The Desires of your Heart

The Desires of your Heart

by | Oct 29, 2020 | Faith Blog

‘Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.’ (Psalm 37:4 The Bible)

This has been one of the hardest years I’ve ever had and yet, as the year draws to a close, I realise that God has indeed given me the ‘desires of my heart’.

It always amazes me that no matter what hard things come, good things often follow.  We grow stronger, we increase our empathy towards others, we deepen friendships, or increase in faith.
Out of hard things, amazing things can come.

In January of this year, we lost a 12 month battle to save our Aunt from the ‘Elder Abuse’ she was suffering at the hands of the other side of her family.  We had fought so hard for her rights and her independence, but lost in the end.

We were devastated.

Six months later, she was dead.  The stress of it was all too much for her.  It had shortened her life by years.  So not only did we lose the fight for her rights but now we also lost the beautiful and special Aunt that we loved so much.  She was our only family in Melbourne and we loved her dearly.

Then April of this year, I had the hardest day of work I have had in 30 years in the workforce, followed by being bullied out of a job I loved.

I went to my boss’s office for what I thought was just our regular monthly meeting, but instead, without any warning, my boss stood over me and started yelling at me, telling me that she was very angry with me.  I started crying, very shocked at the sudden outburst from her.

Through tears, I tried to get her to calm down and talk rationally about whatever the issues were.  She wouldn’t have a bar of it.

She was out of control.

In 30 years of working – I had never experienced anything like it.

Over the next two months, I tried everything I could to rebuild our relationship, to no avail.  I loved my job.  It was one of the most challenging, yet rewarding jobs I’d ever had.

For the first two years we worked together, my boss and I had a very positive relationship.

I don’t know what went wrong, but it soon became obvious that our working relationship could not be rescued.

Every day, I came to work, shaking like a leaf, terrified of running in to her; terrified of the terrible anger she was capable of.  In the end, I had to leave the job I loved.

I suffered post-traumatic stress as a result of the experience and it has taken 4 months to get back my confidence in myself and to move forward with my life.

Yet, I look back now, and I realised that God has indeed given me
‘the desires of my heart’.

When I left that job, I decided to work part-time (3 days per week).  I went from a pretty good salary to a fairly small one and went from full-time hours down to just 20 hours per week.

This meant I lost two thirds of my income, but I couldn’t be happier.

A couple of years ago, I read a great book called the 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris.  It was so inspiring.  He shows that living the life we desire isn’t just reserved for the rich.

He puts the potential for an amazing life in the reach of the ordinary person – people like me and you.

The concept I loved most in the book, having ‘freedom of time and place’.  In other words, being able to live anywhere in the world, for the same (or similar) cost to where you live now.  From the new place you choose to live, you can either get a job there or you can try your hand at building an online business that you can do from anywhere.

Now, my part-time job covers my basic bills and the rest of the week is my own.  While I have to be very careful with money (lucky I love Op Shopping), the freedom of having 4 free days a week to do whatever I want is wonderful.

I’m free!

I have so much I want to do in those four spare days, it’s hard to know how to fit it all in.

I never would have experienced this freedom and
joy if I hadn’t been bullied out my job.

Although that was a very painful experience, four months later, I have fully recovered from the stress of it and I am creating the life that I choose.

I really recommend reading the 4 Hour Work Week and thinking creatively about how your life could be different.

Think back to the dreams of your youth.  Think about the things that make you really happy.

It could be singing.  Can you join a local choir?  Is it writing?  Could you start your own blog or start writing that book you’ve always said you would write.  Is it cooking?  Plan some dinner parties for friends.  Is it bike riding?  Find some favourite bike trails and ride them often.  Is it photography?  Can you join a Camera Club?

Think back and remember what makes your heart sing.

What is your heart’s desire?

What first step could you take to begin the journey towards it?

 

How to problem solve with God

How to problem solve with God

by | Oct 15, 2020 | Bible Study, Faith Blog

It’s been a tumultuous 24 hours and this morning my husband has resigned from his job – the second job he has resigned from in as many weeks.

