overwhelmed

Fear Not: God’s Power and Love Frees Us to Lament

DevotionalsOctober 13, 2019October 13, 2019

Fixating on heartache invites anxiety. But God commands us to fear not. Understanding His power and love frees us to lament in hope.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4, ESV

A great deal of life seems to play out in the valley of the shadow of death. As a matter of fact, I am currently in a season of darkness. Why not throw in the towel? How can I continue to take joy in the God of my salvation, when following Him places me on the front lines of battle?

Hope, for one; but not as an afterthought. Because flippantly telling someone to have hope in the midst of a trial is like telling an exasperated man “patience is a virtue.” Yes, thank you; I am aware…

Fear not…

It would be easy to fixate on my current heartache, but that gives birth to anxiety. However, God’s word has a lot to say in response to fear. Over and over in Scripture, we are told to fear not. But it isn’t dismissive in nature like, why can’t you keep it together? I’m God, remember? No; He commands: fear not, and then tells us why we don’t have to be afraid.

FEAR NOT:

I am with you
I am the One who helps you
I have redeemed you
I am your shield
I hear you
I am working righteousness in you
I fight for you
I go with you into battle to give you victory
I am with you wherever you go
I give victory
Stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord

Lament…

Notwithstanding, neither can I ignore or control the incapacitating sorrow weighing down my soul. I must lament. Because the act of lamenting faces me toward God. While in His presence I am able to share honestly all that grieves and worries me.

Within His capable arms, I can say: This is too much! I feel overwhelmed! Remind me of your faithfulness. Open my eyes to see where You are working this for Your glory and our good. Fight for us! Protect us. Help me to stand firm on Your promises.

When we act like we can handle our suffering on our own, we commit idolatry — acting like we are God, capable in ourselves. Lamenting is relearning our humanity. Lamenting is admitting that we can’t handle it, knowing we need God’s power, mercy, and grace. If we could handle our sufferings, we wouldn’t need Jesus, his cross, his power, and his resurrection. Lamenting is how we grieve as those who have hope.
J.A. Medders, Redeemer Church Tomball, TX

Neither can I ignore or control the incapacitating sorrow weighing down my soul. I must lament. Because the act of lamenting faces me toward God. Click To Tweet

Limitless…

Relearning my humanity leads to understanding my limits. Finally, it is there I remember I belong to a limitless God. Furthermore, I can only dream of what God has prepared for the future. But even now, in His mercy, I am seeing collateral blessings rise up out of this dark valley. So I find as I rely on our limitless God, hope is catching like wildfire…

Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort…For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.
2 Corinthians 1:7-10, ESV

Adrien Olichon

still, be still, wait, waiting, joy, overwhelmed, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Be Still: Choosing to Wait on the Lord in Our Circumstances

DevotionalsJuly 23, 2019July 11, 2019

Life’s overwhelming circumstances can leave us feeling completely helpless. But the Lord promises to never leave us. All we need to do is choose to be still and wait on Him.

The quieter you become, the more you can hear.
Ram Doss

I sat on the cold hospital floor and knelt beside the bed as still as could be. My hand held the one whom I had called Daddy my entire life. All we could do was just be still and wait…

Be Still and Know God

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, NKJV

God…sometimes there is just too much noise! There’s just too much going on around me. I just want to run away and hide!

If you are anything like me, you have prayed this same prayer more than once in your life. As Americans, we live in a fast-paced world filled with busy schedules and lives that seem to move at lightning speed. It is so easy to take our great and mighty God for granted when we don’t take the time to be still and know Him.

Kneeling beside the bed of my dad just days ago, I felt the same way. Everything in my life seemed to overwhelm me in that instant. Would he make it through this surgery? Could the surgeons fix his heart? Mind you, I was not doubting God or my faith, just worried and overwhelmed. But, as the minutes ticked by I remembered how God had helped me the past three years and all the lessons He had taught me along the way.

Many times I had people around me ask how I survived and held on to my faith? It was not anything I did, but everything He showed me. So, let me take a few minutes and share with you what God has taught me about being still in Him.

To Know Him is to Love Him

I accepted Christ into my heart at a young age. I am so thankful that I grew up knowing and understanding His love, His Word, and His ways. Dear friend, you may know who God is and believe in God, but do you “know” Him?

Do you believe Christ died on the cross for you? Have you asked Him to forgive you of your sins and come to live in your heart? Once you do this, you will experience His love, grace, mercy, and peace. Then you will begin to understand and “know” His ways.

