Devotions for Teens

[Soldier4Christ]

  Worthy of Our Praise

Praise the LORD. [Hebrew: Hallelu Yah] How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!  Psalm 147:1

The other day I was listening to a Hillsong DVD called God He Reigns.  The DVD is an awesome collection of songs that were written and sung by the group from Australia to give praises to our god.  A number of songs on the album, Emmanuel, Savior and the title song God He Reigns, are wonderful reminders of who it is that we owe not only our salvation to, but all of the blessings that come into our lives.

How often do you think about, or actually take the time to praise God for all that He has provided for you?  With the business of our lives, we often seem to forget that praising God is something that we only do on Sundays at church services.  In Psalm 48, the Sons of Korah wrote the following verse: In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name forever. Selah   I have so much admiration for Darlene Zschech, the lead singer and worship director at Hillsong Church.  She has devoted most of her life to a ministry of helping other Christians to praise and adore God.  When she sings, it is obvious that she loves the Lord and has a grateful heart.

The verse above from Psalm 48 exhorts us to praise our God forever.  That's just what the Christians of Old Testament times did.  That is how they felt and why they wrote Psalms in the way that they did.  It was an expression of their gratefulness for the blessings that God had provided them.  Do I dare say that Christians living in New Testament times should as well?  How does the saying go; "If you were charged with being a Christian, would there be sufficient evidence to convict you?"

Give some serious thought and prayer to that question today.  As you think about it, ask yourself how you can give praises to our God.  That is one of the ways in which we can show others that we are grateful to God for all that we have.  In doing so, it becomes another way to witness to a dark and lost world of how we feel in our hearts for all God has provided us.  This shows those around us that we are truly different, that we are 'set apart' from the rest of the world. 

My challenge to you today is this: find some time to praise God for all He has done for you.  Do it in such a way so people will notice it comes from a heart that truly loves Jesus Christ.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Rejoice Always

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4

Rejoice means to be glad. To be honest sometimes it can be hard to be glad always and to rejoice always when problems, troubles, struggles enter our lives or when something unexpected happens in our lives that knock us off our feet and causes our focus to shift in another direction. The bible say to be glad always, rejoice always. How can I rejoice when I am having problems at home, at school? How can I rejoice when I am having problems on the job? How can I rejoice when I am dealing with something right now in my life? You want me to rejoice God when I am hurting, when I am in pain? You want me to rejoice when I can’t take life and all the stuff I been through and facing now is weighing me down? Rejoice in the lord always is what the bible say. In the good times, praise his name, in the bad times do the same in everything give the king of kings all the thanks is what we sing. Can we actually do what the song say when we are going through? The bible also say I will bless the lord at all times and his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

I will be honest with you, there were times when I couldn’t worship and praise God because stuff was weighing me down, so much on my mind, that my attention and focus wasn’t where it was suppose to be. When things happen in our lives that we don’t like, we shouldn’t stop worshiping and praising God because in spite of your situations and circumstances, you still have life. The lord is with you all the way in spite of and you will get through it. You will pass the test. You will get through the storm. The lord is holding your hand but be glad always. Rejoice always and again and again and again I say rejoice for the lord is still good.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Don't Blink

Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Ecclesiastes 11:1

I love that new Country song called “Don’t Blink.”  By Kenny Chesney.  It is about a man turning 102 being interviewed and asked to tell about life.  He said to give love and respect, especially to your mother and father.  And that life goes by fast so slow down and enjoy it and those around you.

My great Aunt passed away a few days ago.  She lived to be 81. Her life here on earth was blessed.   She had many children and grand children and great grand children. Who are very good people and Christians.  We are very sad because she gave so much of her self to each of us and we are going to miss her.  She did cast her bread upon the waters, giving her love and time and it did come back to her in her life time, she had  family and friends who gave their time and love back to her.

She and  my great Uncle had been married for 63 years.  He is 82 and a diabetic.  He told me that he had been taking care of himself so he was able to help his wife but now that she is gone, he doesn’t have anything to live for. 