When I woke up this morning, I found myself full heart full of anxiety.  I started reading the promises of God because I know that always calms me down and gives me a sense of God’s peace.

After reading several Bible promises, and still feeling my heart in knots of anxiety, I came to this Bible verse in Exodus 14:13, one of my all-time favourite Bible Promises.

The Red Sea - Exodus 14: 13-14

By the time I finished reading this Bible text, I was at peace once again.

The story is about when God miraculously parts the Red Sea and the Israelites are able to walk through on dry land.  Then when the enemy (the Egyptians) follow, God brings the water back down over them and destroys them.

As I considered this wonderful story, of God’s miraculous provision, God showed me a principle that I’d like to share here – the five P’s of solving life’s problems with God.

1. Problem

We have a problem and we need God’s help.

2. Prayer

We bring our need to God in prayer.  We exercise our faith and praise and thank God in advance, confident that He will meet our needs.

3. Promise

We read the promises of God from His Word and stand on those promises while we wait for God to help us.

4. Provision

God provides the help we need. 

5. Praise

We praise God again for providing for our needs.

The 5 P's of problem solving with God

And I was reminded in my Ladies Bible group this morning, we need to start praising God as soon as we have a problem, rather than waiting until after He has delivered us.

We praise God before He answers our prayers.  We believe that, by faith, God has already answered us.  He has already provided for our needs.  He will reveal it to us in His perfect timing.

Let’s look at the story of the Red Sea a little closer, in light of the 5 P’s principle.

1. Problem – they are trapped at the Red Sea

The Israelites were trapped with the Red Sea in front of them and the Egyptians behind them.  They could see no way out of their problem.

Exodus 14 New International Version (NIV)

Verse 1-3 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’

It’s interesting to note that God guides the Israelites directly into the challenging situation!!! 

He tells them to go towards the Red Sea. 

We need to remember that sometimes, when we follow God’s leading, it may not always turn out the way we expect, but God is still firmly in control.

We might start to question ourselves and question God “but I thought You were leading me Lord”.

God was leading them because He knew He was going to miraculously deliver them.

Verse 4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did this.

Notice that the first promise God gives them is before they even have a problem.

God tells Moses that He is about to do something amazing.  He tells him in advance that the Egyptians will follow them and that God will miraculously deliver them so that God is glorified.

Verse 5 – 12 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly.  The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon. 

2. Prayer – bring your need before God

I wouldn’t exactly call this a prayer, but it does say “they were terrified and cried out to the Lord”. 

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord.  They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”

The Israelites were understandably terrified by the situation they are facing.  Sometimes the situations we face are so scary, that the only prayer we can offer is HELP ME GOD !!! 

When it looks like there is no way out of a problem, we need to trust God and praise Him in advance that He will make a way where there appears to be no way.

Hebrews 11:1

3. Promise – God promises to deliver them

Verse 13 – 14 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.
The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

This is God’s second promise to them.  He tells them not to be afraid.  They don’t even have to do anything.  They just need to stand back and watch God work.  He fights ‘for them’.

In whatever situation we are facing, the best thing we can do is to look up God’s promises in His Word, read them and write them out so we can re-read them as we go about our day.

As we claim these promises as our very own, they help to keep our faith strong and our fear and anxiety under control while we wait for God’s deliverance.

4. Provision – God solves the problem

Verse 15 – 18 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.” 

Verse 19 – 20 Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long. 

Verse 21 – 22 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 

Verse 23 – 25 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.” 

Verse 26 – 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.”  Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. 

Verse 29 – 30 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.  That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore.

5. Praise

The Israelites rejoice in the miracle God has provided.

Verse 31 And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

Then the whole of Exodus 15 is about the songs of praise and thanks that the Israelites sing to God for his deliverance.

Next time you face a problem, try using the 5 P’s: 1) Problem 2) Prayer 3) Promise 4) Provision
5) Praise.  Watch God work on your behalf!

