Activating the shield of faith to thrive through chaos

Join Judith Kambia Obatusa (JKO) as she discusses the power of faith as an unwavering anchor in life's chaos. In this inspiring conversation, JKO shares effective practices that you can use to activate your shield of faith and thrive through chaos. 

You can download this list of Bible based affirmations to help you in thriving through chaos. 

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Transcript

Welcome to this episode of Messy Can't Stop Her. I am your host, Judith Kambia Obatusa (JKO). Continuing with our discussion on thriving through chaos, today, we want to look at the role of faith in helping our thoughts and our words work for us. as an unwavering anchor through life's chaos. How does faith help a woman in a difficult life situation stay anchored on positivity when life's storms are raging?

Before we get into the deep end, let us look at the definition of faith? What is faith?

The Oxford dictionary defines faith as complete trust or confidence in someone or something. They also define faith as a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

Apprehension means fear or understanding.

So, this definition tells us that faith is when we have a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion because we are afraid that something bad will happen to you if you don’t or because you have a spiritual understanding even though you do not have proof of your fear or understanding.

However, the definition of faith that helps you thrive through chaos is grounded in the wisdom of the Bible.

This is something that's deeply personal to me because the only reason I am still here is because faith has become my unshakable anchor through the storms of life. 

Drawing inspiration from passages like Hebrews 11:1, we see that faith is being confident of what we hope for, convinced about things we do not see. This is the New Heart English Bible translation. The Christian Standard Bible says that faith is the proof of what is not seen.

This essence of faith is a guiding light in the darkest moments for those who give it the space to operate in their lives.

Navigating the chaos of life becomes more manageable when you have faith as your shield. Ephesians 6:16 speaks to this, highlighting how faith extinguishes the fiery darts of fear, doubt, shame, guilt…all the arrows that the enemy of our soul throws at us. 

So how can we activate the shield of faith?

Let me share 5 ways we can do this:

1.      Reading the Bible: In moments of fear, doubt, or uncertainty, turn to Psalms like Psalm 121 or Psalm 18. Let the words be your shield against life's fiery darts.

Psalm 121 says:

 1I will lift up my eyes to the hills—

From whence comes my help?

2My help comes from the Lord,

Who made heaven and earth.

3He will not allow your foot to [a]be moved;

He who keeps you will not slumber.

4Behold, He who keeps Israel

Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5The Lord is your [b]keeper;

The Lord is your shade at your right hand.

6The sun shall not strike you by day,

Nor the moon by night.

7The Lord shall [c]preserve you from all evil;

He shall preserve your soul.

8The Lord shall preserve[d] your going out and your coming in

From this time forth, and even forevermore.

OR Psalm 18

1I will love You, O Lord, my strength.

2The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;

My God, my [a]strength, in whom I will trust;

My shield and the [b]horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

3I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;

So shall I be saved from my enemies.

4The pangs of death surrounded me,

And the floods of [c]ungodliness made me afraid.

5The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;

The snares of death confronted me.

6In my distress I called upon the Lord,

And cried out to my God;

He heard my voice from His temple,

And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.

7Then the earth shook and trembled;

The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken,

Because He was angry.

8Smoke went up from His nostrils,

And devouring fire from His mouth;

Coals were kindled by it.

9He bowed the heavens also, and came down

With darkness under His feet.

10And He rode upon a cherub, and flew;

He flew upon the wings of the wind.

11He made darkness His secret place;

His canopy around Him was dark waters

And thick clouds of the skies.

12From the brightness before Him,

His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.

13The Lord thundered from heaven,

And the Most High uttered His voice,

[d]Hailstones and coals of fire.

14He sent out His arrows and scattered [e]the foe,

Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.

15Then the channels of the sea were seen,

The foundations of the world were uncovered

At Your rebuke, O Lord,

At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

16He sent from above, He took me;

He drew me out of many waters.

17He delivered me from my strong enemy,

From those who hated me,

For they were too strong for me.

18They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

But the Lord was my support.

19He also brought me out into a broad place;

He delivered me because He delighted in me.

20The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;

According to the cleanness of my hands

He has recompensed me.

21For I have kept the ways of the Lord,

And have not wickedly departed from my God.

22For all His judgments were before me,

And I did not put away His statutes from me.

23I was also blameless [f]before Him,

And I kept myself from my iniquity.

24Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,

According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

25With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful;

With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;

26With the pure You will show Yourself pure;

And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.

27For You will save the humble people,

But will bring down haughty looks.

28For You will light my lamp;

The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.

29For by You I can [g]run against a troop,

By my God I can leap over a wall.

30As for God, His way is perfect;

The word of the Lord is [h]proven;

He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

31For who is God, except the Lord?

And who is a rock, except our God?

32It is God who arms me with strength,

And makes my way perfect.

33He makes my feet like the feet of deer,

And sets me on my high places.

34He teaches my hands to make war,

So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;

Your right hand has held me up,

Your gentleness has made me great.

36You enlarged my path under me,

So my feet did not slip.

37I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them;

Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.

38I have wounded them,

So that they could not rise;

They have fallen under my feet.

39For You have armed me with strength for the battle;

You have [i]subdued under me those who rose up against me.

40You have also given me the necks of my enemies,

So that I destroyed those who hated me.

41They cried out, but there was none to save;

Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.

42Then I beat them as fine as the dust before the wind;

I cast them out like dirt in the streets.

43You have delivered me from the strivings of the people;

You have made me the head of the [j]nations;

A people I have not known shall serve me.

44As soon as they hear of me they obey me;

The foreigners [k]submit to me.

45The foreigners fade away,

And come frightened from their hideouts.

46The Lord lives!

Blessed be my Rock!

Let the God of my salvation be exalted.

47It is God who avenges me,

And subdues the peoples under me;

48He delivers me from my enemies.

You also lift me up above those who rise against me;

You have delivered me from the violent man.

49Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the [l]Gentiles,

And sing praises to Your name.

50Great deliverance He gives to His king,

And shows mercy to His anointed,

To David and his [m]descendants forevermore.

2.      Say what the bible says about you to yourself. You do this by root your affirmations in Biblical truths.

For example, the affirmations I have linked in the show description for this episode are based on what the Bible says about us. 

3.      Download bible apps for plans that address the challenges that you are facing. YouVersion is one of the most popular Bible apps and it has various plans that you will find helpful in building your faith.

4.      Another thing I do to raise up my shield of faith against the fiery darts of fear and doubt is singing. I remind myself of what God says about me, for example… I am who God says I am…

Or I remind myself of the things he does for us, for example… God will make a way …

Or I remind myself of who he is with a chorus like…  Waymaker, miracle worker…

5.      The shield of faith can also be raised by praying God’s word over ourselves and our situations. On today’s episode, I will be leaving you with a prayer…

Prayer…

Next week, we will explore inspiring stories of women who overcame through faith, both in the Bible and our world. We will also discuss how faith builds inner strength and resilience.

As we wrap up, I want to leave you with a benediction, from Isaiah 41:10 and Joshua 1:9. 

Do not be afraid, for God is with you. Do not be discouraged, for he is your God. Be strong and courageous. Do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. He will strengthen you and help you. He will hold you up with His victorious right hand.

Let faith be your unwavering anchor, guiding you through life's storms. When you do this, messy won’t stop you. Thank you so much for listening, see you next time.