A Book To Help With Your Fears

April 3, 2020April 2, 2020 RefreshHer6 Comments

Are you afraid right now? Do worry and anxiety threaten to overwhelm your heart? Listen to these statements:

Fear fears joy.

If your family sees you paralyzed by fear, they have to conclude that you do not think that God is all-powerful

We fear God because we do not know Him very well

Why is it people can change your countenance, but God can’t?

These are all quotes from a book I read past month. It has been in my possession for several years. I’m not sure why I had never read it, except for the fact that I know that reading it at this time in my life was perfect. The book title?

Fear Not. Meditations to Overcome Fear, Worry and Discouragement. It’s written by Rand Hummel, a good friend and a preacher who knows how to communicate.

I honestly would have told you that I’m not a fearful person…until I read this book! The book addresses so many areas in our lives that fear touches –

the fear of failure,

dying,

public speaking,

rejection,

being hurt in relationships,

the future

and on and on.

Today we hear the word fear on a daily basis as people deal with the threat of the Coronavirus infecting them. The thoughts of sickness and death bring fear to many. Rand’s approach to each fear is pointing the reader’s attention to what the Bible says. He shares examples of people in Scripture who had that fear and how God helped them.

Every morning when I would read and meditate on the passages shared, my heart was so strengthened and encouraged!

One night this week I went to bed not feeling very well. I was awakened in the middle of the night with a gripping fear and thinking about the virus. Immediately, truths I had read in this little 159 page book came to my mind and I ran to the Lord in prayer. Soon I was back asleep.

I would highly encourage you to get a copy of the book. You can find it in the link above. There’s a Kindle edition, too, so you could have it in your possession as soon as today!

God doesn’t just want us to sleep well. He wants us to trust Him and this little book can be a great avenue to show you how and why you can!

What worries you the most right now? I’d love to pray for you if you’d either leave a comment or send me an email using the email address in the contact page.

trust · Uncategorized · worry

The Best Way to Save Money

March 11, 2020March 10, 2020 RefreshHer4 Comments

Some years ago one of my little 5 year-old Sunday school students said to her mom, “Coupons aren’t the best way to save money.” Her mom asked her what was the best way, then. Here was her answer –

“Just take it easy with God. You know, trust Him!”

That’s a wonderful definition of trust! Take it easy with God! As a matter of fact, that’s what Proverbs 28:25b says –

He that putteth his trust in the LORD shall be made fat.

We think of “fatness” in a negative way most times, but Matthew Henry puts it this way –

“None live so pleasantly, so easily, as those that live by faith.”

The person who puts his trust in God has the best kind of life! It’s a life of ease because the cares that would trouble him are taken to God instead! This is the person who, instead of worrying, just rolls it over onto the Lord.

Giving God your burden won’t just save you money, it will save you from fretting, worrying and an upset stomach!

What’s on your heart today? “Just take it easy with God. You know, trust Him!”

Why? Because I Peter 5:7 ~

Christian Life

The Antidote To Fear

November 7, 2017November 7, 2017 RefreshHer3 Comments

oak

A couple weeks ago I unknowingly stepped into a patch of Poison Oak. It tricked me with its leaves that had turned from green to red. I looked at it, reached for it and took it home with me! I can’t even describe to you the discomfort I had on my arms and legs for days afterward. It sent me to Urgent Care to get an antidote for its poison. What soothing relief the medication brought!

There is another poison that is spreading that’s worse than what I experienced. It’s called FEAR. America grieves once again for the loss of innocent lives. We weep with the families and the church who lost dear ones in the shooting during the Sunday church service. While these tragedies sadden us, they also cause fear to spread in our hearts like the poison oak. We ask ourselves and maybe also say it to others,

Are we safe anywhere these days?

Folks are asking, If you can’t even attend church without the fear of being gunned down, where can you feel safe?

On Facebook I saw these comments:

I carry to church. Someone should always be armed and ready these days.

We put some new security policies in place tonight, and we will be adding to it.

How sad. There are no safe places anymore

Whether we agree with these responses or not, we’d all probably admit to the feeling of pure vulnerability and FEAR. How do we respond? What should we do today, tomorrow or next Sunday when we head to church?

The answer came so clearly from one of our visiting missionaries on Sunday. He said:

Fearing the Lord is the antidote for fear. If I fear man, it will affect my behavior. The fear of God should be greater than any other fear.

To fear God is to have a conscious awareness of Him and His presence.

Therefore, if I fear Him, I’ll be aware that He is with me when I am at church, the park, the auditorium or in any other place. Knowing God is there and thinking about that truth will alleviate any fear of man, because God is greater. It also reminds me of other important truths:

He can protect me.
He loves me.
He knows the future.
He will give grace.
He will give strength.

The fear of God comes from the knowledge of His Word. It is there that we learn His attributes that give us confidence and true peace – even in these turbulent days.

No one wants to face a terrifying time like the dear folks in Texas, but if we live in fear, and under the shadow of these kind of acts, we will miss out on each day God gives us to love and fear Him with a holy fear. He is greater.

