Tag: Finding Peace

  • Ahead of us lies the great unknown. Another 365 days of … what?

    Sometimes the steady stream of What-ifs seems like too much, doesn't it? We want to hunker down and wait for it to blow over.

    Blog. German Shepherd. 10.20Our friend "Jim" found out dogs can feel that way, too.

    During his growing-up years he loved to roam the California hills. One blue-sky Saturday he set off to go exploring. His faithful sidekick "Marley" tagged along at his heels.

    As they came over one hill Jim heard a high-pitched, unfamiliar drone. Marley heard it, too.

    The usually fearless German Shepherd crouched on the grass and refused to budge. No amount of coaxing or scolding could get him moving. 

    At last Jim gave up. The teenager picked up Marley and staggered over the next hill, where the noise barely registered.

    Only then would Marley resume walking on his own.

    You and I may wish we could do what Marley did

    If only we could refuse to budge.  

    We can't, of course, because we have responsibilities and people who need us. Need us to be strong, even when we're quaking with fear inside. 

    We survived 2020. Yay! But here we are, still living under restrictions, wearing masks and  washing our hands. Still wondering what comes next–and when.  

    Frankly, we are tired of this routine. We want to get past it and go on.

    And fear lurks everywhere because we don't know what comes next.

    But here's the thing: We never did. Neither did countless generations before us.

    Like them, we must take one step at a time, one day at a time, fully aware we cannot make it on our own.

    Like them, we're never left to get through all this on our own strength: 

    "For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Do not be afraid, for I myself will help you,' declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel."  Isaiah 41:13-14

    Surprises along the way are guaranteed

    We know by experience we won't like some of them. No matter. We need to keep walking if we're to get through our days. 

    This calls for courage–and where do we get a dose of that? 

    For starters, look back to one dark night outside Bethlehem.

    The shepherds out on the hills outside Bethlehem were just living their usual lives, watching out for their sheep. Then one night, suddenly angels filled the skies, singing praises to God. The glory of the Lord shone around them and lit up the darkness with dazzling light. 

    The shepherds fell to their knees. Fearful. What could it mean?

    The angel's words to those humble men apply just as much to you and me today: 

    "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today . . . a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."    (from Luke 2)

    Fear and apprehension can turn to laughter, even in the night

    Once they heard and saw the angels the shepherds were filled with joy and rushed off to Bethlehem to see for themselves the Baby in the manger. They abandoned their sheep because their desire to see the Baby Jesus crowded out every other thought.  

    What if you and I had the same single-minded yearning to see and know Jesus? 

    Would it change the way we look at our lives and what we consider important? Would we leave fear behind? 

    "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."  John 14:27  

    For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.  2 Timothy 1:7

    Where is the darkness in your life?

    Every one of us has some sort of "darkness"–difficulty and struggle–in our life. We know by experience that times of calm usually don't last, that danger lurks just off the scene.

    Life is uncertain. All it takes is one false step. One drunk driver. One bad report from the doctor and our life could turn from happy to sad in an instant.

    So then how shall we cope with the uncertainty of being alive?

    The same as all the Christians who went before us, living one day after another, trusting God every step of the way. 

    "So 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 

    Let's leave the shadows behind

    Because we know the Source of joy, we can live fearlessly. Joyously.

    The Bible tells us how.

    Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.  Proverbs 3:5-6

    Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!  2 Corinthians 5:17

    "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."   Jeremiah 29:11 

    We can't know what lies ahead, but we can know God is faithful and His promises are true  

    Marley had an owner who loved him enough to carry him past what troubled him.

    We have so much more. We have Almighty God, our loving Father, who promises to never leave us alone and to strengthen us and carry us through whatever comes. 

    It is enough. 

    Count on it and be at peace,  

    Lenore

    Take your pick: Will you live scared? Or will you live at peace?

  • Many of us wake up every morning feeling anxious and drag our load of uneasiness to bed with us, too.

    Blog. Woman. Anxious. 7.20No wonder. Every day "they" announce some new reason to be afraid. 

    Disturbing news seeps into our awareness, even though we think we're tuning it out. "What ifs" buzz around in our minds like pesky gnats, hatching into fears for our children and ourselves. 

    This isn't the first time cause for anxiety slithered into our world, it's just the most recent display. Perhaps you, too, have wondered how fear got such a hold on our culture. I think Oswald Chambers, who wrote My Utmost for His Highest, explained it best: 

    "When you fear God, you fear nothing else. When you don't fear God, you fear everything."

    Fear of God means standing in awe of who he is and what he can do

    The Bible makes it plain:

    For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!) "I am the Lord, and there is no other."  Isaiah 45:18  ESV 

    “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Psalm 46:10  ESV

    In our "enlightened times" the very idea of God and even more, of Jesus as the Savior of the world, seems to have been declared irrelevant.  

    Thank God individuals still can profess their faith and some we see and hear on our screens regularly do so, but that's a small percentage of the whole.

    Looking for peace in all the wrong places 

    None of us are immune to fear. It's part of being human.  