Let the Worries Fade Away

Have you ever wondered how some Christians can go through pain and suffering and still have joy? It’s because they are being still. As a Christian God teaches us to put all our worries in His hands.

Instead of listening to the noise of your worries, listen to the voice of the Lord. We are not to let our joy come from our circumstances, because our circumstances can change in an instance. Our God does not change. Stop worrying about your joy and your happiness and let Him fight for you.

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.
Exodus 14:14, NIV

Have No Fear

The Lord remains the same. As Christians, we know He can fight our battles, but we still seem consumed with fear. Fear of the unknown? Fear of failure? Fear of the future? Did you know the Devil can use these fears against us? He loves to distract us with our worries and our fears because they can distance us from God.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.
Psalm 46:1-2, KJV

God has proven time and again that He can work within us and through us. Sometimes He allows trials to come into our lives, so we can learn to depend more upon Him. Remember, God is always in control. Stop worrying and just be still.

Wait

Waiting is hard and sometimes waiting can hurt. It is in our human nature to want to control every situation. Sometimes it can feel like God is not answering our prayers or does not seem to understand the urgency of our situation. But, if we give in to those thoughts we are saying God is not in control or He is not being fair.

Be still because God is worth waiting for. He is often at work behind the scenes in ways we cannot fathom. We should be still and discover what God is trying to teach us while we are waiting.

Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, And He shall strengthen thine heart; wait, I say, on the Lord.
Psalm 27:14, KJV

Be still because God is worth waiting for. He is often at work behind the scenes in ways we cannot fathom. We should be still and discover what God is trying to teach us while we are waiting. Click To Tweet

Choose

I choose to be still and wait on the Lord in my present circumstances. I choose to discover what He wants me to learn in the storm. I choose to listen to the voice of my Lord, and not the noise of my worries. I choose joy. I choose life. I choose love. Join me and let us JUST BE STILL.

Until we meet again… Gracie

Elliot Mann

focus, provision, attention, overwhelmed, supply, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Refocus: Centering Our Lives on God While the World Fades Away

DevotionalsMay 29, 2019May 29, 2019

Being overwhelmed by the responsibilities of this world should not take our focus off of God. We must refocus our lives on God and let the world fade away.

My relationship with God is my number one focus. If I nurture and grow my relationship with Him, He will take care of everything in the world around me.

Gracie Kay

Center of Attention

April and May bring prom season to the world of high school. Young girls are adorned in beautiful gowns, sparkling jewelry, and Cinderella-like shoes. Young men look dapper in their tuxedos. When its time for pictures all the cameras are focused in on the couple. They are the center of attention.

One late afternoon in May, I found myself inside beautiful Duke Chapel focused on my son and his date in order to capture picture-perfect memories. Handed a high dollar camera, I was faced with a dilemma. I tried to focus, turning the lenses back and forth, but the camera just didn’t want to cooperate with me.

My oldest rolled his eyes and took the camera and proceeded to give me in-depth instructions. Within the next hour, the young couple was the center of attention. Cameras and phones flashed, taking what seemed like millions of pictures.

Later that night as I was thumbing through pictures, God seemed to whisper in my ear, “Where is your focus?”

Where is Your Focus?

When God spoke to me, my heart fell and I felt ashamed. You see ladies, I have been focused on so many different pressures in my life, that my focus has not been on God and His ultimate plan.

Life is overwhelming sometimes! Our time and energy are pulled in different directions. Jobs, school, kids, ailing parents, church commitments, organizational commitments. All of these responsibilities and more threaten to take our focus away from God. No matter how young or how old you are, you are not immune to this dilemma. So, take a moment and do an inventory of where your focus is. Let me share mine with you:

Selling a house.
Building a new house, in a new city.
Applying for financial aid and trying to find scholarships as a single mom.
Scared to death to start graduate school, but know this is God’s path for me.
Blogging
Editing my second book
Raising three kids, while trying to be mom and dad, both.
Church commitments.
Job commitments.

Your list may look a lot like mine, or it may be different. None of these things could be taken off my list and I certainly would not consider them unhealthy. However, if our list or commitments take our focus away from God’s will, then we need to refocus our lens.

Refocus Your Lens

How do you refocus your life on God and not the responsibilities of this world? In church Sunday, we sang a new praise and worship song and it gave me the answer. Read the words and let them sink into your soul…

If you’re not in it, then I don’t want it. Let all else fade away.
Passion, “Fade Away”

Talk about some powerful words. If God is calling us to do something, He will enable us to do it. He will provide us with whatever means necessary to accomplish the task He has set before us.

