INSIDE VL Magazine - Sheridan Correa: Choosing Faith over Fear in Everyday Life

Hey iFam, this is Ashley and I'm on the team with Victorious Living and welcome to Inside VL Magazine. So all of you, I'm hoping, have gotten this magazine in your facilities and maybe you've read it. Not this particular one, but we have lots of different ones, some old, some new coming out. And so here we're just going to a deeper dive. You're going to hear from some of our authors and our writers and just how they share their story. They're going to read it to you. They're going to share some deeper, in-depth thoughts about what was going on in their mind and how they felt a certain way. And so our authors are true stories of real people sharing with you kind of where they got to the point where they surrendered to God. And so we're excited for you to be with us on this journey and we hope it inspires you to also take a step closer to God. So in today's episode, you're going to hear from Sheridan and she's our host of Stepping Forward. So hopefully you've watched her or if not, you can. Today she's going to tell us about choosing faith over fear in everyday life. So let's get ready. Hey, Victorious Living family, this is Sheridan Correa. I am the director of healing and restoration initiatives with Victorious Living and thanks for tuning in. Hey, today we are doing something different, something fun. This is not a stepping forward. We are, I, not we, but I am going to read my latest article in issue two of 2026 magazine with the lovely Julie Seals on the front. And why do we want to do this? We would love for you to take a dive into how the story was created or how the article

was written. For me personally, this article choosing faith over fear in everyday life, I do this on a regular basis. So I wanted to share with you the background of this article and how it even came to be, like what was going on in my life. And then I'm going to read it to you also. But first, before I get started and I read it, I want to introduce you and welcome you to my rare closet. This is a literal closet that I took everything out of. I placed a desk in here. I have a candle, a lamp. I have some words of affirmation and kind of a vision board that I did, a character vision board that I did, an identity vision board that I did several, several years ago. So I placed that up there. I have my journal. I have my scriptures and I have a prayer shawl. Look at this lovely thing. Okay. We'll do that another time. But, and some books and I have just so many books everywhere, but this is my prayer closet and this is where I battle. This is where I process my thoughts, my emotions, the experience on the inside, where I go to the word of God and I search the scriptures, not only for correction and for training, but for learning, seeking God, seeking God's heart, seeking the wisdom only found in scripture and in God and in applying it to my life. And I'm going to cry. I'm going to cry. This is where, this is where I, I become transformed. I become realigned, I become convicted, I become, you know, sanctified. All of it.

Prayer time, devotion, like this is, this is it. I wake up early somewhere between four and five o'clock and I come in here and I'm in here for two to three hours and depending on how just long I need time with the Lord, this is where I'll stay. And so this is a very sacred place for me. This is my secret place. And I just want to, I wanted to welcome you to it and show it to you. This is also where this article was written. And I actually wrote this article in December of last year. So what is it, July? So eight months ago, I wrote it and I'm trying to remember like what was going on in my life at that time. I think it was, you know, it was Christmas time and I was leading, co-leading the Christmas worship at my church, excuse me. The Christmas Eve event series, not sermon, the Christmas, come on Sheridan, the Christmas Eve, what is it called? Help me out, people. Just everybody came on Christmas Eve. We did three services, I think, for our church congregation and got to light the candles and, you know, do an hour and a half, an hour, hour and a half of just worship, just gorgeous worship and recounting the Christmas story and things like that. So it was such a great time. And I love singing worship. I love leading worship. I just, I love it so much. I love to sing to the Lord and sing praises to the Lord and corporately and with other people. It just gives me such great joy. I love to harmonize. That is my favorite.

That is my favorite. But it was a great time. And while being on stage and while, you know, trying to pick out my outfit to lead worship in and have this be a really special night, I decided one morning in my secret time to paint my nails red because it was going to match my shirt that I was going to wear. And this was a very bold and courageous act because if you see my fingers and some of you in New Hampshire, when I was up there last year, y'all be like, Oh my gosh, what's going on with your fingers over there? And people were making comments in the, in the congregate prison event and pointing at them. And I'm like, you point out these things. I know they're, they're extra. To paint them any other color than clear or nude, um, always felt extremely fearful and intimidating because my toes are also really long, but my fingers too, and they already get that for me, they always already feel like they're extra and out there. And that's like one of the first things that people see when I walk in the room. So to bring any extra attention to them, especially red was like, wow. And I decided I was going to do it and I was going to literally apply Joshua one nine to my life in such a what, what probably seems very trivial, but this was very, very personal and transformational for me. And so here it is actually, this is not the bottle because the other red was so red. It was like staining. I don't know. Maybe it was old, but I've checked it, but it was red, red, red, red, like dead, dead, but red, red. So that is the background story. And as I'm painting, I'm like, oh my gosh, I think I like this. This is, this is really pretty. It actually compliments, um, my fingers. And so that's the background.