I told him to look around him.  The house was overflowing with family and friends.  I said, “You have lots of reasons to live.  We all love you, we will be here for you. You are very important to us and we are important to you.”   He agreed though his heart is broken.

Over the past few days, I have been thinking about how my Aunt touched my life in such a positive way.  She always made me feel special and important. It makes me want to be a more giving person like her. 

“But this I say; He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”  2 Corinthians 9:6

The time is coming when we will sow no more, death awaits us all.  There will no more sowing of seed here or casting bread once we are in the grave.  We cannot get lost time back.  We should embrace every moment we have on this earth. Not to be all  self absorbed but to reach out so you don’t miss out.

Take some time to reflect on your own life and strive to be more grateful, loving and respectful,  and remember you will reap what you sow.  If you are there for others, others will be there for you.  Help others because there will come a day when you will need others to help you.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Friends

A man [that hath] friends must show himself friendly.  Proverbs 18:24

During your teenage years they can make you or break you.  They can stress you out more than anything else.  No, they aren’t zits or clothing or even grades…they are your friends. 

All through high school and college you have to be in the right social circles.  In high school you have the jocks, cheerleaders, preps, party goers, nerds, etc.  In most colleges there are fraternities and sororities that everyone wants to be a part of.
 
While social status may be the important factor in the world today, that doesn’t mean you should snub those considered “lower” than you. When you ignore others, you are showing that you don’t care about them.  Less and less people will like you because of your harsh actions.  Proverbs says that, “A man who has friends must show himself friendly.”   When you are nice to everyone, God’s grace shines through you and you become a friend of all of the groups at your school or work.

Go out of your way today to be kind.  See the rewards that God will grant you when you treat everyone the way you would like to be treated.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Praise is a Sacrifice?

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Hebrews 13:15,16

The worse life gets, the more important it is to praise God during those times. Even though praising God is the furthest thing from our mind and our heart, it's the most necessary thing we can do. Why? Because praise is not a sacrifice if we only do it while things are going good in our life. It's not a sacrifice when it's easy to do.

For the last few weeks I've been under a lot of heavy scrutiny at work. I manage a large department and we have been really busy. Our business has been good, the department has grown a lot, but we were having some big issues with managing our inventory. As a result, I have been in a lot of trouble. This was a major source of stress to me and was causing me to lose sleep. As I prayed for God's guidance about it one morning, He told me to praise Him. I had in mind more for God to strike the people with lightning, but instead He simply told me to praise Him. I was shocked. I wasn't in the mood to worship Him, as a matter of fact, that was the furthest thing from my mind. After praying a little more, I realized that really was God's final answer to me. So I reluctantly began to count my blessings and praise God for my life.

I spent some time praising and worshiping Him. In the middle of it, I remembered a quote from bible college "a thankful heart cannot be miserable because thankfulness and misery cannot coexist." Since I was tired of being miserable, I became thankful. I didn't feel it at first, but after I praised God for a couple of minutes, I could feel the pressure lifting off of me and I could feel the misery leaving me. That made me praise God even more and even harder than before, which led to a great time of worship. In that period of just a few minutes God had completely changed my mood.

As I got dressed and went to work, I had an entirely new outlook on my life. I had once again started looking at things from a spiritual perspective. Although the storms were raging on the outside, it was calm and sunny on the inside. Even now the outside storm rages, but it's good, because God's holding me in His hands. How is your life today? Are things going bad? Then it's a perfect time to offer the sacrifice of praise. If things are going well in your life right now, print this devo out and keep it with you, you'll need it sometime. Have a blessed day resting in the comfort and assurance of knowing we serve an awesome God, most especially when bad things are happening to us. God is still bigger than our biggest enemy and circumstance.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Jesus: Then and Now

“So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in a manger.” Luke 2:14 (NASB)

How easily I could take this verse and minister a Christmas message. However, that’s not where I’m going with this. Luke is giving us a visual of what the three wise men walked into as they found the manger. I’m sure as all new parents are; Mary and Joseph were amazed at the little baby in the manger. The three wise men found Jesus being totally dependant on his parents as all babies are.

