Tag Archives: Fear

Jan28

Day 28 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…A God Who Is Not Afraid Of My fears

Posted on January 28, 2026 by lsgrlr

For the last fourteen days, I have lived like Peter on the water with Jesus, only his eyes were not on Jesus, but on the circumstances he was in, the waves rushing, the ocean that he was most certainly (in his mind) not meant to be walking on, the boat that he was NOT in bouncing back and forth. Like Peter, I have been sinking in my sadness, fear, worry, uncertainty, and yes, anxiety. However, at my core, deep inside my heart, that place that knows God is still the same God who called Peter out of the boat and the same God who stood on the water and allowed Peter to do the same. Even as I sink, I know that my hope is in a God who controls the waves. I completely understand that if I took my eyes off the circumstances surrounding me and focused on Him, He would lift me up and keep me from drowning.

Today, after talking to my brother and admitting openly that I was not okay. God opened a door in my heart, a door I had stood in front of desperately wanting to walk through, but for reasons I could not or maybe would not reach out my hand to grab the handle. But God (my absolute favorite two words in the Bible) flung it open for me. I cried out to Him, I told Him everything, every fear, every worry, and every disappointment. I dropped the “Christian” mask, you know the one, it smiles and says everything is okay, God’s got it, even as you wonder if He really does,

He does. He always does, and always will.

“I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous.” Joshua 1:5-6a

You see, friends, courage is not the absence of fear; it’s the presence of trust. Trust in a God that walks on water and calms the storms of our lives and the world around us. It’s okay to have fears; it’s human. It’s okay to ask God, “Do you have this?” He’s not afraid of our fear or our questions. So, if, like me, you have been living like Peter sinking in the seas. Look up and cry out to God; He will lift you up.

So, what am I thankful for today? A God who is not afraid of my fears.

Mar23

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on March 23, 2015 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

2 Kings 24. “Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah” (Verse 17). This verse hit me today. Very simply God asked me, if I had allowed the world to change my name? Not in the literal sense, but in the sense where the title Christian could me everything, but what God intended it to mean: follower of Christ. The world has changed the meaning; nice, friendly. boring, goody two shoes, goodhearted and while none of these are bad they are also not what the word means. I have been reflecting lately on what I have allowed in and what I have put aside. Here is what I have concluded only God can change my name. Only God can give a different meaning to something. So today if you have allowed the world to change your name. Allow God to change it back.

Mar13

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on March 13, 2015 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

2 Kings 23. “Then the king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people took a stand for the covenant” (Verse 3). Finally a king that does everything right. A king who not only loves and serves God, but leads his people to follow God as well. Josiah did not just get of some of the idols, he literally rid Israel of all of it. He lead the people back to real worship. This chapter is a reminder to us who call ourselves Christians of what the “call” is. We are not meant to just be nice, just be good, we are meant to lead people to God. We are meant to tear down idols and show people the truth of Christ. Today I am convicted by this king’s action… I pray you are as well.

Mar10

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on March 10, 2015 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

2 Kings 21. “And the Lord spoke by His servants the prophets, saying, ‘Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations (he has acted more wickedly than all the Amorites who were before him, and has also made Judah sin with his idols), therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab; I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. So I will forsake the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become victims of plunder to all their enemies'” (Verses 10-14). God punishes sin always, what we don’t release is that punishment can come in the most natural of ways. Boss tightens the reigns, financial situations come about. The goal of the trials is not for us to whine, but for us to cry out for forgiveness, and seek the Lord. Don’t run from the trial accept that they are there to bring change, and to draw us to God.

Feb24

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on February 24, 2015 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

2 Kings 14. “For the Lord saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter; and whether bond or free, there was no helper for Israel. And the Lord did not say that He would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven; but He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash” (Verses 26-27). I don’t know if you all see the subtlety of these verses. But if you read the entire chapter you will. God never said He would wipe Israel out, in fact His promises to them have always been the opposite. Although their actions and love of sin and disobedience would have given God the right to change His mind, He chose instead to keep His promise. This is comforting to me, I am not always obedient. I fail, I fall, and I make more mistakes than I care to admit, but despite all that God is ALWAYS faithful to do what He promises. Rest in the knowledge that our God is an immovable, unchanging ROCK.