 

22 Bible verses about Anxiety

22 Bible verses about Anxiety

by | Oct 9, 2020 | Faith Blog

I don’t know about you, but I struggle with fear and anxiety on a regular basis.

Fear can come in many forms – anxiety, nervousness, uneasiness, worry and even outright terror.

When we allow fear to take over our mind and our thoughts, life can feel overwhelming and we feel unable to move forward – whether just to get through this one day, or to move forward with the next stage of our life.

*** Click on the image at the end of the post to watch the You Tube video: 56 Bible verses about fear

Fear can also lead to disorders such as Generalised Anxiety Disorder, OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and panic attacks.

I have suffered with anxiety and OCD since I was a nine year old child, but through reading the promises of God day by day, I have gained significant healing (more about that verse 10 below).

When I draw near to God and read His promises to us in the Bible, I feel at peace again and able to take the next step in life’s journey.

I hope these Bible promises about fear will speak to you as much as they have to me. Each promise has a link to the Bible, so you can read the promises in God’s Word for yourself.

God is for you.  He will never leave you or forsake you.  He is trustworthy.  He is in control of the future and He loves you deeply.

Enjoy these 21 Bible promises that help us not to be afraid. 

 

1. God hears us when we call out to Him and He takes away our fears.

“I sought the Lord and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34:4 

When we are afraid and we call out to God, He promises that He will answer us and take away our fears.  Fear is the opposite of faith and trust.  When we remember God’s promises and choose to put our faith and trust back in God, our fear is lessened or taken away completely.

 

2. When are are afraid and we call out to God, He comes close to us and whispers ‘Don’t be afraid.  I am with you’.

“You came near when I called you, and you said ‘Do not fear'”.  Lamentations 3:57

 

3. God sends His angels to take care of us

“The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and He delivers him”.  Psalm 34:7

 

God gives each one of us a guardian angel to watch over and protect us.  We are not often aware that angels are surrounding us because we cannot see them.

In the Bible, in 2 Kings 6, it tells us about a story where an army was sent to capture and kill the prophet Elisha.  His servant got up in the morning and opened the door and there was a huge army surrounding them.  Understandably, he was terrified. 

But Elisha was not afraid.  He knew that God’s guardian angels were surrounding them in much greater numbers and power than any human army.  Elisha asks God to ‘open his servant’s eyes’ so that he can see the angels.  God opened the servant’s eyes and he could see the hills ‘full of chariots and fire’. 

Elisha said ‘those who are with us are more than those who are with them’. 2 Kings 6: 15 – 17.

So next time you feel afraid, ask God to send his angels to protect you and remember this story – even if you can’t see them with your natural eyes, God’s angels are there, in far greater numbers than any army or any problem you might face.

2 Kings 6
Verse 15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.

 

Verse 16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”


Verse 17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

4. Choose not to fear rule your life.  Choose to trust God instead.

“Don’t give in to fear.”  1 Peter 3:6 

While this may look like a simplistic Bibe text, it is actually very powerful.  It says ‘don’t give in to fear’.  This means that we actually have a choice about whether we ‘give in’ to the feeling of fear or whether we resist the feeling. 

We have a choice about how we respond to every situation. 

Are you allowing yourself to be afraid when you could choose to trust God instead?

5. When we are trusting God, we don’t need to be afraid of bad news.

“They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.” Psalm 112:7

At the time of writing, the world is in the grip of Coronavirus.  When you read a newspaper, watch TV or go on social media, it is full of bad news.  God tells us that we don’t need to be afraid of bad news.  We know what’s going on in the world around us, but we put our trust fully in God and rest in His promises to take care of us.

 

6. God is always with us to help when we have trouble

“God is our refuge and strength; an ever-present help in trouble; therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” Psalm 46: 1-3

7. God calms our nerves

“Do not tremble with fear; do not be afraid.”  Isaiah 44:8

8. God holds our hand and says ‘Do not fear, I will help you’

“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.'” Isaiah 41:13

9. God is a personal God – He will help us himself

“Do not be afraid…do not fear…for I, myself will help you, declares the Lord.” Isaiah 41.14

God’s love and protection for us is personal.  He promises that He, Himself, will help us.  He will take us by the hand and walk by our side, no matter what we are going through. 

