus every day.

 

The battle between the flesh and the Spirit is ongoing, and that is exactly why we are warned so prominently “Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” - Proverbs 4:27.

 

What is the evil you are fighting in your life? Let’s do an exercise so that you can ponder Proverbs 4:27 in practical ways.

 

 

PART 2. PROVERBS 4:27 SPIRITUAL EXERCISE TO GROW YOUR FAITH

 

 

I want you to think right now about YOUR journey with God and what distractions you battle. What is it that constantly tries to take over your mind in order to lead you astray from God’s purpose and His straight path for your life?

 

Once you identify what that evil is, go to AnnaSzabo.com/proverbs-427 and let me know in the comments what evil things you courageously confront within yourself abs how God helps you, as well as your challenges in this battle. Once you share it with me, I want to hold you accountable because your next step in this exercise is the following:

 

“Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” - Proverbs 4:27.

 

Tell me what you are working hard NOT TO DO, and I’ll be your accountability partner and your personal prayer warrior. Now, let me pray for you.

 

Before I do, if you’d like to support my ministry, there’s a link in the description where you can make a donation and shop my Christian apparel collection with encouraging and empowering Biblical affirmations to help you create a joyful life by embracing God’s word.

 

Let me pray for you.

 

Actually, why don’t your pray this with me?

 

 

PART 3: “KEEP YOUR FOOT AWAY FROM EVIL” BIBLICAL PRAYER

 

Father God, you are good, and I trust your 3573 promises in the Bible. One of your promises, God is 1 Corinthians 10:13 “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”

 

God, I believe that whenever I’m battling temptations, whenever there’s  a fight within me between the flesh and the Spirit, you provide an escape, God. Let me see it every time. Let me choose to exercise my free will and take an opportunity you provide to escape my intense and overwhelming temptations. I am yours, God.

 

I want to obey your instructions and follow your narrow path, which is straight. “Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” - Proverbs 4:27 instructs me. Father God, any time I’m led to the left or to the right by worldly temptations, let me choose to follow you, allow me to keep my feet away from evil, not in my own power but through Christ in me.

 

I pray this in His name, in the name of Jesus, my Lord and Savior. Amen.

 

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• fasting AnnaSzabo.com/fasting
• plant-based diet AnnaSzabo.com/plant-based-diet

 

Post your review for The Anna Szabo Show: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-anna-szabo-show/id1291722423

Donate to support my Christian ministry: http://bit.ly/EncourageAndEmpowerWomen

Subscribe to my Christian Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3Ov7nEByxO4i0KwtLTY6tw?sub_confirmation=1

Subscribe to my Christian Poems: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8QbWd_SW84W-VdWaF-0VTQ?sub_confirmation=1

Subscribe to my Christian Devotionals: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbIxZQLVKQYQMtJcjALqzEw?sub_confirmation=1

 

Subscribe to my Christian Meditations: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWhMhxk8x2qS9m9Qqc3StPA?sub_confirmation=1

Subscribe to my Christian Prayers: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXYyRkw_vDeGpDm4hCoXubg?sub_confirmation=1

Subscribe to my main channel for Christian women: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8HrGuEZ26l5Oq7fjWY5x5Q?sub_confirmation=1

Download my free ebook "52 Things God Says About You" http://bit.ly/52DEVOTIONALS

Shop my Christian apparel on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Jwh8hL

Shop my Christian apparel on TeeSpiring: https://annaszaboart.myteespring.co

Visit my Christian art store on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/AnnaSzaboArt

Buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/annaszabo

“Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.” In today’s Biblical devotional for Christian women, we will ponder Proverbs 4:25 and its practical application in our daily lives: https://onlinediscipleshipforwomen.com/let-your-eyes-look-straight-ahead-proverbs-4-25

There are three things you can expect:

1. You’ll hear the Biblical devotional I prepared for you
2. There will be an exercise for you to do in order to ponder Proverbs 4:25 as it relates to your current situation
3. I’ll pray for you to lift you up to God and ask for His peace, protection, provision, and promotion in your life

 

PART 1. BIBLICAL DEVOTIONAL FOR CHRISTIAN WOMEN

 

Have you ever felt distracted from your purpose, knowing exactly what you need to do, walking the narrow path, following God, and staying focused? I have.

