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Each test of life prepares us for the next. And failure is only failure if we don’t learn from it. With that in mind, would you join me to revisit a global test of faith, and more importantly, reclaim spiritual ground and then reload for the next test of faith. Stick around to the end of the podcast to find out about a couple gifts for you. REVISIT What is faith? Simple definition, trust and confidence in something or someone. Of course we are talking about faith in God, who He is and what He says. Would you agree that fear is not necessarily the lack of faith but definitely the enemy of faith? Faith and fear fight for our heart’s focus, our sanity, and our influence. Fear is basically focusing on circumstances rather than God. Faith is focusing on God in spite of circumstances. The Bible talks a lot about fear, the testing of our faith and the power of faith. And it’s possible to feel fear but still act in faith despite the feelings of fear. Good news is God desires for us to win this battle and gives us what we need to do so! One of the most noteable battles of faith and fear came under the label of Covid19. Many of my friends, myself included, found ourselves facing fear in a brand new way. We were already weary and agitated from the election chaos when this new test appeared. Think about where you were when you first heard about it. I was waiting for surgery when I heard about the first case in the United States. And I remember listening to news and all they could talk about was how terrible this virus was and that it was going to kill just about everybody it seemed. At the time, Cindy and I were recovering from something unfamiliar and wondered later if that wasn’t Covid19. Then things started shutting down and I couldn’t believe it. Colleges, businesses, schools, sports, churches. New ways of meeting and doing business evolved but isolation, loneliness and depression were huge side effects. Another surreal thing was the silence. Cindy and I live under some of the flight paths of the Minneapolis/St Paul airport. It was eerily quiet. Seemed no one was traveling anywhere. Rush-hour didn’t even exist. Here in Minneapolis, you could travel the freeways at any time of day or night and not have any traffic to speak of. Kinda felt like the rapture had happened. People were afraid to go out of their homes and go shopping. Do you remember? Many of the men I run with were wrestling with anxiety and fear. Seeing how it gripped them shook me to the core. I was both surprised at their reactions but also tempted to join in. RECLAIM I have a dear friend and we would have discussions and he would say things like, “my” anxiety is at a higher level. Or “my” anxiety is flaring up. The word “my” gives ownership to something. I began to recognize the impact of ownership in these statements. When you own something like anxiety and call it yours, it’s very very difficult to give it up. But when you see anxiety for what it is, something that plagues you, don’t own it. Wow what powerful lesson for me, for him, for us all! Let’s recognize it, confess it and pray against it. That has been one of the biggest helps for me. Don’t own things you don’t want. Don’t own things that are not from God! It’s a new mindset for sure but I love it! I remember having discussions with several of my friends about what a decent response would be to the Covid pandemic, what God would say about it. Thoughts were really all over the map. I did NOT want to live in fear and knew I needed to take action! I believe God was working in my heart a simple response. Inspired, I went into the studio, grabbed my guitar and wrote Nothin’ Changes That. I suppose this was my declaration, my stance, putting Jesus over all of this, over the fear and the divisiveness. You are life, nothing changes that You are peace, nothing changes that You are hope, nothing changes that You are Lord, nothing changes that I find panic is one of the...