He will “never leave us nor forsake us“.  Deuteronomy 31:6

Although He is Almighty God, He is also our Heavenly Father, who loves us deeply.  His love drives away all fear.

10.  God has not designed us to be anxious.  He has given us a ‘sound mind’

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

As I said above, I have had Generalised Anxiety Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) since I was a nine year old child.  I was a very frightened child and the OCD caused me to do many repetitive behaviors.

I knew they were ‘crazy’, but my anxiety was so high, I did not ‘dare’ not to do the behaviors in case something bad happened.

The amazing thing is that when I was fifteen years old, after six years of these debilitating repetitive behaviors, I walked out into my back year on a beautiful sunny day and looked up to heaven and said to God ‘You are in control.  All this ‘good luck’ ‘bad luck’ stuff isn’t real – You are in control of everything.  I literally gave control of my life over to God and STOPPED DOING THE BEHAVIORS!

Years later, when I was seeing a Psychiatrist who didn’t believe in God and I told him about this, he was shocked – he couldn’t believe it and had never heard of anyone doing this before.

This is the power of putting our faith and trust completely in God.  It restores the ‘sound mind’ that He created us to have.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not saying that mental health issues can all be magically cured by trusting in God, but it certainly helps.  It alleviates anxiety and fear and gives us back a sense of peace. 

I wasn’t 100% cured when I was 15, but I was 90% healed.  I was 90% well, 90% of the time, which was much more manageable.  

11. God created us uniquely ourselves and He calls us by name as His very own

“But now this is what the Lord says, He who created you, He who formed you, ‘Do not fear for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1

12. God is with us and he strengthens us

“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

13.  God will not disappoint us

“Do not be afraid or discouraged.  You won’t be disappointed.” Isaiah 54:4

14.  God will provide for us and our families

“Don’t be afraid.  I will provide for you and your children.”  Genesis 50:21

15.  God comforts us

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

16.  God will keep us safe and give us a long, full life

“The Lord says ‘I will save the one who loves me.  I will keep him safe because He trusts in me.  He will call out to me and I will answer him.  I will be with him in times of trouble.  I will save him and honor him.  I will give him a long and full life.  I will save him’.” Psalm 91: 14 – 16

17.  God will help us sleep

“When you lie down you will not be afraid; when you lie down your sleep will be sweet.” 
Proverbs 3:24

18.  God will keep us safe and give us hope

“So do not be afraid, declares the Lord.  Don’t lose hope.  I will deliver you.  My people will again be safe and sound.”  Jeremiah 30:10

19.  We don’t need to be afraid of anyone

“The Lord is my light and my salvation – who shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid.”  Psalm 27:1

20.  We don’t need to be afraid of disasters

“Have no fear of sudden disaster, or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the Lord will be at your side and will keep your foot from being snared.” Proverbs 3: 25-26

21.  You will have no fear and no worries

“No-one will trouble you, abuse you or oppress you.  You have know no fear and have no worries.” Isaiah 54:14

21 Bible verses about fear

21 Bible verses about fear

by | Oct 5, 2020 | Faith Blog

I don’t know about you, but I struggle with fear and anxiety on a regular basis.

Fear can come in many forms – anxiety, nervousness, uneasiness, worry and even outright terror.

When we allow fear to take over our mind and our thoughts, life can feel overwhelming and we feel unable to move forward – whether just to get through this one day, or to move forward with the next stage of our life.

*** Click on the image at the end of the post to watch the You Tube video: 56 Bible verses about fear

Fear can also lead to disorders such as Generalised Anxiety Disorder, OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and panic attacks.

I have suffered with anxiety and OCD since I was a nine year old child, but through reading the promises of God day by day, I have gained significant healing (more about that verse 10 below).