If you are taking care of an ailing parent, He will give you strength and wisdom. If you are balancing work and going back to school, He will provide you with effective time management skills. God provides patience if you are waiting for a situation to be taken care of.

But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19, KJV

If God is calling us to do something, He will enable us to do it. He will provide us with whatever means necessary to accomplish the task He has set before us. Click To Tweet

All

I love this verse because it reminds me that God will supply all my needs. A-L-L. All, not some, not when He feels like it, but all my needs. There is great comfort in these words. God also brought the words of an old hymn from my childhood to my mind.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.
Helen Lemmel, “Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus”

We must focus our eyes on Him. We must nurture and grow our relationship with Him by reading our Bible, praying, worshiping and fellowship with other believers. Let us all refocus our lenses. Focus on God and let the world fade away!

Until we meet again… Gracie

mitsuo

overwhelmed, equipped, surrender, power, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, ministry

Equipped: Surrendering Our Lives for God’s Power

Devotionals, Stay SaneJune 20, 2018September 8, 2019

When we belong to God, we are equipped with His Power for every season of life, every instance, every circumstance. Surrendering our lives to this truth is essential in our walk with the Lord.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17, NIV

Equipped. This word has been burning my ears for about a month now. It is a word I spoke over a stranger at a women’s conference, and a word that God continues to sprinkle around for me to pay attention to. If we know anything about God, it’s that He is constant, consistent, and relentless. Sometimes, He allows us to break so we can truly understand His whispers to our souls.

That’s what it took for me. A complete break down…

Surrendering…

Motherhood

If you could see my hair right now, you would believe I am currently the poster woman and the face of all tired moms in the world. I need a shower. Maybe some dry shampoo. Did I wear deodorant today?

Don’t judge me.

I would love to say I handle all that motherhood throws at me from a posture of grace, but I can’t and I won’t. I was having a particularly awful day, full of tantrums and tears. Overwhelmed with confusion, procrastination, and not being able to find the right shoes. That doesn’t even include what the kids were doing.

Then it happened; I said it. Through the sobbing and the blubbering… “I don’t want to be around any of you. I don’t enjoy being a mom right now. I hate this!”

Now before judging me again, I did not say this to my kids. My poor husband had to wade through the mess, and with his approval, I gave myself a Mommy-time-out.

Marriage

I forgot to mention that in the same breath I told my husband I didn’t enjoy being a mom, I also said I didn’t enjoy being a wife. Y’all, I am so thankful Casey is equipped to handle me at my worst. He could filter through the words and truly hear what I was saying.

I needed to take a step away. To remember the pride I had once felt in being his help mate. He knew that God needed to speak to me and I needed to hear Him. I couldn’t do that with all the distractions. It was obvious I needed a quiet place.

Ministry

I also took a ministry-time-out. It was only for two days, but it really helped me evaluate the time and energy I was pouring into tasks. To see the God-ordained missions I had abandoned while doing “Kingdom missions.”

You see, when I feel like I’m not doing a great job at something, I distract myself with something different. I do things I know I’m good at, instead of relying on God’s power to fill in my gaps. I was feeling ill equipped for motherhood and wifehood, so I poured myself into tasks and masking them as advancements for the Kingdom.

Equipped with Power…

I was doing all of these things on my own power, with my own tool box. I ran out of mommy-juice, wife-fuel, and I was starting to run out of ministry energy. All because I forgot, it’s not by my power but the power of God in me.

…for I can do everything God asks me to with the help of Christ who gives me the strength and power.

Philippians 4:13, TLB

It doesn’t matter what special areas are in your life. Maybe you aren’t a mother or a wife. Your life is specifically you. Hear me, you are equipped for this time and the times to come because of the power of Christ in you.

You are equipped for this time and the times to come because of the power of Christ in you. Click To Tweet

Y’all, I believe that God is bringing “equipped” to my attention, because He wants me to rest. Stop running in circles, trying to do it all in my own power. Rest in the truth that whatever is right now or comes along the way, I am already equipped because HE is equipped.

Laura Vinck

Tragedy: Standing Firm through Grief and Suffering

Devotionals, Stay SaneFebruary 25, 2018June 28, 2019

Tragedy leaves us overcome with grief. How can we keep standing, praising, and trusting? Is God even there? Does He even listen to our cries?

There was another school shooting. It rocks me to my core every time I hear about children in school not being safe. As a teacher, and mother, I know that this is my worst nightmare.

I remember Columbine. God has had miracles come from that tragedy. At one school where I taught, we took part in Rachel’s Challenge.

I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same. People will never know how far a little kindness can go.