In fact, I’ll share my personal stories with you. Two stories.

The first story happened twice. I was 22 lb overweight and felt that I was on the wrong health path. God called me to pursue holistic weight loss to honor Him with my body. And I knew exactly what to do, but doing it was difficult because the numbers on my scale showed no result.

For a long time, my weight wouldn’t come off but despite my distractions with numbers, I kept following God’s calling and guidance on a very narrow path: 10000 steps a day, 100 squats a day, regular water fasting, and eating a plant-based diet. “Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.” Proverbs 4:25 helped me push through and stay focused on one step at a time, one step only, step by step. I fixed my gaze directly before me. At the end of 60 days, all my weight melted away, and I was the healthiest I had been. You might wonder: why would you need to go through this twice? The reason why is that I was rear-ended in a car accident and had to recover. After my recovery, I went on to lose 22 lb again by doing exactly what Proverbs 4:25 teaches us to do.

Here’s my second personal story.

Today is 2/7/2021. On January 1st this year, I started publishing a video a day on my main YouTube channel, which I’ll link below for you. I have been working so hard, but my analytics show that right now my videos get only between 14 and 200 views. It looks like I’m getting nowhere. The analytics make it appear as if I am not going far. But God gave me a vision for my ministry Online Discipleship for Women. He asked me to take my message to YouTube. And He advised me to do this: “Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.” Proverbs 4:25.

I am publishing a video every single day on my main YouTube channel for Christian women, following God’s sacred word.

In addition to that, today, I started a new YouTube channel called The Anna Szabo Show where I now publish my weekly podcast. I have only 1314 subscribers on my main channel and zero subscribers on my podcast channel as of today.

But I won’t let myself get distracted!

“Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.” Proverbs 4:25

That’s what I’m doing.

Because God called me to a very specific mission. He created me for this purpose. And I won’t get destructed. I am staying focused, fixing my gaze directly before me, taking productive action every single day. And I want to share with you my poem about purpose, which I hope will help you focus and take action without letting anyone or anything distract you.

This is poem number 127 at AnnaSzabo.com/poems

 

“Purpose”

 

Purpose is what you know you are supposed to do.

It’s what you’re confident you were created for.

It’s why you think God to Himself you drew.

It helps transform your life into a blessing from a chore.

Pursuing purpose is fulfilling and exciting.

Your purpose fuels your daily life with joy.

A purpose-driven future is inviting

Because it can your heart and mind deploy.

Pursuing purpose is a very special blessing.

To know your purpose is to live a life of meaning.

Your purpose knowing, you yourself can be expressing

In spite of others’ hateful interfering.

9/26/2020 © Anna Szabo, JD, MBA

 

 

PART 2. PROVERBS 4:25 SPIRITUAL EXERCISE TO GROW IN FAITH

 

I want you to think right now about YOUR purpose. What is it that God put in your heart as fire but something always gets in a way of you taking productive steps on your path anointed with God’s purpose?

Once you identify what that fire in your heart is, go to AnnaSzabo.com/proverbs-425 and let me know in the comments what your purpose is. Once you share it with me, I want to hold you accountable because your next step in this exercise is the following:

“Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.” Proverbs 4:25

Tell me what your purpose is and let me cheer you on as you fix your gaze directly before you and do what God anointed you to do. Now, let me pray for you.

Before I do, if you’d like to support my ministry, there’s a link in the description where you can make a donation and shop my Christian apparel collection with encouraging and empowering Biblical affirmations to help you create a joyful life by embracing God’s word.

Let me pray for you.