When I draw near to God and read His promises to us in the Bible, I feel at peace again and able to take the next step in life’s journey.

I hope these Bible promises about fear will speak to you as much as they have to me. Each promise has a link to the Bible, so you can read the promises in God’s Word for yourself.

God is for you.  He will never leave you or forsake you.  He is trustworthy.  He is in control of the future and He loves you deeply.

Enjoy these 21 Bible promises that help us not to be afraid. 

1. God hears us when we call out to Him and He takes away our fears.

“I sought the Lord and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34:4 

When we are afraid and we call out to God, He promises that He will answer us and take away our fears.  Fear is the opposite of faith and trust.  When we remember God’s promises and choose to put our faith and trust back in God, our fear is lessened or taken away completely.

 

2. When are are afraid and we call out to God, He comes close to us and whispers ‘Don’t be afraid.  I am with you’.

“You came near when I called you, and you said ‘Do not fear'”.  Lamentations 3:57

 

 3. God sends His angels to take care of us

“The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and He delivers him”.  Psalm 34:7

 

God gives each one of us a guardian angel to watch over and protect us.  We are not often aware that angels are surrounding us because we cannot see them.

In the Bible, in 2 Kings 6, it tells us about a story where an army was sent to capture and kill the prophet Elisha.  His servant got up in the morning and opened the door and there was a huge army surrounding them.  Understandably, he was terrified. 

But Elisha was not afraid.  He knew that God’s guardian angels were surrounding them in much greater numbers and power than any human army.  Elisha asks God to ‘open his servant’s eyes’ so that he can see the angels.  God opened the servant’s eyes and he could see the hills ‘full of chariots and fire’. 

Elisha said ‘those who are with us are more than those who are with them’. 2 Kings 6: 15 – 17.

So next time you feel afraid, ask God to send his angels to protect you and remember this story – even if you can’t see them with your natural eyes, God’s angels are there, in far greater numbers than any army or any problem you might face.

2 Kings 6
Verse 15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.

 

Verse 16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”


Verse 17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

4. Choose not to fear rule your life.  Choose to trust God instead.

“Don’t give in to fear.”  1 Peter 3:6 

While this may look like a simplistic Bibe text, it is actually very powerful.  It says ‘don’t give in to fear’.  This means that we actually have a choice about whether we ‘give in’ to the feeling of fear or whether we resist the feeling. 

We have a choice about how we respond to every situation. 

Are you allowing yourself to be afraid when you could choose to trust God instead?

5. When we are trusting God, we don’t need to be afraid of bad news.

“They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.” Psalm 112:7

At the time of writing, the world is in the grip of Coronavirus.  When you read a newspaper, watch TV or go on social media, it is full of bad news.  God tells us that we don’t need to be afraid of bad news.  We know what’s going on in the world around us, but we put our trust fully in God and rest in His promises to take care of us.

 

6. God is always with us to help when we have trouble

“God is our refuge and strength; an ever-present help in trouble; therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” Psalm 46: 1-3

7. God calms our nerves

“Do not tremble with fear; do not be afraid.”  Isaiah 44:8

8. God holds our hand and says ‘Do not fear, I will help you’

“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.'” Isaiah 41:13

9. God is a personal God – He will help us himself

“Do not be afraid…do not fear…for I, myself will help you, declares the Lord.” Isaiah 41.14

God’s love and protection for us is personal.  He promises that He, Himself, will help us.  He will take us by the hand and walk by our side, no matter what we are going through. 

He will “never leave us nor forsake us“.  Deuteronomy 31:6

Although He is Almighty God, He is also our Heavenly Father, who loves us deeply.  His love drives away all fear.

10.  God has not designed us to be anxious.  He has given us a ‘sound mind’

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

As I said above, I have had Generalised Anxiety Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) since I was a nine year old child.  I was a very frightened child and the OCD caused me to do many repetitive behaviors.

I knew they were ‘crazy’, but my anxiety was so high, I did not ‘dare’ not to do the behaviors in case something bad happened.