Don’t fear men. Fear God. It’s the only medicine for the poison of fear of men.

Is fear ruling your heart? Ask God to give you a holy fear of Him instead.

Lovingly,

Denise Signature 150 px

trust

Dealing With Sudden Fear

October 5, 2017October 5, 2017 RefreshHer2 Comments

In light of the recent horrific shootings in Las Vegas, I’d like to re-post something I wrote a couple years ago. I’ve seen normally “chatty” bloggers and You Tube channel hosts at a loss of words as a result of this tragedy. These are frightening days, aren’t they? How should we deal with this kind of news? I believe God’s Word answers that question in Proverbs 3. Read on and be encouraged to trust God in these troubling days!

The phone rings and it’s the doctor’s office, calling to give the results of the lab work that was recently done.

Sudden Fear.

Your teenage daughter has a painful look in her eyes. She has seemed distant and removed from you and the Lord in recent weeks. She asks to speak with you.

Sudden fear.

Your boss sends an email telling you he’d like to speak with you at your earliest convenience.

Sudden fear.

You pick up the newspaper and read the headlines about yet another shooting where innocent people lost their lives at the hand of a crazed gunman.

Sudden fear.

There are hundreds of scenarios in which we could find ourselves filled with sudden fear – that terror that falls over us quickly due to some event in which we have no control. You’ve been there, I’m sure. We all have. We weren’t really prepared for the news or the event. Maybe we didn’t handle those situations so well in the past.

But for those future moments, we can prepare ahead of time, simply by hiding a secret piece of ammunition on our person – it’s the Word of God. Open up your heart and tuck this truth away:

Be not afraid of sudden fear,
neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.
For the Lord shall be thy confidence,
and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
Proverbs 3:25, 26

At that moment when the sudden terror wants to grab your heart, your emotions and your will, pull out the Truth that can enable you to handle this difficulty wisely and calmly.

The Lord will be your confidence – Pray. You don’t know what to do, but He does! He will show you the next step to take that will lead you to victory, rather than defeat. Turn to Him immediately and ask for His intervention and guidance.
He’ll keep your foot – Rest. He’ll not let you slip! Remind yourself that the Lord will keep you safe and secure. “No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.” Anything that He allows to touch your life has come through His sovereign hands first. You are still in His grip.

The best way to deal with anything is to be prepared. The Lord has given us everything we need to keep us from sudden fear – the Truth of His presence and the help of His hand! Don’t be afraid!

What sudden fear has you quaking? Pray and rest in these Truths today!

Lovingly,

Christian Life · joy · trials

Deliverance From Fear of the Enemy

March 21, 2017March 21, 2017 RefreshHer8 Comments

Bibles 1.jpg It was morning and I had had a fitful night’s rest prior to waking up. The weeks prior to this day had been crammed full of caring for others, a couple of trips, lots of study, sickness and then the emotional drain all that brings. Now I found myself staring at yet another hardship and the day had barely gotten started.

The blessing of this moment was that I was also in my normal spot first thing in my day – I was in my Quiet Place. My Bible was open and I was thirsty for its Living Waters. I opened to a Psalm I’d been meditating on for several days – Psalm 63. It comforted my heart to do what the psalmist had done and stop and remember all that God been and accomplished for me in recent days. Ii was reminded of His goodness.

Then I went on to Psalm 64:1

Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy.

It was as though I could literally hear the brakes squalling, bringing my fretfulness to a complete stop! The psalmist was asking God NOT to deliver him from the enemy, but from the fear of the enemy. The Lord showed me at that moment that here was my problem – I was fearful of what the enemy might do, of what the enemy could do, of what the enemy was thinking of doing. The enemy is powerless before my God! I was jumping the gun and just having fear OF THE ENEMY. Our enemy doesn’t have to do anything if we can be filled with fear about what they might do!

What is your fear today? Usually we fear something that hasn’t even happened yet. We fear

a poor blood test before the blood is drawn
our children leaving home before they’re even grown
running out of money when we retire before we ever even retire
what someone might do to sabotage our plans before the time for those plans has come

The list is endless. But the point is that we fear things that haven’t come yet, so it’s not that thing that’s causing the fear, it’s the fear of what might be! It’s a fear of NOTHING because we’re imagining everything. It’s a futile, empty circle that only leads us to the pit of despair.

I dropped to my knees and asked God to forgive me for fearing what had not even come. I put the matter at His feet. I then asked for direction for the day. I now had a purpose for the day ahead because the fear was no longer blocking my view of God’s plan for my day. I moved on in victory over the fear of the enemy.

My day was productive.

My heart was joy-filled.

My burden was lifted.

Do you have a fear of the enemy today? Recognize it and then repent. No child of God should be living with fear striking terror and dread in your heart. Christ is victorious over this fear, and you have victory, too!

Do you deal with fear of the enemy? How will you deal with it today?

Lovingly,

Denise Signature 150 px