 

PART 3: “LET YOUR EYES LOOK STRAIGHT AHEAD” BIBLICAL PRAYER

 

Father God, you are good, kind, wise, and loving. I pray for the woman listening to this Biblical devotional right now to clearly hear your voice, to realize her divine purpose, to take productive action, letting her eyes look straight ahead, fixing her gaze directly before her, as Proverbs 4:25 instructs her to do. God, let this message wake her up to her spiritual blessings so that she realizes how special she is that you called her to do very special things. I pray for your supernatural peace, protection, provision, and promotion in her life as she’s following you through the narrow path, focused on you wholeheartedly. I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. Amen.

 

Donate to support my Christian ministry: http://bit.ly/EncourageAndEmpowerWomen

Subscribe to my Christian podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3Ov7nEByxO4i0KwtLTY6tw?sub_confirmation=1

Subscribe to my main channel for Christian women: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8HrGuEZ26l5Oq7fjWY5x5Q?sub_confirmation=1

Shop my Christian apparel on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Jwh8hL

Shop my Christian apparel on TeeSpiring: https://annaszaboart.myteespring.co

Visit my Christian art store on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/AnnaSzaboArt

Buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/annaszabo

 

 

In this Biblical devotional for Christian women, let's ponder 1 Thessalonians 5:17 - how to pray without ceasing. If you've ever asked yourself: "What does pray without ceasing mean?" this Christian podcast is for you. I'll share with you how and why I myself pray unceasingly AnnaSzabo.com/pray-without-ceasing-1-thessalonians-5-17

1 Thessalonians 5:17 New International Version says: pray continually.  

Why should we pray continually? I can speak for myself and share my testimony in hopes that it will help you reflect on your life and your relationship with God and your own faith. I’ll explain from my own experience how to pray without ceasing.

I am pursuing intimacy with God.

I want to know Jesus, not only be known by Him. I talk to God. I hear God’s voice. And all this happens through prayer. I pray unceasingly. Because life is continuous and ongoing, my questions about life are also ongoing. That’s why I never stop praying. I want God to know that I am intentionally reaching out for Him, every single say, in every situation.

  1 Thessalonians 5:17 New Living Translation says: never stop praying.  

I believe that the Bible is God-breathed word.

I believe that 100% of the Bible is accurate and was created through the Holy Spirit in believers who manifested it physically, exactly how this Biblical devotional for Christian women is manifesting physically right now through the power of the Holy Spirit in me.

To continue being guided by God’s spirit, I cherish and leverage my direct communication line with him, which is prayer.

That’s why I never stop praying.

  1 Thessalonians 5:17 Amplified Bible version says: be unceasing and persistent in prayer.  

In everyday life, most Christian women have a habit of calling a mom or a sister or an aunt or a boyfriend or a husband or a grandma when things happen, when they have questions about something, or when they want to share their heart. 

I don’t have a mother. I don’t have a father. I have no sisters, aunts, uncles, or grandma. I’ve been single and celibate for years, so I don’t have boyfriends, husbands, or any mortal human to whom I’m reaching out on a regular basis to share my heart or to seek wisdom. 

I reach out to God, and that’s why in my prayer, I’m unceasing and persistent. I pray unceasingly. Next, I’ll explain from my own experience how to pray without ceasing.

  1 Thessalonians 5:17 Holman Christian Standard Bible version says: pray constantly.   

If I’m deciding how to best structure my day, I pray. When I wake up in the morning, I smile and pray for the day ahead. As I lie down to go to sleep, I pray and thank Jesus for a productive day and for keeping me safe. I pray constantly. 

In my work, I reach out for God regarding the topics I need to bring to your attention through my ministry for Christian women via my Christian podcast The Anna Szabo Show or my Christian YouTube channel or my Christian blog. I pray without ceasing: for guidance and wisdom.

  1 Thessalonians 5:17 Good News Translation version says: pray at all times.   

When I was going through a divorce years ago with my narcissistic husband who abused me, I prayed at that time, continually. And God blessed me with beauty for my ashes and my heartbreak. I pray without ceasing.