The amazing thing is that when I was fifteen years old, after six years of these debilitating repetitive behaviors, I walked out into my back year on a beautiful sunny day and looked up to heaven and said to God ‘You are in control.  All this ‘good luck’ ‘bad luck’ stuff isn’t real – You are in control of everything.  I literally gave control of my life over to God and STOPPED DOING THE BEHAVIORS!

Years later, when I was seeing a Psychiatrist who didn’t believe in God and I told him about this, he was shocked – he couldn’t believe it and had never heard of anyone doing this before.

This is the power of putting our faith and trust completely in God.  It restores the ‘sound mind’ that He created us to have.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not saying that mental health issues can all be magically cured by trusting in God, but it certainly helps.  It alleviates anxiety and fear and gives us back a sense of peace. 

I wasn’t 100% cured when I was 15, but I was 90% healed.  I was 90% well, 90% of the time, which was much more manageable.  

11. God created us uniquely ourselves and He calls us by name as His very own

“But now this is what the Lord says, He who created you, He who formed you, ‘Do not fear for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1

12. God is with us and he strengthens us

“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

13.  God will not disappoint us

“Do not be afraid or discouraged.  You won’t be disappointed.” Isaiah 54:4

14.  God will provide for us and our families

“Don’t be afraid.  I will provide for you and your children.”  Genesis 50:21

15.  God comforts us

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

16.  God will keep us safe and give us a long, full life

“The Lord says ‘I will save the one who loves me.  I will keep him safe because He trusts in me.  He will call out to me and I will answer him.  I will be with him in times of trouble.  I will save him and honor him.  I will give him a long and full life.  I will save him’.” Psalm 91: 14 – 16

17.  God will help us sleep

“When you lie down you will not be afraid; when you lie down your sleep will be sweet.” 
Proverbs 3:24

18.  God will keep us safe and give us hope

“So do not be afraid, declares the Lord.  Don’t lose hope.  I will deliver you.  My people will again be safe and sound.”  Jeremiah 30:10

19.  We don’t need to be afraid of anyone

“The Lord is my light and my salvation – who shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid.”  Psalm 27:1

20.  We don’t need to be afraid of disasters

“Have no fear of sudden disaster, or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the Lord will be at your side and will keep your foot from being snared.” Proverbs 3: 25-26

21.  You will have no fear and no worries

“No-one will trouble you, abuse you or oppress you.  You have know no fear and have no worries.” Isaiah 54:14

What does the future hold

What does the future hold

by | Sep 24, 2020 | Bible Study, Faith Blog

God has a good plan for your life, despite what things may look like right now.

I don’t know about you, but lately I’ve been worried about what the future holds.

When I was reading The Bible the other day, God showed me that we don’t need to worry or be in fear over our future.

By applying God’s promises to our every day life, we put our faith in God and trust Him with our future.

There are five simple steps to doing this:

1) Notice how you are feeling (worried, anxious, fearful etc).  Ask yourself what you have been thinking about.  This is what usually causes our negative feelings and can lead to depression and anxiety.  Write this down or type it up on the computer so you can refer back to it later.

2) Remind yourself of 2 Corinthians 10:5 from the Bible “we take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ”.

In practical terms, this means you take all of your fearful, worried, insecure thoughts (and any other negative thoughts) and choose to reject those thoughts.

Choose, instead to focus on what God says in His Word and believe God’s Word instead of your own thoughts.

3) Look up Bible promises that are relevant to what you are thinking and feeling or whatever type of problem you are facing. Write them down.  Have them handy so you can read them frequently. Choose to believe God’s promises.

4) Ask God to speak to you through His promises.  Write down any ‘impressions’ you get – this is often God speaking to you.

5) Meditate on these promises day and night.  That means to read them, think about them, quote them in your prayers to God – literally be “mindful” of them any time you start to lose your sense of peace.

Continue to choose to trust God no matter how things look right now.
God is faithful.

I’ll give you an example.

As I said above, recently, I started to worry about my future.

