Tag: fear

Shipwrecked

Are you in the middle of a storm right now? God commands us to not be afraid, even when things don’t seem to be looking good for us.

Imagine that you are being taken across the stormy seas, away from your home, and off to stand trial, where you are likely to face death. Suddenly, the ship is beginning to fall apart and everyone is terrified around you.

You would be scared, wouldn’t you?

In Acts (chapter 7), Paul is in this exact same circumstance. But he is met with an angel who commands him, “Do not be afraid”, and goes on to say that God has promised to spare the lives of everyone on the ship. Paul goes on to encourage everyone on board and even when they arrive safely (despite many hardships along the way), Paul’s life is spared in the courtroom as well.

You may have read this story before and thought that it was an interesting chapter of the Bible. Then you closed your Bible, went to bed, and spent hours contemplating all of your problems and worrying about what you can do to change the situation you are in right now.

Not many of us will be in a shipwreck like Paul. But we all have our own storms that are just as terrifying and life-altering as this one.

You may be struggling to trust God right now. But just as we continue to have storms, we also continue to have God, who promises to take care of us and tells us over and over again to not be afraid.

I know it’s really hard to understand why God is bringing you through this particular storm you’re in the middle of right now. But in the end, you wouldn’t have had the same opportunities to share God’s love and deepen your relationship with Him otherwise. Life is very difficult to comprehend, but looking back at all the times that God has led the way will help you realize how much He loves you and how God is the only One in control.

So today, if you are struggling to make sense of the situation you’re in, remember that you can always turn to God no matter what. He will be there to encourage you and help you encourage others with the hope and peace He will place inside you. You can’t do this alone, but that’s okay, because you aren’t alone. God will guide you and help you become exactly who you are meant to be. All you have to do is trust God and realize that whatever is meant for you will eventually be yours. Don’t be afraid.

FOCUS

My consistent followers on here know that I’m often trying to challenge you, to help you grow. That’s because I am constantly trying to do that for myself, because it’s not in my innate desires. I want to stay within that comfort zone. But God calls us to step away from that pattern of living and be willing to pursue something more.

But today I have two messages, one is a challenge, the other is encouragement.

I’ve felt a tug on my heart to really share this message with you from God.

He wants you to know that He loves you so much. We humans are His favorite creation, the only one truly made in His image. He could’ve made someone completely different from you, but He made YOU because the world needs you. He is proud of you. He loves you more than words can even describe!

Take a moment to close your eyes and breathe in God’s grace. He loves you. He loves you like nobody else can.

Okay, now are you ready for the challenge? 🙂

The word that’s been on my heart lately is this: focus.

We are so easily distracted by the idols of this world: fame, wealth, looks, popularity, etc. We compare ourselves to others who may not be living for God and we want what they have.

But that’s only going to last them for a season. They are only going to feel content for a moment.

But following God’s call on our lives? That kind of satisfaction will last us a lifetime. No– longer! It will bring us into eternity, a perfect eternity, where we can spend forever worshipping God, feeling His abounding love for us, and being in community.

How great does that sound? Simply amazing!

But we need to figure out our priorities before embarking on this challenge.

Take some time today to think about where your heart really is. Is it sucked into a relationship? Is it devoted to your career? Is it in a talent or skill you have?

Those things can all be great.

But remember that God created that other person you love dearly. God created humans to invent things and to be hardworking. God gifted you that amazing ability.

So honor the One that has given us the life we have.

If you put God first, everything else will fall into place. It’s that simple.

Focus your eyes and your heart on what’s going to last.

Once you put your faith and focus on God, everything else will suddenly become clear.

Then you will finally have that ultimate contentment.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

Matthew 22:37

Admit What You Need

Admit it when you need help in order to build better relationships– both with God and with loved ones.

A lot of times I hide how I feel or what I need because I don’t want to bother others. At least, that’s what I often tell myself when justifying not reaching out.

But another major reason why I’m hesitant to reach out to people with my desires is because I don’t want to admit that I’m weak, insufficient, and not completely capable of everything. I don’t want to crush this false illusion in my mind that I’ve somehow proven to others that I am basically inhuman in my abilities to be self-sufficient.

This only hurts my relationships with others, and this mindset of not wanting to be vulnerable hurts our relationship with God too.

Let’s be honest, some people truly don’t want to see our less-than-perfect side. They only want us when we can help them.

But God isn’t like that. Not one little bit.

He wants our ENTIRE heart. He wants the brokenness because only He can make it beautiful. He wants to comfort us. He wants to sustain us. He wants to give us strength.

But He isn’t going to arrive uninvited. We have to let Him in if we want His help.

The same goes for people. If we act like nothing is wrong, then people will assume we are fine. We need to be willing to be human in order to get the help that we need. We have to be vulnerable in order for others to feel truly comfortable with us.

Not only does this help us, but it strengthens our relationships, both with people and with God.

We show God that we are willing to allow Him to use all the areas of our life, including the things we’d rather leave unexposed.

So today, allow the people who really care about you into your life, both the good and bad. Tell them if you need something, and be willing to let them be vulnerable with you too.