When I was looking for a new home to reestablish my life, I prayed at that time, continually. God blessed me with a beautiful home where I still live today, enjoy my life here very much, and heal. I pray without ceasing.

When I was looking for a new marketing job, I prayed at that time, continually. Gods gave me a new job, but it wasn’t meaningful. While working that job, I prayed at that time, continually, about a meaningful career, and God blessed me with this ministry – Online Discipleship for Women. I pray without ceasing.

When I was trying to lose 22 lb to get healthy and improve my health and quality of life, I prayed at that time, continually, and God led me to discover water fasting and dry fasting. I’ve lived a fasting lifestyle for years now, being the healthiest I’ve ever been in my life, maintaining my perfect weight, staying active, and having lots of energy. I pray without ceasing.

I pray at ALL times. I pray unceasingly.

  1 Thessalonians 5:17 International Standard Version says: continually be prayerful.   

Being playful means that praying to God is so much a part of your lifestyle and mental habits that praying to God is not only something you do, it’s also who you are. I am prayerful. It’s who I am. I’ve shared dozens of my personal prayers on my Christian blog and on my YouTube channel.

Also, people leave me their personal prayer requests in the comments both in my blog and on my YouTube videos. I always respond with a personalized genuine prayer from the bottom of my heart. I pray without ceasing. If you’d like me to pray for you, leave a comment. 

Before I pray for you, I want to invite you to support my ministry by making a donation. Click here to donate now.

Also, I created a beautiful collection of Biblical apparel for Christian women to encourage and empower you. Shop here now.

 

Donate to support my Christian ministry: http://bit.ly/EncourageAndEmpowerWomen

Enjoy my other Biblical devotionals for Christian women: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPKT7YZbpKzZ-SjtKfqM7LHYs8lP8eYHU

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8HrGuEZ26l5Oq7fjWY5x5Q?sub_confirmation=1

Watch my Christian podcast for women The Anna Szabo Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0ZKSvAWdZw&list=PLPKT7YZbpKzb7f5NVuDxZtUqCiK4KQnIQ

Get my free ebook about Christian identity: http://bit.ly/52DEVOTIONALS

Buy my merch on TeeSpring: https://annaszaboart.myteespring.co

Shop my Christian apparel on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Jwh8hL

Visit my Christian art store on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/AnnaSzaboArt

Buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/annaszabo

 

Let me pray for you.

Father God, I thank you for leading the woman listening to this Biblical devotional right now to my Christian podcast, The Anna Szabo Show. God, I believe that prayer is the most essential communication tool you gave us to talk to you and to hear from you. 

God, I ask that you lead and guide the woman, who’s listening to my Biblical devotional right now, into a more intimate and meaningful relationship with you when she can talk to you and hear from you by praying continually at all times. 

In the name of Jesus I ask this.

Amen.

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” – Exodus 20:12

In this devotional today, we will ponder this scripture, and at the end of my message, I will pray for you to lift you up to God and ask for His peace, protection, provision, and promotion in your life.

https://onlinediscipleshipforwomen.com/honor-your-father-and-mother-exodus-20-12

I’ve pondered Exodus 20:12 for many years because I have always wanted to honor my mother. As far as my father, I did not know him but I do know that he spent most of his life in prison. 

If you want to know about my life story, you can read my article called “Getting to know Anna Szabo.”  

If you read “Getting to know Anna Szabo,” you will learn that my narcissistic mother abused me, tortured me violently, bullied me cruelly, molested me at a very young age, taught me to prostitute my body, encouraged me to commit suicide, and told me repeatedly “I hate you and I just want you dead!”

I wanted to honor God by honoring my mother but I wasn’t sure how. My mother told me that the best thing I could do for her was to die. I attempted suicide twice at 11 and 12. But God saved me and revealed to me that He had a purpose for my life. I knew that suicide was not God’s will for my life, I knew that I had to continue living faithfully. 