Here we go. I'm going to read it to you. So choosing faith over fear in everyday life, I am on page 31 and if you have your magazine or even if you don't just read along, listen to me, whatever, I'm going to stop in between and kind of, um, just give, um, some extra stuff probably. So forgive me. Okay. Courage doesn't always look like bold speeches or heroic acts. Sometimes it's surprisingly small and in fact, sometimes it can be red fingernails. I should have painted my nails red for y'all for this. I recently painted my fingernails red. That may not sound courageous, but for me it was an intentional act of bravery. Why? Because my fingers have an identity and a reputation all their own. They are long, they are long, they are expressive and they are just extra. Whether I'm leading worship at my church, recording contents for the tablets or just teaching, um, in person, I consciously, consciously, and now y'all are going to know my secret. I consciously keep my fingers together so that they don't take over the stage screen or pulpit. They are loud without speaking and distracting without effort. So if you ever see me teaching, slide, slide, because they'll take up the whole screen. So I'll be doing this. People often make fun of them ever since I was little. That's the case. Their subtle comments and sideways glances leave me feeling flawed, exposed, and like I have a weakness that needs to be hidden. Now that is mostly true. Sometimes I just laugh with them like, I know, right? These are, these are something else, but that isn't true. I'm not flawed.

I'm not exposed and I do not have a weakness that needs to be hidden. Yes, my fingers sometimes look like they belong. to aliens, but God made them on purpose and gave them function. So despite the attention they receive, I decided to paint them and I chose red, the scariest color for me. Guess what? They're pretty. They might stand out, but that's okay. Those red nails are a reminder for me that courage isn't the absence of fear. It's choosing to act anyway, despite the fear. It's showing up honestly instead of shrinking back quietly. It's deciding not to be governed by insecurity, but instead by God's truth. In Joshua 1.9, the Lord said to Joshua, be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. God wasn't inviting Joshua to act courageously. He wasn't only inviting Joshua to act courageously, he was commanding it and more so he was giving him the permission as an identity as a child of God and having God with us and in us, giving us the permission to be strong and courageous. That is identity language, that word be, human being, our beingness. God gave this same command to Moses and the Israelites in Deuteronomy 31.6, where he also promised that he'd never leave or forsake them. Why would God repeat this command and encouragement to his people? Why would he say it to Moses and Israel and then again to Joshua? Well, they were facing unknown territory and stepping into responsibilities that felt bigger than their strength. They were leaving the familiar to walk toward what was promised and they felt exposed. It feels like by exposed, I mean like naked and afraid, like there's no covering, there's no hiding. We can go choose to hide, but just bare, just bare.

God didn't shame them for their fear, but instead he reminded them. I am with you, I go with you, I will never leave or forsake you. I frequently speak this scripture over my life, especially in moments when fear feels bigger than faith. I imagine Moses and Joshua had to regularly remind themselves of God's encouragement too. They probably had accountability partners, they probably didn't use the word accountability, but community to also remind them and each other of this truth. Being strong and courageous is not easy, but it is necessary if we want to do what God has called us to do. Every day I ask God for his strength so I can choose courage over fear. I want to obey him despite how I feel, despite my circumstances and despite my flaws, my past or my limitations or my failures. I want to stand in what he has called me into instead of allowing my emotions, my circumstances, my situations, all those things dictate my move, dictate my stepping forward, dictate my faith. Remembering that God promises to be with me and will never leave or forsake me helps me find the courage and the strength. I need to show up and act. This doesn't mean I never feel fear and that's far from the truth. It just means fear no longer determines my next move. Fear does not have the final say or the final word, God does. Fear doesn't have to determine your next move either, brothers and sisters. If you step out choosing to trust God's presence and his provision, he will march you right into your promised land free of addiction, free of broken relationships, of regret, of lack and of shame. But you have to act and you have to choose first like it said. If you step out choosing to trust God's promises, this is a making a decision, this is a choice and then you have to act and do something about it. You have to choose the uncomfortable and refuse to listen to your insecurities and what others whisper.

