Author: worrylessjourney

Turn away from fear

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Psalm 27: 1

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold[a] of my life;
    of whom shall I be afraid?

Fear-Not-600x400

We are afraid of so many things. We fear not being liked. We fear losing the things we have accumulated. We fear not having enough. We fear being alone. I could go on and on. Yet there is no reason for this. We must turn to our God and push away fear. God is with us…what more do we need?

Understanding God, you know our fears and our weaknesses and yet we are loved. Help us to turn to you and away from fear. AMEN

See God at work!

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Philippians 4:6 ESV 

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

peace be still

Today I am using this verse instead of a Psalm with thanks to Deb at https://godshapedheart.wordpress.com. She used this verse in a post just when I needed it. This week the arangels were at work. I lost something precious to me and found it the next day. I did ask God to help me in my search and this verse speaks so clearly. There are so many times in the Bible that God reminds us to ask him for help. You’d think we would learn. For those of us who seek God the lesson is clear. God speaks…we just have to listen.

Into the valley

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Psalm 23:4

4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley,[d]
    I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff—
    they comfort me.

into the valley

We can go into the valley without fear. There will be valleys. Life just goes that way. But God will be with us. His loving watch over us will never cease.

 

Loving God, thank you for your presence. Thank you for your love. AMEN

Follow the path

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Psalm 23: 3b

He leads me in right paths[c]
    for his name’s sake.

right path

This little snippet of the Psalm packs a powerful punch. God want to help us make right choices. If only we would spend time in prayer and listen to God. We don’t take the time and we wander off in the wrong direction. God wants us to behave in such a way that others will say “I want to be like you are. You are an example that I want to follow.” This is what brings people to God. Not the sermons or lectures about God but our behavior. Our actions are the things that influence others.

God, you will show us the right paths if we listen. Help us to be the example of your path in the world. AMEN

Rest

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Psalm 23:1-2

1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
2     He makes me lie down in green pastures;

frog

This is probably the most loved Psalm. I have always found these beginning verses intriguing. “He makes me lie down in green pastures.” The word “make” implies that there is some coercion to get this to happen. It seems that we don’t want to. If you think about us humans this makes sense. We just keep going. We don’t want to let go. Yet God is telling us there is time for rest and we must use it. He does not mean watching TV or running a marathon. He was us to “lie down.” He not only wants us to lie down but in green pastures. A real resting place. One that requires us to rest our bodies and our minds. Remember this!

Lord, you want us take real “down time.” Help us to remember that we must have that refreshment of our souls. AMEN

Stay near me

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Psalm 22:11

11 Do not be far from me,
    for trouble is near
    and there is no one to help.

Some prayers begin “Intimate, infinite God. God is both with us every moment and a God beyond our understanding. He is always there for us. There is always help at hand. Depend on it!

Amazing God, you are always present for us during the good and the bad. Thank you for loving us so much. AMEN

Hold fast

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Psalm 22:6-8

6 But I am a worm, and not human;
    scorned by others, and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock at me;
    they make mouths at me, they shake their heads;
8 “Commit your cause to the Lord; let him deliver—
    let him rescue the one in whom he delights!”

trustgod

Times are changing. Belief in God used to be the norm. Now we are sometimes mocked for our faith. We are treated with disdain. This is the time to hold fast. Time to strengthen our faith and depend on our God.

Dependable God, we trust in your love. Help us to withstand the pressures from outside and remain steadfast in you. AMEN

You don’t answer

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Psalm 22: 1-22

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;
    and by night, but find no rest.

bad things happen

This Psalm is used during lent. It is a cry for help. We also cry out to God for help and we don’t always see an answer. It is one of the difficult things that Christians deal with. Why would a God who loves us so leave us to suffer? It seems that either God is not there or not answering. I wish that I had a perfect answer to this problem. I don’t but I do trust that God loves us and wants the best for us. The best may not be what we expected.

I heard about a minister who was dying with a very painful disease. Everyone was praying for him to be spared. It did not happen. What did happen is that the pain stopped and the last days of his life were blessed to be pain free. For this he thanked and praised God.

Sometimes the answer to our prayers is not what we asked but it always is the answer of our loving God.

God of mercy, we know you hear our prayers and love us beyond measure. Help us to not expect to know all the answers. AMEN

Seek important things

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Psalm 20:7-8

7 Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses,
    but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God.
8 They will collapse and fall,
    but we shall rise and stand upright.

possessions

Some take pride in houses, some in cars, some in clothes, some in jobs, some in money. There are so many things out there to lure us away from what is important. Our culture expects us to want possessions. Those things will go away. As some say “you can’t take it with you.” But God’s love can never go away.

God of our fathers, help us to ignore the lures of possessions and remember what is important. AMEN

Think

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Psalm 19:14

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
    be acceptable to you,
    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

dangers-of-tongue

A lot of preachers use this verse before beginning a sermon. I imagine that most of the time they have a plan about what they will say. That is not always true of the rest of us. Too often we don’t think about what we are saying. The words just rush out and we often wish we could take them back. Our hasty words can injure others. My father used to say “put your brain in gear before you put your mouth in motion.” Wise words indeed.

Patient God, help us to think before speaking so that our words can be acceptable in your sight. AMEN