The great revelator, John, gives us another look at the same man. Revelation 19:11-15 says, “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

The two pictures we see in the texts are so amazing, yet so contradictory. Luke shows us a baby, and john shows us a warrior; a man of authority and power. Jeremiah had the privilege of declaring that God knows the plans he has for us. As He saw his son laying in that manger totally dependant upon his parents, God knew the role Jesus would play as the savior of the world, and who would take the authority from the devil.

How does apply to us? We’re going to feel like babies at times, and God knows that, and that’s why we have spiritual parents in our life. But He also knows where our lives are going. Keep reading the verses in Revelation 19, and you’ll see that we’re in that battle with Christ. The bible records that the armies of God rise up in victory in the war. As Christ reigns in victory, so do we, for it is in Him we live, move and have our being.

[Soldier4Christ]

  He Said She Said

A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret. Proverbs 11:13

Do you gossip? It’s a pretty easy question to answer. If your contemplating on answering , "Umm...not really, I don’t think its called gossip." Then let me give you the definition of gossip that I found on dictionary.com.

Gossip - idle talk or rumor, about the personal or private affairs of others, speak about others and reveal secrets, not always truthful

Now that you have the correct definition can you now answer the question truthfully? Yes you have gossiped. EVERYONE has. Its one of those sinful programs installed in us. To "get the dirt" and "spread it around to others". For some reason gossip makes us feel good about ourselves, to put others down about their lives. Have you ever noticed that when you gossip about other peoples business you don’t have all the true facts. Your simply going off what you heard from someone. You couldn’t bet your life on it if it was exactly true or not, but you do feel the need to tell others. Its not good people. Gossip hurts others. Talking about someone behind their backs about their personal life is not right. Whether you like the person or not its not right to do. I know for a fact I don’t like it when people talk behind my back, especially because I’m the type of person who doesn’t talk to many about my personal life. So when I hear "stuff" being said about me, it hurts. The Bible is packe d with verses about avoiding gossip. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is 1 Thessalonians 4:11, " Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands..." This verse tells us to make it our ambition to lead a quiet life...a quiet life people, this means not parading your life around to everyone. Not poking your nose in other peoples business. It says it right there in black and white, MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS . Not many other ways to put that.

I know for a fact that everyone struggles with this. Its our human nature to feed off other peoples personal lives. If you gossip a lot about people, causing issues, spreading stories around that aren’t true, blowing up small issues just to make the story sound a bit more "juicy", you will find at the end of the day you have no one. NO one wants to be around someone who talks badly about other people. NO one wants to be friends with someone who blows up stories to make themselves look better. So the next time your on the phone or in the office or at school, and you find yourself slipping into the gossip mode, ask God to show you that your life isn’t at all perfect, and that you don’t have the right to talk about others. Just remember people to mind your own business. Ask God to show how to lead a quiet life for Him. Stop back -stabbing the people around you, because one day you’ll find that someone else is doing it to you.

[Soldier4Christ]

  How To Shine

"If you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as noonday."
(Isaiah 58:10)

So often we forget the things, which should be the fruit of our salvation. Things that go beyond our prayer time, our Bible study, our "ministry" as we know it  --things that work repentance and humility in our hearts for God in a way that no other "religious" practice could come close to. We forget the basic concepts of easing the yoke for others, helping the poor, and going out of our way -- sacrificing -- to comfort the afflicted.

Even before Christ began his public ministry, John the Baptist preached repentance to the people to prepare their hearts for the Lord that was to come. When they asked him what they should do, his first reply was "let him who has two coats give to he who has none." And the Bible makes it clear that John's only purpose was to fill in the valleys, to level the hills, and to make straight the path of the Lord. The hearts of the people needed to be set in repentance, producing fruit accordingly, so that they would be ready to accept Christ's words in their heart when he arrived.