    If you're having sleep problems, you have lots of company. Physical therapists report most patients complain of tight shoulders and neck problems. Why? Because that's where so many of us unconsciously hold our tension.

    Even the calmest among us will admit to an underlying low-level sense of concern that won't leave. 

    That's why we need to remind ourselves over and over that ultimate power rests in God's hand, not with Covid. 

    Here's what Jesus told his followers–and if we're Christians, this includes us

    "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, nor let them be afraid."  John 14:27  ESV

    The Apostle Paul had every reason in the world to be anxious, but he told the Philippians in Chapter 4:6-7  ESV:

    Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

    His peace in our hearts and minds is ours for the taking. But here's the question: Are we willing to give up feeling anxious?

    That sounds like an odd question, but for some individuals, living all churned up with anxiety means feeling more alive. More in touch with their emotions and with what's going on in the world, a bit more sensitive than people around them who don't seem as troubled.

    More faith verses

    Some of us grew up believing we shouldn't "mark up" our Bibles. Once I broke free of that lie I discovered what a joy it is to underline verses that speak to my heart, verses like these.    

    The LORD is my light and my salvation–whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life–of whom shall I be afraid?   Psalm 27:1  NIV

    Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.   Psalm 50:1  NIV    

    When I am afraid I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid.    Psalm 56:5-6  NIV  

    So 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 NIV

    You gotta put the good stuff in if you want to get the good stuff out

    That folksy sense saying applies in all of life, especially to our minds.

    Adult or child, what we feed our minds is what we live out.

    Always, always, the greatest answer for troubled hearts is found in John 3:16-17. 

    For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

    Filling our minds with thoughts of God's mercy in sending Jesus to be our Savior is the remedy that shrinks our deepest fears and fills us with calm.

    Even if. Even when. Even though.

    Lovingly,

    Lenore

    Helps to staying calm in fearful times

  • Here's a quote that's familiar to most of us:

    "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of incredulity, … "

                                                                             –A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens 

    That sounds a lot like our time, don't you think? 

    Add Blog. Troubled woman. 10.14in daily reports of hatred, killings and accusations. 

    Overseas. In cities all across the land. In our state. Our city.

    Maybe even next door.

    We worry over our lives, too. There's that funny-looking mole. The cough that won't go away. Dizzy spells that hit out of nowhere. Rumors of cutbacks at work. The ongoing problems of one of our children. 

    Small wonder we're jolted out of sleep with hearts pounding and a trembling case of the "What ifs."

    What do we do with our fears?

    Whatever our temperament, there's only antidote that works. One that lasts.

    It's remembering Whose we are. If we believe in Jesus as our Savior, it means we are the beloved children of the Everlasting God. 

    But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he (Jesus) gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12  ESV

    Children of the same God who said in Isaiah 41:10:

    So 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.  NIV

    So we give our fears to the Lord and simply trust. 

    Again.

    And again.

    As often as necessary.  

    That's what Dr. Kent Brantly did when stricken with Ebola during the outbreak in Africa several years ago

    Brantly served with Samaritan's Purse in Liberia. It might seem a person who gives their life to serve God and people in hard circumstances might have the right to scream, "But I'm serving you, Lord! This is not fair!"

    Not Brantly. He was flown to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, treated and recovered. Upon his release, Dr. Brantly described how he felt after being diagnosed: 

    "As I lay in my bed in Liberia for the following nine days, getting sicker and weaker each day, I prayed that God would help me to be faithful even in my illness, and I prayed that in my life or in my death, He would be glorified . . . "

    Clearly, Kent Brantly never doubted God's love for him.

    Neither did David, who wrote most of the Psalms. He often faced dangers on all sides, yet he wrote: 

    In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.    Psalm 4:8  NIV

    Let faith drive out fear 

    Kent Brantly and the psalmist David were heroes of faith, but also human beings who knew the taste of fear. So do you and I.

    I've learned there is no better ammunition for fighting fear than talking to our Heavenly Father and reading The Bible.

    This is the time to underline verses that speak to your heart and reassure you. Say them aloud and pray to understand what they mean. Make notes in the margins of your Bible or write the date you realized particular verses "fit" you. 

    Don't let it stop there. Speak them to yourself whenever fears bedevil you.  Or in the middle of the night when you can't get back to sleep. 

    When we fasten our attention on Scripture God's peace will displace fear.  

    Here are a few of my favorite verses: 

    The LORD is my light and my salvation–whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life–of whom shall I be afraid?  Psalm 27:1  NIV

    He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.–Psalm 91:1-2 (NIV)

    (Jesus said) "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. –John 14:27 (NIV)

     For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. —2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV)

    By the way, this isn't something reserved for 3 a.m. jitters. Trust me, these verses can soothe our spirits any hour of the day.

    All it takes is not LETTING our hearts be troubled, because we know Who's really in charge and we know Whose we are.  

    Still learning and growing, too,

    Lenore

     

    How can we stay upbeat in a downbeat world?