Jan22

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on January 22, 2015 by lsgrlr

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*Please Read this Entire Chapter. There is so much in it.*

I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

1 Kings 19. “Then He said, ‘Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.’ And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?'” (Verses 11-13). This Chapter is chalk full of so many lesson. So many things that we do as Christians, that should receive a big eye roll from God, yet what He gives us instead is patience and love. Elijah has killed the prophet, and God had showed up and showed off. Yet one note from one woman has Elijah running away as though God couldn’t handle it. Which I think is why instead of the loud wind, and the earthquake God showed up in the still small voice, and why His question was, “What are you doing here?” We expect the big and grandiose from God, but what we don’t expect is for God to show up in our everyday. But that’s what relationship is, God being a part of our everyday. Elijah didn’t need to run from Jezebel, he needed to run to God. He wasn’t where he was suppose to be and so God asked him a very normal question, ‘what are you doing here?’ Let God guide our everyday, don’t run from Him, run to Him.

Jan13

DAY 13 (2014)

Posted on January 13, 2015 by lsgrlr

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God is the DIRECTOR of my path.

So yesterday I found out I had pink eye. I had to laugh, because I associate that infection with children. On Saturday I woke up with my eye swollen, red, and itchy. But let me tell you about how God used it for good. The company I work for, for the first 6 months has a 100% dependability policy. What that means is no absences. I started in the winter, in Buffalo it snows every day (okay this may be a slight exaggeration), I come from Florida. See where I am going with this? On Sunday the swelling had not gone away, and on Monday when I woke up my eyes was pink, watery, and throbbing. I had a bad, bad case of pink eye. But what that earned was a day off with no negative repercussion, which was awesome because on Monday it literally (not an exaggeration) snowed ALL day. God had once again stepped in and taken care of my worry even before I had a chance to worry about it. Today I woke up with a little bit of swelling, but no pink, and no throbbing and today the road were clear. God truly went before me to clear my path. His grace blows me away every single day.

“But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the LORD will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard” (Isaiah 52:12).

So what am I thankful for today? Clear roads and a God that knows my needs before I even ask.

Jan4

DAY 4 (2015)

Posted on January 4, 2015 by lsgrlr

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By faith the seed dies, so the flower can bloom. Each new bud is the realization of the seed of faith.
(Picture by Lisa R.)

Although Buffalo is beautiful, and even though I know 100% it is God’s will for me to be here. Today, I missed my home church, so I grabbed my laptop and joined them online, and I was super happy I did. I knew it was the right choice when Pastor Doug said this, “God can take our brokenness and make it something beautiful”. I needed to be reminded of that. 2014 was hard in many ways, but many times God took those hard and dented times and made them beautiful. Life is never predictable and the roads we travel is filled with twists and turns, road blocks and potholes. But God is the ultimate civil engineer creating pathways for us to travel that are filled with beauty and lessons to learn, but in order for us to get to the smooth roads, we first have to be willing trudge through the bad ones. Today just a reminder that God will take our brokenness and make it something beautiful.

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3).

So what am I thankful for today? Beauty from brokenness.

Jan3

DAY 3 (2015)

Posted on January 3, 2015 by lsgrlr

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God the ultimate artist

So today I discovered a new thing… something that I am sure other people who live in cold weather knew existed. But I have recently discovered is real, today it rained… ice. Yup, ice. I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight, because living in Florida I had never been privy to this great mystery. Freezing rain is actually really pretty, as it coats all that comes in contact with it in a layer of ice. I couldn’t help but thank God for His awesome creativity, who but God could make it rain ice, heck who but God could make it rain at all. I love that God is so infinite that we even now we are still discovering new parts of His character, new beauty in the world He has created for us. I am thankful for freezing rain, for days when the trees are coated with white snow. I am thankful for sunshine and slow breezy days. Because everyday is a picture of God’s love for us. Everyday is a chance to be grateful for what we do have and not focus on what we don’t.

“For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm” (Palm 33:9).

So what am I thankful for today? Ice rain and a creative God.

Jan2

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on January 2, 2015 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

1 Kings 1. “Now Adonijah was afraid of Solomon; so he arose, and went and took hold of the horns of the altar. And it was told Solomon, saying, ‘Indeed Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon; for look, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’ Then Solomon said, ‘If he proves himself a worthy man, not one hair of him shall fall to the earth; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.’ So King Solomon sent them to bring him down from the altar. And he came and fell down before King Solomon; and Solomon said to him, ‘Go to your house’. (Verses 50-53). Solomon understood the need for wisdom, which is why (I believe), he asked God for it. I love this portion of scripture because Solomon had every right to kill Adonijah, but instead he gave him a choice do right, or die. As sadistic as it may seem we have that same choice today. However, the death we face is often times not physical, but spiritual, which is worse. With spiritual death we lose our door to God, our way to communicate with Him, and thus are left with people as limited as we are. When choose what is right, with have just that right relationship with our heavenly Father. So here’s the option for the day… do right.