So often is a "life-enhancing" gospel of personal fulfillment, joy, and love preached, we set aside and forget the righteous and pleasing deeds God requires. "Share your bread with the hungry," "bring to your house the poor who are cast out," "when you see the naked, cover him" (Isaiah 58). Yet, if John the Baptist, who was full of the Spirit from birth, was supposed to ready the people's hearts for Christ by calling them to such deeds, do we who profess Christ is supposed to ignore the heart of God while claiming to be His children?

Like all God's pleas or requirements, the call to "extend your soul to the hungry" is meant to bring us goodness, not to deprive us of it. For the scripture goes on to say that our light shall dawn in the darkness, and even our darkness shall be as the noonday. The work that such action will wrought in our heart is so profound that even in our bad moments, at our darkest times, we will shine like the sun at it's brightest of the day.

[Soldier4Christ]

  The Jail Cell Door

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:34-36 (NIV)

Upon taking a quick glance at Christianity, you hear some of the rules and some the ways Jesus asks us to live and you can almost picture Jesus standing at the door of a jail cell wanting you to go in and be locked up. "Thou shall" and "Thou shall not" can seem like a death sentence to any fun you may ever possibly want to have. But that is simply not the truth. As a matter of fact, it's radically not the truth. Living the life of a Christian is more freeing than you could ever imagine.

It's easy to just look at the Christian faith as a bunch of rules meant to suck all the fun out of our lives. As a matter of fact, some Christians treat Christianity this way too. This is not what God wants. Yes, there is a moral code God has given us and expects us to live by, but these aren't just rules that God made up because He's mean and wants to take all the fun out of life. God loves us. As a matter of fact I want you to personalize this: God loves you. Say that out loud "God loves me". He does love you deeply. He wants the best for you, not only in the afterlife, but in this life as well.

The things God tells us to do and the way He wants us to live is for a reason. That reason is that God wants the best for us and He can't give us the best when we aren't around. We have an enemy who is actively trying to hurt us at every turn. Satan will take any weakness you have and use it to his advantage. Through God's word, prayer and His people, Jesus will free us from every weakness we have if we will allow Him in.

I used to think of Jesus just being a jailer, trying to make me do His bidding. But when I started walking closer and closer to Him and that jail cell door, I started to understand that He really does have my best interests at heart. He has your best interest at heart in everything He says and does. When you finally close your eyes and take that last step through that jail cell door to stand beside Him, He smiles greatly and says "welcome to freedom, my friend". Then as you look back you will realize that Jesus wasn't trying to lead you in to a jail cell, He was trying to get you to come out of one. Walking beside Jesus is not a jail term; it's a death row pardon. Keep walking with Jesus, the view just keeps getting better and better the further away from the prison you get.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Stop Trusting In Man

"Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils.Of what account is he?" Isaiah 2:22

How often in this new age world do we feel the need to have acceptance from our peers? We have to dress right, say the right things, and act the right way. It's like a list of rules that if we don’t follow we're frowned upon. A few years ago I was in the ‘cool clique’ at my church, I was popular, had the title of being a girlfriend, and dressed oh so hott. But something inside of me was screaming out for help! I would sit in my closet at night, begging God to take me away, telling Him that was the only thing I wanted. I had everything most girls would give anything to have. I had the acceptance of man and his approval. Yet that wasn’t all I needed.

I remember sitting in youth group one night when they had an alter call for anyone who needed prayer to come forward. My soul yearned to go up, but being unwilling to yield to my spirit I selfishly stayed in my seat, mocking others who walked down the aisle. The thing that hit me the most was looking up and seeing at the front a guy whom I had liked before was staring at me with tears streaming down his face. I made fun of him. In May of 2004 I went to a conference called ‘The Making of a Princess.’ And while there God placed a restlessness inside me. I knew I couldn’t keep going down the road that was lit with romantic candles and soothing smells. So when they called people up for prayer, without any hesitation I literally ran up to the alter. Mind you it didn’t get any easier after that night, but I knew now that God was with me no matter what, when heaven and earth passed away, his words never would (Matthew 24:35).