I stayed in touch with my toxic mother after emigrating from Russia to America in 2008. However, by doing so, I was only exposing myself to more abuse and seeing clearly that my mother’s goal, indeed, remains until this day to bully me into suicide, which she told me will forever be her mission. 

When I went no contact with her, people in my Christian community would tell me I must let it go and try harder to make my mother happy.

Today’s Biblical devotional is for Christian women who, like me, have struggled on the one hand with guilt when separating from their abusive mothers and on the other hand longing for peace, safety, and boundaries to protect themselves as they should.

Exodus 20:12 makes it clear that your ultimate goal as a Christian woman is this: “that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”

Every time I was in contact with my toxic narcissistic mother, she’d bully me into suicidal ideation. 

It’s January 23rd of 2021, Saturday. 

My birthday was on Monday January 18th. I turned 38 years old. I haven’t seen my toxic violent cruel monstrous mother since 2008. This year is the first time I am able to share what I’ve learned on my journey with God who has grown my faith and revealed His purpose for my life to me, which is this: “that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”

That is God’s plan for my life and for your life. 

The most important thing is for me to continue living life, and my mother attempted to compromise this many times by physically attacking me and of course attacking me emotionally and mentally. 

After years of pondering Exodus 20:12, I have realized that maintaining contact with my narcissistic mother makes living a long life in the land my God has given me impossible. I had to choose to follow God. I had to choose life over darkness and death, which my mother inflicted on me. 

This year, in the past 22 days, I have released 15 videos on my YouTube channel about a specific topic dedicated to narcissistic mothers and their daughters. I’ve shared my own story of narcissistic abuse and so much more helpful information for Christian women who endured abuse from their toxic mothers.

Here’s what one woman wrote in her comments on my recent YouTube video:

“Thank you so much. I appreciate your message. I’m glad you’re doing these videos. I’m glad you got away from your torment. So many people don’t. I’m also glad God saved you. Be blessed!” This woman who commented on my video called called “What Does The Bible Say About a Narcissistic Mothers?” is right. 

Talking about this topic is unusual and very difficult. But God called me to ministry, and He asked me to share with you the same comfort I myself received from Him. It is why I founded Online Discipleship for Women in 2017, and now my ministry has helped Christian women across 208 countries. Glory to God! 

This is what it means to have days that are long in the land that the Lord my God is giving me. It’s only possible because I am alive. I am still alive only because because I established boundaries to protect myself from the death and darkness imposed on me by my toxic and conscience-lacking narcissistic mother. 

Only because of my no contact with her, am I able to honor God and continue living and serving His kingdom. By honoring God and doing His will, I am honoring my mother, though she’d prefer me dead.

If you are interested in the topic of honoring your mother, there’s a reason for it. If you’ve struggled with guilt when setting boundaries with your mother, this message is for you: God has a purpose for your life, He wants you to live a long and healthy life He has given you. Boundaries help you protect yourself so that you can live a long and healthy life with God.

One thing God revealed to me that helped with all my other breakthroughs and boundaries was this: I came here not from my mother but through her. I came here from God.

And so did you.

My mother always said to me that she gave me life and she can take it away any time. I believed her and lived in terror. It’s not true. She did not give me life. God did. 

The purpose of my life is to follow God’s will for me, which is revealed in His word, which is why I’m doing these Biblical devotionals for Christian women every Saturday here on my Christian podcast for women The Anna Szabo Show to ponder the word of God together with you so that we can each live a long and productive life with God. 

By doing so, we honor our mothers, from whose abuse, darkness, and toxicity the Bible teaches us to stay away. And my video called “What Does The Bible Say About a Narcissistic Mother?” reveals this truth in detail. Your life matters. Your health matters. Your focus matters. God brought you here for a reason. Protect yourself from abuse and stay faithful, productive, and alive.

Before I pray for you, I want to invite you to support my ministry by making a donation: donate here.