In addition, think about the areas of your life where you’ve held back from showing your true self to God. Ask Him to show you the areas where you need to let go and allow Him to take over. God will help you through any struggle you are going through, as long as you let Him in.

More than anything, remember that you are never a burden. You don’t have to always be strong. Allow yourself to be immersed in the love and comfort that God and your loved ones want to give you.

You are enough.

For he has not despised or scorned

    the suffering of the afflicted one;

he has not hidden his face from him

    but has listened to his cry for help.

Psalm 22:24

After the Prayer

Prayer is a good first step, but when is it time to take action?

Prayer is the most important spiritual practice you can take part in. However, it can be misused in a way that actually harms you. Often, we say we’ll pray about something, and that’s wonderful. But then we can use it as an excuse to not take action. If things don’t happen related to the issue, we blame God instead of ourselves.

I know that I’ve done this before. If I’m afraid, I’ll just tell myself that God will handle it for me once I pray. Of course God should be a source of comfort and peace. Yet, He does not want us to sit idly by and not do the work to make progress.

I know this might be a tough love moment, but in the end, your relationship with God will strengthen if you are willing to do more than pray.

Instead of praying something specific, pray that God’s will can be done and that God will give you the strength to do the hard thing. We should ultimately want God’s will to be done because, as I talked about in my most recent post, we can either choose to accept what’s happening and trust God or begrudging stomp our feet and refuse to move forward in life. Then we miss out on the many blessings God has in store for us.

Today, reflect on areas of your life where you may not be putting in the work. Perhaps the conflict could be resolved through you talking to someone. Perhaps you are actually being called to give up something in order to help someone else. Perhaps you are meant to take that risk you’ve been worrying about.

There are certainly situations in which we simply can’t do anything but pray. And that’s okay. But just take the time to figure out whether God is calling you to take action.

Ultimately, it is crucial to pray in order to strengthen our relationship with God and to have peace about situations. But nothing can be done if we aren’t willing to follow God’s call on our lives.

You can certainly pray for strength, perseverance, and clarity. That’s a wonderful thing to do. But after that, just go for it! You can do this, I believe in you. And most of all, God is with you, so you have nothing to be afraid of ❤

If God is for us, who can be against us?

Romans 8:31

Living in the Moment

Living in the moment is the way to find true satisfaction.

I talk about living without regrets all the time, but I just want to say that sometimes you might be called to do things that seem so strange. Not classy, not popular. But it’s what you are supposed to do in order to follow God’s plan for your life. You just have to go for it, even if it doesn’t make sense.

Take every opportunity you can because you never know what tomorrow might hold.

All the wonderful things that have happened in my life were not planned. All the terrible things that have happened in my life were unanticipated. No human can truly fathom the future God has made for us.

So it’s important to live in the moment. Don’t look back at the mistakes you can’t make up for. Don’t be anxious about the future, that’s what we are commanded to do. I know it’s hard and it’s okay to have those feelings, so long as we are actively fighting against them. We cannot let fear win. Fear is only dangerous when it is given power by us.

Today make the effort to go out of your way for someone else. You might be the only one who does.

Today do something you’ve always wanted to do. You may have found a new passion for life!

Today ask God what His plan is for your life instead of praying specific things. Ultimately, God’s plan is the best one, and it’s what’s going to happen. Might as well go with it willingly than be dragged along, right? After all, He does have our best interest in mind.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Philippians 4:6

Driven By Fear

“Too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity. They seem to be more afraid of life than death.”

— James F. Byrnes

You don’t have to be afraid anymore.

You heard me right. Repeat it. Write it on your hand, a piece of paper, your journal. You don’t have to be afraid anymore.

You’re probably thinking, “Hannah, we’re in the middle of a global pandemic right now. Remember?”

Yeah, it’s painful obvious to me. But I also have found through this time in quarantine that the quote “the only thing to fear is fear itself” is literally one of the most accurate things ever.

Fear is what holds us back. Let me prove my point.

We get angry at other people and that ruins relationships, right? It’s because we are afraid of what would happen if they won or if they didn’t get what they “deserved”.

We worry about people and end up criticizing them because of that fear that they won’t turn out right. Again…fear is the driving force behind breaking the relationship or straining it.

We don’t do things that could build others up, strengthen us, or give us new perspective, causing us to feel trapped. We regret things because we give into fear and let go of trust.

We need to flip that around. We need to give into trust and let go of fear.

Of course I’m saying that we should be careful and mindful of others. We shouldn’t just allow people to do whatever they want when they are hurting others or themselves. But we need to realize that we aren’t in control of anything except our mindsets. And if we trust God, we can have hope, joy, and peace. We don’t have to be afraid.

Fear has caused me great grief in the past. But I’m learning alongside you to let go.

Today, let Jesus’ love be enough. Let yourself realize that you are protected. Nothing happens without it being meant to happen. You don’t have to be afraid anymore.

Freedom sounds so fresh. We long for it right now. So take a hold of the driver’s seat and push fear aside. You’re in control of what’s going on in that head of yours, not fear. Don’t let fear win. Let love win. And I guarantee that you will suddenly feel a burden lift and the skies opening up for you. We can get through this together.

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”

1 John 4:8