As Christians in a compromising world its hard to not go with the flow and stand out. But remember that God is the alpha and omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end(Revelation 22:13). And while people will come and go all your life, God will always be there, no matter what.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Integrity

Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill?   He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart, and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman, who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the Lord, who keeps his oath even when it hurts Psalm 15:1-4



In today's world, Integrity is a behavior that is so often abused in so many circumstances, by so many people.  In this Psalm, David is entreating the Lord to know how he may someday be able to be with God in heaven.  We all know the story of how David messed up his life, commit adultery, and killed Batshebas husband.  However, that does not stop David from being repentant and having a desire to be with his Lord.

Every Christian ought to have a heart that has this same desire, to be with God at the end of the world.  Having integrity is a fundamental ingredient in achieving this lofty goal.  When all is said and done we have to be people who do what we say, regardless of what it might cost us.  Years ago when I was in a morning Bible study, we looked at Psalm 15 and dissected it verse by verse.  The leader of the study gave us a good description of integrity to follow.  It went like this: "Integrity is what you do when no one is watching you."  It's one thing to tell people how much you want to do what is right.  The evidence is how you would be able to answer that question.

Suppose you were attending college and had a take home exam to complete for your final grade in a very critical class that you needed to graduate your degree program.  The parameters set for the exam were closed book, however, you were able to use your notes taken during classes.   Would you be able to stand up in front of your fellow classmates and professor and honestly state  that you followed those guidelines for the test? 

When we hear about corporations such as Enron, the Lincoln Savings Bank debacle of years ago, we see how a lack of integrity by a handful can impact thousands of other innocent individuals.   What lies at the root of that kind of behavior?  Greed, selfishness and an enormous lack of any integrity in people in high positions looking to capitalize on others losses.  Today, take some time to search your hearts ans souls about the amount of integrity you have in your own life.  Would you be able to meet the qualifiers set out in Psalm 15?  If not, I suggest that you take some serious steps to clean up your spiritual house and throw off any sin or burdens that are entangling you from being a person of the highest integrity.

[Soldier4Christ]

  A Season for Everything

To every [thing there is] a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:  Ecclesiastes 3:1

Have you ever gone through something and could only wonder why?  You almost wanted to yell, “Why God; why is this happening to me?”  There was no explanation for what was going on in your life, and all you wanted was someone to care.

Maybe you have been on the opposite side of this though.  Maybe there have been some incredible circumstances pulled together in your life that are simply unbelievable.  A real life miracle that you can share with everyone you know. 

Personally, I have been on both ends of this spectrum.  I am going to take a wild guess and say that you have too. Ecclesiastes 3 describes these circumstances perfectly.  Verse one, as shown above, says that there is a time and a season for everything in life.  I recommend that you set aside time to read the following seven verses as well.  They describe all of the things you go through in life: being born, dying, laughing, weeping, love, war, etc.  There are so many diverse emotions described in these few short verses that they manage to cover all that one can feel.

When something bad is happening in your life, turn back to these verses.  Remember that God has a plan for you, and that even though bad things happen, joy will come your way.

[Soldier4Christ]

  Yes! I Have a Big Mouth

For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard. Acts 4:20

As a Christian you have probably been told or at least heard , "keep your beliefs to yourself."