I am just in the beginning stages of trying to build an online ministry through blog posts and You Tube videos.  This includes a section on my website that contains my favourite Bible promises.

While I was looking through Pinterest the other day, I found a site that has the most amazing, beautifully designed Bible promises and You Tube videos.  The person who has designed them has such a gift.  They are so creative – much more so than me.

This left me feeling discouraged and unsure of what I should do

For a moment, I considered trying to create something similar to the other website, but it would have taken me months and I couldn’t do it as well as they had.

Then I remembered the five steps above and began to apply them.

I started looking up Bible texts that were relevant to my future and God’s guidance.

I found scripture after scripture where God promises to lead us and guide us.

As I found them and typed them up, I started to become more hopeful and I once again, felt a sense of peace about my future and the direction I should take.

I’ll walk you through the five steps and show you how God spoke to me and brought me comfort and hope and how God will do this for you too.

 

Step 1 – Notice how you are feeling and ask yourself what you have been thinking about

I was feeling discouraged about my ideas and my ability and uncertain about which direction to take.  I knew that if I continued to dwell on these discouraged, negative thoughts, I would end up depressed.

I was comparing myself to others (big mistake!!!).  I did not feel as creative as they were. 

I am just at the beginning of my journey to build a ministry and an online presence. 

Sometimes it’s hard to keep going when no-one knows you; hardly anyone (except maybe your parents!) are reading your blog and only a handful of people are watching your You Tube videos.

I was wondering whether I should continue to create Bible Promises for my website when others had already done that – and better than I could do it!

Once again, I was unsure of which direction to head.  I started to doubt everything!

Step 2 – I reminded myself of 2 Corinthians 10:5 to “take every thought captive” and made a deliberate choice to replace my negative, discouraged thoughts with the promises in God’s Word.

Step 3 – I started looking up Bible texts about God’s guidance and about the future.

This is so easy to do these days.  I just went to my favourite online Bible resource called Bible Gateway and started doing a word search on ‘Guide‘ and ‘Future‘.

I also made a deliberate choice to believe the promises of God.

I asked God to speak to me through His Word and I wrote down any ‘impressions’ I noted as I read.  This is often God speaking to you.

The more I read, the more encouraged I felt!!

I started with Jeremiah 29:11 as this is an all time favourite and guaranteed to encourage me.

When I typed the word ‘future’ into Bible Gateway, a great verse that I have never heard before popped up.  Job 8:7 “Your beginnings will seem humble, so great will your future be”.

What a great verse!

So this tells me that God has a good plan for me, even if it is not 100% clear to me right now. I know the general direction.  I am not sure about all the specifics, but I do know enough to keep going (writing blog posts, making You Tube videos about my life experiences and God’s faithfulness). I was starting to feel encouraged already!

The next verse was Psalm 37:37 “A future awaits those who seek peace.”

If there is one thing I am – it’s a “Peace Maker”.  I always seek to be a peaceful person and to have peaceful relationships, so I knew I could claim this promise for myself.

I went on to read the next verse.

Amen! Another promise that I have a good future.”

The next verse was similar, Proverbs 24:14 “Know also that Wisdom is like honey for you; if you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.”

I do have a genuine desire to seek God’s Wisdom.  Therefore there is a future hope for me. 
My hope will not be cut off.

Next, another favourite.  We can claim this promise for anything. 

God promises that if I call on him and ask him what I should do, He will answer me.

I actually already had this Bible verse typed up, so it was easy to look it up. 

This shows the value in spending time reading God’s Word on a regular basis and typing up favourite Bible promises as you find them (or having a Bible Promise book or a favourite website you can look up).  This is precisely why I want my favourite Bible promises to feature on my website – I want the promises of God quickly available to anyone, any time they need it.  

Having easy access to the promises of God is life saving because when you are feeling down, you don’t always feel like reading the Bible.  You might just choose to curl up in bed instead.

But when you already have these special promises at hand, it takes no effort to look them up and read them again and it starts to bring comfort immediately.

Next, I found another favourite.