Rachel Scott, victim of Columbine High School massacre

Her family loved her and remembers her by trying to stop people from being left out, bullied or ostracized in the hopes that they never feel the need to pick up a gun and kill.

I remember Virginia Tech. There are now much better warning systems on all college campuses to alert students to danger. And as the mother of a college student I am grateful for that.

I remember Sandy Hook. There are not enough tears to cry for that senseless act. The babies that died that day and the adults who shielded as many as they could will forever haunt my dreams. But that community came together and supported each other in such amazing ways.

Now I have to say I remember Parkland, Florida.

So where is God in the middle of all this madness? Does he really want his children to suffer? He has to be here somewhere. He has to have a hand in this somehow. After all, He promised he would never abandon us. We cry out, “BUT WHERE IS HE?”

Grief and Praise

In times like this I return to Job. Everything was taken from him within a few moments. His servants and sons dead. His livestock stolen or killed. And what does Job do…he grieves and praises God.

When Job heard this, he got up, tore his clothes and shaved his head to show his sadness. Then he fell to the ground to bow down before God and said, ‘When I was born into this world, I was naked and had nothing. When I die and leave this world, I will be naked and have nothing. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Praise the name of the Lord!

Job 1:20-21, ERV

Horrible things happen. God doesn’t always intercede. I can’t tell you why. I just know that there is never a moment when He isn’t with us.

Standing Through Tragedy

As the story of Job continues we see that Satan is telling God that humans will not stand with him when tragedy strikes. They will turn their backs and blasphemy His name. But God has faith in his children and tells Satan to do his worst, but to spare Job’s life.

Satan put sores all over poor Job, he was grieving, he was in physical pain, he sat in ashes and used broken pottery to scratch at the sores. But his friends came and sat with him to offer comfort.

Then they sat on the ground with Job for seven days and seven nights. They didn’t say a word, because they saw he was in so much pain.

Job 2:13, ERV

Job does cry out eventually. He begs God to end his torment and let him die. He questions God, “Why was I even born if this is what You had planned for me?”

How many times have we done that? Questioned our Creator? I fully admit to asking him “Why?” and being angry when I didn’t get an answer.

Are You There God?

Most of Job’s friends and family weren’t much better. His wife tells him to curse God. His friends say he has to have been up to no good. They thought, “God is paying you back.”

Not true. God is there in the tragedy holding our hands, lifting us up if we let Him, but never pushing us down. He can use these times, just like He did with Job to show us how He is always there. We must trust in Him to see us through.

Job is blessed to have a great friend who will speak truth to him and who loves God wholeheartedly. Elihu tells Job, you are not innocent, no one is. But he tells the friends they can’t accuse someone of something when they have no knowledge of it. They cannot blame God.

Job, God is not only powerful, but he is fair.

Job 34:17, ERV

He does not respect leaders more than other people. And he does not respect the rich more than the poor. God made everyone. Any of us can die suddenly, in the middle of the night. Anyone can get sick and pass away.

Job 34:19-20, ERV

The Answer to Every Question

God, Himself, then enters the picture. He reminds Job that He is the creator. He has made everything, and everything exists because of God. God then tells the story of Leviathan in Job 41. If we see Leviathan as Satan we can see that God is telling us that only He can control Satan. He is a deadly enemy and we must arm ourselves with God and His Word. Only with His help can we escape the clutches of Satan.

Job and his friends repent and pray to God. God forgives them.

When these moments of tragedy happen we can’t rage against God or blame Him. God loves us. He is our Father and Creator. Find a friend who can help you seek truth and God. We all know that evil exists. Bad stuff happens, but faithfully accepting that our Father is there in the tragedy will help ease the suffering.

...faithfully accepting that our Father is there in the tragedy will help ease the suffering. Click To Tweet

Facing God’s Truth

Now here is the hard part about tragedy. We have to acknowledge if we played a part in it. This could be a blind eye that was turned, a cultural norm that goes against God that we have let slip by, a friend we weren’t true to, or a warning we ignored. Yes, there are times we didn’t play a part, but just as often we are complicit because we let society dictate its own mores. Humans are weak and flawed. God is not. We have to be the friend who stands up and tells the truth, no matter the consequences because we know that God speaks through truth.

Dear God,

Please open our eyes to Your Word. Help us align ourselves with You and put more faith in You than in the world. Let us be leaders of the Light of truth that comes from being Your followers. Thank You for guiding us through tragedy and never leaving our side. Give us the courage and wisdom to speak Your will.

Love,

Are you facing your own tragedy?

We would love to offer our support by praying with and for you.