So today, whatever your red nails are, whatever small, quiet act of courage God is inviting you into, do it. Do it. Despite everything and everyone, God will be with you every step of the way. I hope you are encouraged by this message and I just, one of my favorite words is despite. This article was like, was way longer than this and I'll, let me show you. This is actually, this is the actual original journal entry that I wrote that morning and then turned it into an article. So this is, this is my literal processing. This is my literal, um, you know, way God speaks to me and how I process through things. I already said that, but how the, the lessons of my life, the applications of scripture are happening in my life in real time. And then what comes even out of it, like using it for a purpose for y'all. But one of my favorite words is despite, and in this, in my journal entry, I have it written, I don't even know how many times, probably 20 times. The word despite means in spite of, notwithstanding, regardless of, with, and nevertheless. And I, I love that definition because it does, it means that again, our feelings or circumstances, whatever we find ourselves wrestling with, whatever trial, whatever, um, the thing that leads leaves us feeling exposed and, and naked and afraid and all those things that does not have to have a, the final word, despite that I can still choose to act. I can still choose to step forward and isn't that what we, we do on our stepping forward series and show. So I hope this was encouragement to you that despite you being in prison, despite you being away from family, despite the, your past and the things that you're going through, I'm right now. Thank you, Lord. Despite all of those things, God is still on the throne. God is still in control and you can still act courageously and bravely and take that step forward into your faith, choosing to trust God that he is with you, that he is beside you, that he is within you.

He will go with you along the way to your destination, whatever your point B may be. And so I, I just take that truth and plant those seeds and water them and nurture them. And don't let the enemy have the last word. Don't be tempted to believe that you have to remain a victim and that you have to stay where you are and stay the same. Amen. Now let's get to our consider questions. Oh, look at that. I used the camera to do that. Okay. So these consider questions. For this issue that we put down these reflection and application questions for y'all so that you could find yourself maybe in the story and take it and do something with it. So consider this, consider means to reason. Think about it. Let's reflect. So what fear tries to control you? What fear tries to control you right now in your life? For me, it is fear of failure. I'm gonna be honest. And right now it is fear of intimacy. It is, you know, the, the fear of being vulnerable, fear of being hurt again. That's what I'm dealing with in my life right now. Oh, okay. Where is God calling you to be strong, even if you feel weak and especially if you feel weak, right? One of the first Beatitudes is blessed are the poor in spirit. And so when we are feeling weak, that word weak doesn't mean like, Ooh, you weak. It doesn't mean like you don't got no biceps and things like that. It's not an outward strength that is an inward strength or is the inward positional place

of surrender. And I know that when I feel weak, I also feel strong because that's what the word of God says, that I can get his strength in my weak places. So that word weak means strength less. And that is the place where God can work with us is when we feel strength less so that his power comes into our lives through the Holy Spirit and, and empowers us to take that step forward. He empowers us to act. He empowers us to act. in a way that we may not be used to. Timothy, in the word of God, in the book of Timothy, Timothy had a proclivity to feeling insecure. A proclivity just means like a bend, a lean toward, like that was kind of where he was. I don't wanna say personality wise, but I really, really relate to Timothy because I have a proclivity to feel insecure and like, oh my gosh, I can't do this, a lot of times. And that's why Joshua 1.9 is so, so, so big in my life because whether I am taking a step toward having a courageous conversation, as I call it, or being vulnerable and opening myself to love or to soul intimacy or even spiritual intimacy with somebody else, that is a place that I constantly have to speak Joshua 1.9 over myself and pray through that and trust that God is with me and he will go with me as I step forward to whatever my destination is in that time. All right, last question. What step of courage is God asking you to take

even if it feels small? Well, this step that he's asking me to take does not feel small. I'll tell you that, so I need this right now. But to have a courageous conversation, that's the step that he's calling me to take. He's been calling me to take that for about a week. So I'm gonna do that. I'm gonna do that today. You have my word. And as y'all be my witness, it's gonna happen. So I pray that this article is a blessing to you in your life and that you can see how I use the word of God in my life and apply it to my life in everyday life, not just big things, but just even in the small things because God is in all the details. And family, God cares about you. God knows everything about you. And God cares about the things that he knows about you. The times where you feel weak, the times where you feel strengthless, the times where you don't feel so courageous, the times where we wanna hide, the times where we would rather not act and do anything, and the times where we wanna even maybe sit in some self-pity. God sees all of it and God cares about all of it, family. And so we have an opportunity to allow God to, because he is more than able and he is willing to help us.

He has the ability and he is willing and makes himself available to us all the time he is ever present, family. And so I pray for you right now in your heart to take this scripture and apply it to your life. Be strong and courageous, oh, passionate one and dear one and beloved, for God is with you and he will go with you. He will go before you, behind you, all around you and beside you. And I pray that over you in Jesus' mighty name, amen. Bye-bye. Thank you for watching our broadcast. Are you an incarcerated brother or sister who needs encouragement? Write to us at Victorious Living Correspondents, P.O. Box 2751 Greenville, North Carolina, 27836. To view Victorious Living Magazine in its entirety, please have your chaplain contact us at 352-478-2098 or email us through our website at vlmag.org. We are happy to provide our Victorious Living Magazine free of charge, in bulk, with or without staples.