Also, I created a beautiful collection of Biblical apparel for Christian women to encourage and empower you. Shop my Christian apparel now.

Let me pray for you.

Father God, I thank you for for leading the woman listening right now to my Christian podcast and this special, very unique and authentic Biblical devotional for women.

Heavenly Father, in life, we will have troubles, and you already promised thus to us in James 1, but you also said that it is up to us to persevere with faith and fortitude and grow in hope while leaning on the Lord, not on our own understanding. 

God, in the natural, it seems as if we were supposed to make our mothers happy but it’s not at all what you call us to do as your daughters who must live long and productive lives honoring you, which honors our mothers, even if they would actually prefer us dead. 

Father, I thank you for giving the life to the Christian woman listening to The Anna Szabo Show right now. And I thank you for my life. I pray for your peace, protection, provision, and promotion, God, in Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Donate to support my Christian ministry: http://bit.ly/EncourageAndEmpowerWomen

Enjoy my other Biblical devotionals for Christian women: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPKT7YZbpKzZ-SjtKfqM7LHYs8lP8eYHU

Subscribe to my YouTube channel for Christian women: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8HrGuEZ26l5Oq7fjWY5x5Q?sub_confirmation=1

Watch my Christian podcast for women The Anna Szabo Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0ZKSvAWdZw&list=PLPKT7YZbpKzb7f5NVuDxZtUqCiK4KQnIQ

Get my free ebook about Christian identity: http://bit.ly/52DEVOTIONALS

Buy my merch on TeeSpring: https://annaszaboart.myteespring.co

Shop my Christian apparel on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Jwh8hL

Visit my Christian art store on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/AnnaSzaboArt

Buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/annaszabo

 

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”- Proverbs 3:5

Learn how to trust in the Lord with all your heart, as Proverbs 3:5 instructs Christian women. Discover how to lean on Him, not your own understanding. Hear my testimony: AnnaSzabo.com/trust-in-the-lord-proverbs-3-5

In this Biblical devotional for Christian women today, we will ponder this scripture, and at the end of my message, I will pray for you to lift you up to God and ask for His peace, protection, provision, and promotion in your life.

My name is Anna Szabo, and you are listening to The Anna Szabo Show, a podcast for Christian women to help you create a joyful life by embracing God’s word. I am the founder of OnlineDiscipleshipForWomen.com where you can find more than 1,000,000 words of helpful content I created to encourage and empower you. 

We live through the era of political violence, health crisis due to a global pandemic, the economic crisis caused by the pandemic, long-lasting unemployment caused by the economic crisis, and the list of our troubles goes on and on. There’s so much confusion in our minds and so much doubt in our hearts...

I know. This season is difficult for me personally, too. In the natural, it looks like God perhaps abandoned his people completely. Maybe God betrayed us? Or does He not even care? Is God good?

I wrote a detailed blog post about it on my ministry website and also did a podcast about it: “Is God Good?"

Trusting God is hard. But that’s why we needed faith, which is hope in the things unseen. To help myself trust in the Lord with all my heart, I typically look back at my experience with God, I examine if God stayed true to His promises, and I see through introspection that God is faithful.

"How To Trust God" video playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPKT7YZbpKzaqnOMo7kTKG1EjnjZCN_0G

 

I also know that when we are facing hardships, we can’t see the big picture. But I assure you: God is not on vacation right now, He is present in your life right now, He cares about you right now, and His plan for you is good.

Mentioned in this Biblical devotional for Christian women is my domestic violence story: https://onlinediscipleshipforwomen.com/domestic-violence  as well as my narcissistic abuse marriage https://onlinediscipleshipforwomen.com/narcissistic-relationship-abuse

May my Christian video encourage and empower you!