 

This promises that even though I don’t have a really clear picture of my online ministry, He is always with me and will never leave me.  This comforts me.  God is with me while we figure this out together.

Next I typed in the word ‘guide’ into Bible Gateway and these Bible texts came up.

Psalm 23:3 “He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths, for His Name’s sake.

Psalm 25:5 “Guide me in Your Truth and teach me, for You are God my Saviour, and my hope is in you all day long”.

Psalm 31:3 “Since You are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of Your Name, lead me and guide me”.

Psalm 48:14 “For this God is our God forever and ever; He will be our guide, even to the end”.

Psalm 73:24 “You guide me with Your counsel and afterwards You will take me into glory”.

Psalm 78:53 “He guided them safely, so they were unafraid; but the sea engulfed their enemies”.

Psalms 25:9 He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way”.

All encouraging.

Isaiah 49:10 “They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them besides springs of water”.

Isaiah 57:18 “I have seen their ways, but I will heal them; I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners”.

Isaiah 58:11 “The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail”.

 

Proverbs 6:22 “When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you”.

Isaiah 42:16 “I will lead the blind along paths they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them”.

It was really encouraging that God promised to lead me ‘along unfamiliar paths’.
It has taken me a whole year just to decide on a business name, create a website,
learn to use WordPress, learn to use the Divi theme, learn to use Canva, learn to use Pinterest, learn to use Filmora 9, to create and edit my You Tube videos – all new to me!

Isaiah 63:14 “Like cattle that go down to the plain, they were given rest by the Spirit of the Lord. This is how you guided your people to make for yourself a glorious Name”.

John 16:13 “But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come”.

I felt impressed that God was saying that He will reveal my future direction to me little by little, as I am ready to receive it.  This was quite a breakthrough – knowing that God would reveal the way forward to me step by step, not all at once.

We are growing, spiritually, all through our lives.  We can only handle so much truth at a time and God does not want to overwhelm us.  He could tell us our whole future tonight and we would be so shocked, we would fall down in fear and give up. 

God only tells us what we are ready to hear.  Just the next step or two ahead.

 

The next verse gives me confidence that in my heart, I am going in the right direction.

Psalm 22: 30 “Future generations will be told about the Lord.”

This year, I have been really enjoying putting the Bible on video.

So far, I have put Romans 1, Romans 2 and Romans 12 on Powerpoint, added beautiful pictures, videos and music and created You Tube videos.

I am doing a similar thing with Bible promises – both on my website and in You Tube videos.

I have also been making You Tube videos about my life’s journey and the faithfulness of God.

My intention is to minister to this generation as well as ‘future generations’.

Psalm 102:18 “Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created can praise the Lord.”

Another confirmation about the direction I should be going with my online ministry.  That’s two Bible texts along the same line as each other.  This is encouraging.

I now feel confirmation that even though my Bible promises are not as ‘creative’ as someone else’s, it doesn’t matter.  Getting the Word of God out there in an easy to digest format is what matters.

After reading all these great Bible texts, I feel really encouraged and hopeful!!  I no longer feel down and discouraged. 

I feel like God has confirmed that creating content around the Word of God is what I’m meant to be doing.  He has also shown me that He will not reveal my whole ministry to me now, but will lead me little by little.  I definitely feel that I know the next few steps to take. I am also now certain that creating a ‘Bible Promise‘ section on my website is the right thing
to do.

You don’t need to read as many Bible texts as I have included here.  Sometimes, it is enough just to read one or two Bible texts.

The really important thing is:

1) Taking notice of what you are thinking and feeling.

2) Choosing to give your negative thinking to God and replacing it with His Word.

3) Looking up some relevant Bible texts and choosing to believe that they are for you.

4) Asking God to ‘speak’ to you as you read His Word.

5) Continuing to read and think about these Bible texts frequently and have them handy to re-read any time you start to lose your sense of peace. 

I would love you to let me know if you try this and how it goes   Next time you are feel negative emotions, try this out and see if you find encouragement, hope and guidance.