It has been pounded into our heads on a daily basis that the things we believe should be kept to ourselves. We aren’t supposed to "force" our opinions on people, we aren’t supposed to talk about the Bible or God or anything on those lines. People tell us that we shouldn’t "offend" anyone with ‘what we believe.’ In my opinion that is a bunch of crud. Yup, thats what I think. Being the type of person I am , when I believe something I’m very bold about it. I’m very outspoken and say what I think. Sometimes it gets me in trouble. But you know what. I don’t care. The Bible tells us that we were put on this world to proclaim the name of Jesus and what He has done. It doesn't say, proclaim the name of Jesus ...only if it doesn't offend someone. It doesn’t say, proclaim the name of Jesus in a sugar coated way. It says proclaim the name of Jesus. Black and white. Proclaiming the name of Jesus isn't just talking about what Jesus has done for us, but it is showing others how to live like Him .

What kind of stand are you taking if you keep silent about your faith? If you don’t speak up about the Lord, then as a Christian your pretty much worthless to God. You can’t go through life being afraid to offend people about your faith. Yes you will offend people. People don’t like to hear the truth. They don’t like to be told that they way their living is wrong. They don’t want to hear that drinking, smoking, homosexuality, adultery, etc... is sinful. They think that making themselves happy , with a little fun here and there is ok. Its not in God’s eyes. So yeah speaking up will offend people. Some people won’t like you for it. But the Bible says that if you don’t speak up for the name of Christ, Christ won’t speak up for you on the day of judgment. You most definitely want Jesus to give a good word about you. So don’t be afraid to offend. Speak up and don’t be silent about what you believe.

[Soldier4Christ]

  He Came, He Sought, He Saved

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost,” (Luke 19:10).

When I was in High School back in the day, I loved to play sports. One of my favorite lines after we won a game was, “We came, we saw, and we conquered!” What a feeling that would run through our veins when we won! We would get crazy!

You know what? Jesus did the same, but in a slightly different manner.  He came, He sought, and He saved!  Just think, Jesus, the Son of God, which spoke and galaxies came into existence, stars burned into place, and the heavens and the earth unleashed in power and glory, came to this earth to seek us out, and to save us!

The more and more that I look at my salvation the more and more that I adore the Savior who sought me out, and saved me. Then, I ask myself, what kind of response does that deserve?  The answer is my everything!  Everything that I am is because of Christ, and therefore, everything that I am belongs to Him! Praise the Lord for seeking me, and giving me salvation!  May God’s Grace Abound in You!

[Soldier4Christ]

  Scared?

“Then he said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.’ Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.’"   Matthew 26:38-39(NIV)

"If you are a Christian, life will be perfectly easy and all your problems will magically dissolve away." That is one of the biggest lies I've ever heard, but that lie doesn't normally come from other people, it comes from Satan who can be a loud voice inside us.  He tells us we aren't really Christians when things mess up or if we struggle with problems, because he tells us you shouldn't be afraid of anything if you are a Christian.  By following Satan's advice, we totally leave the example that Jesus taught us right before He died.

I've heard people say that if you are a Christian, you shouldn't fear death.  I don't fear death but I'm a little concerned with the journey from here to there.  Being anxious, hurt and even being scared is normal.  God gave us emotions, while fear does not come from Him; it comes from the sin and death in the world.

As we look at the actions of Jesus in this passage, Jesus is overwhelmed terribly by what is going to happen.  He is worried and He tells the disciples He took with Him about His feelings.  Not only was Jesus real, He was honest.  He didn't pretend that everything was going to be OK, He didn't act like "a good Christian would" because true good Christians are real.  I have actually heard preachers tell people with terminal illnesses that, "A true Christian would not be afraid".  That is a lie.  Sometimes life is scary!  When you follow God it can get even scarier.  If you don't believe that, e-mail me and I will be glad to tell you about the first time I preached a sermon!

As Christians, we are to be real, not perfect.  Following God can be scary and we can get into situations where it may mean our life is at stake.  But I want to be sure to point out one last thing here.  Look at what Jesus prays to God, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."  Sometimes God may ask us to do things that terrify us, but He will never give you a job without the right tools.  You may even lose your life for it, and you have every right to be scared or worried, but remember that God is in control and truly the safest place is to be in the middle of God's will.