Donate to support my Christian ministry: http://bit.ly/EncourageAndEmpowerWomen

Subscribe to my Christian YouTube videos:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8HrGuEZ26l5Oq7fjWY5x5Q?sub_confirmation=1

Watch my Christian podcast for women:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0ZKSvAWdZw&list=PLPKT7YZbpKzb7f5NVuDxZtUqCiK4KQnIQ

Get my free ebook about Christian identity: http://bit.ly/52DEVOTIONALS

Buy my merch on TeeSpring: https://annaszaboart.myteespring.co/listing/difference-maker-52devotionals?product=288&variation=6099&size=1578

Shop my Christian apparel on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Jwh8hL

Visit my Christian art store on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/AnnaSzaboArt

Buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/annaszabo

 

MY PRAYER FOR YOU:

Father God, I trust in the Lord with all my heart and I’m praying for the woman listening to this Christian podcast right now. I’m lifting her up to you asking that you strengthen, multiply, and compound her faith in this difficult season of life, that you reveal yourself to her right now through this message and my prayer, that you comfort her through my Christian ministry with the same comfort I myself received from you, God, and that you bless the woman who is listening right now with your divine protection, favor, provision, clarity, and promotion. I pray these sacred things in the marvelous name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.

Amen.

 

My goal with the Biblical devotional for Christian women is to encourage and empower you. “Take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” - 2 Corinthians 10:5. Have you ever asked yourself “How do I take every thought captive?” Today, I want to comfort you more than ever with the same comfort I myself receive from God every day. I will teach you my "Six Practical Ways to Take Your Thoughts Captive."

Mentioned in this Christian podcast for women are my powerful Biblical devotionals, which you can download for free here: http://bit.ly/52DEVOTIONALS

The Cristian apparel with my empowering Biblical devotionals featured can be purchased here: https://amzn.to/2Jwh8hL

How do I take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ? I promised you my "Six Practical Ways to Take Your Thoughts Captive." Here are my steps when I am overcome by fears, and I hope that this process will help you get comforted by God in the same way He comforts me.

Six Practical Ways to Take Your Thoughts Captive

Step 1. I examine my thoughts. What am I thinking? 

Step 2. I pray for God’s comfort and to renew my mind.

Step 3. I read God’s word, study His promises, and devour His truth as it relates to my current situation.

Step 4. I declare relevant Biblical scriptures as God’s eternal truth. 

Step 5. I intentionally choose to believe God’s promises and not my emotions.

Step 6. I practice Biblical affirmations, which I created and memorized to help me take every thought captive every time. It has to be a habit. Right now, every day, I declare the following Biblical affirmations for women.

I am not alone

I am never alone, God is always with me.

As I pass through the deep waters,

He holds me in the palm of His hand, 

And I trust His protection guarantee. 

I am powerful

I can do anything and everything through Christ.

To empower me, His precious life he sacrificed.

I am capable, competent, skilled, and effective.

Jesus gave me power and issued against my self-doubt directive. 

I am victorious

I am more than a conqueror or a mere winner.

Even in afflictions and adversity, I have peace inner.

I find victory and joy. I grow in faith and hope.

Through trials, my intimacy with Christ grows in scope. 

I am peaceful 

I have peace in every way.

It is perfect. It is sacred.

All the time my Lord is near,

And by Him my life's directed.

I am protected

My God is with me and He strengthens me.

He upholds me with His righteous right hand.

He protects me from every evil and rescues me.

I don't fear as on God’s eternal promises I firmly stand. 

I am faithful  

I have faith in God, my Father.

I have faith in His great plan.

I have faith that He will honor

All His promises in my lifespan.

These are my exact "Six Practical Ways to Take Your Thoughts Captive." That’s how I deal with life’s adversity by taking every thought captive to obey Christ and God’s truth. I want to leave you with my Christian poem called “Standing on God’s promises” which I hope will encourage and empower you, no matter what you’re going through. Before I share my Biblical poem, I want to invite you to support my ministry for Christian women by making a donation: http://bit.ly/EncourageAndEmpowerWomen

And here’s my poem called "Standing on God’s Promises."