I went through my first haunted house when I was 8 years old. My family had gone to the Enchanted Forest and it took some convincing, but I promised my parents that I would be just fine and that I would definitely not have nightmares.  

My dad and I stepped through the creaky old facade and into a single, dimly lit room. Darkness closed in around us as the doors swung shut with a boom that I could feel all the way down to my Keds. The room was completely empty, except for a 10-foot statue hung on the wall directly ahead of me like a 3-D portrait. It was a sinister imp-like creature with horns and glowing red eyes. I stood glued to my spot, absolutely petrified. My legs no longer seemed to work and my voice left me. All I could do was stand there wide-eyed, searching for a way out. My dad had gone ahead, thinking I was still in step with him, but in the darkness, I had lost sight of him.

I began to cry and I could hear my dad’s voice calling out, “This way. You have to come this way.” I couldn’t see him, but I squinted in the direction of his voice. As my eyes adjusted, I could see a narrow hallway leading out to the next room. The problem was that in order to get away from this terrifying picture, I had to walk directly toward the thing that had me paralyzed in fear, and then to face unknown terrors that surely lay ahead.

It felt like a full fifteen minutes before I could convince my feet to move, but finally I managed to side-step along the wall until I reached the place where I would have to cross the room directly under the picture. I took a deep breath, opened my eyes, I saw my dad standing just an arms length away, under the most beautiful, glowing, green EXIT sign.  I mustered all my strength and ran to him as fast as I could. Relief washed over me as he grabbed my hand and led me outside into the fresh air and bright sunshine.

While life is not always like a haunted house, it can feel equally scary sometimes. Have you ever been so afraid of something that you became paralyzed from taking action? Maybe it’s fear of failure, or making a the wrong choice in a difficult situation. Sometimes, simply fear of the unknown can be absolutely terrifying.

When we allow fear to reign, it blinds us from seeing the way out clearly. Instead of walking forward toward our Heavenly Father, we allow fear to keep us immobilized and backed into a corner. In these moments, our minds are focused on our fear instead of on Christ. We are really questioning, “Can I trust that God can see what I cannot? Do I want something better, or will I stay here, feeling stuck and afraid?” Dear friend, the only way out of that dark corner is to grab hold of God’s hand and follow Him out into the fresh air and bright future He has planned for you.

When we submit to the perfect love of Christ, it permeates every dark corner so that all fear is driven out and we are left with the courage and boldness that comes from living in Christ.

“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” (2 Tim 1:7)

Today is the day to decide to stop allowing fear to paralyze you from the great things God has in store for you. In Christ, you have all you need to achieve God’s best for your life. Put timidity and fear aside and take hold of power, love and self-discipline! Go! Even if you have to side-step along the wall to get to Him, God will be there, waiting for you. He will give you authority to overcome all that lays in your path. Exchange fear for faith; trust today and live the life you were intended to live!

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I broke my favorite glass yesterday. I was rushing around, trying to get out the door and the iron fell over and bumped the glass. It shattered it into a thousand pieces. I swept up the glass and simultaneously held my dog back with my foot to keep her from stepping on the glass. In that moment, I was consumed by a flurry of negativity and frustration and started to cry. Despite having been a good day up to that point, at that moment, it felt like it was all falling apart.

Have you ever had a day like that? First one thing goes wrong, then it seems like everything else does too. Normally, I’m a pretty optimistic person and I like to find the bright side of things, but when my day starts to feels out of control, it is easy to perseverate on the negative. It’s easier to feel gratitude when things are going our way and life seems pretty smooth.

Growing up, we used to sing a song in church based on Psalm 100:4 that went “I will enter his gates with thanksgiving in my heart, I will enter his courts with praise..I will rejoice for He has made me glad…” It is a song that I know by heart and often sang without really thinking about the words. It is a song of gratitude and praise, but it can mean so much more depending on how you hear it.

When I hear the lyrics, I think of expressing gratitude for the day, for being alive, for God’s creation and power, and a call to rejoice and be glad. A friend of mine was going through some difficulties in her life and heard the lyrics from a different perspective. She heard it like this:

“I WILL enter his gates with thanksgiving in my heart. I WILL enter his courts with praise. I WILL say this is the day the Lord has made. I WILL rejoice and be glad in it.”

What she heard was a choice–-a determination to worship and be thankful. Despite the tough stuff she was facing, she was choosing joy and gratitude, even when hope seemed elusive and life was hard.

Gratitude in all circumstances, good or bad, is a decision made in the heart and the mind.

It is on the mind that I want to focus especially. Our thoughts have the power to shape how we see ourselves and the world around us. Because of this, it is so important that our thoughts be firmly established in truth.

Paul gives us some great imagery of taking every thought captive and making it obedient to Christ in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. In every situation, we have a chance to stop right in our tracks and choose which way we will allow our thoughts to take us. Will we see everything that is going wrong and let our thoughts control us, or will we capture those thoughts and turn our mind toward Jesus instead? It will take practice and we will have to work at it, but the reward is peace and incomparable joy.

After my favorite glass broke and I had swept up all the precious pieces, I sat down and caught my breath. I ate some food and enjoyed the silence of the house for a moment. I prayed and asked God to re-orient my thinking and give me strength. I focused on the truth and remembered that my day really hadn’t been a bad one. Work went well. I made it home safely. My husband had fed the kids and they were all at the baseball game where I would meet them to enjoy the rest of the evening. Peace washed over me, and I was filled with gratitude that I could come to Jesus with even the smallest of things.

Things completely turned around from there. My family had a wonderful time together and we enjoyed the day and one another. If I had left my thoughts unchecked, I would have been stressed out, grumpy and distracted instead. I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy the game or be patient with my kids. It would have robbed us all of a lovely evening.

When stress has me tangled up in knots, I am learning to pause, reconnect with God, re-orient my thoughts and choose gratitude and joy. When the unexpected happens and all you want to do is throw your hands up in the air and say “Jesus take the wheel!”, practice the pause. What thoughts do you need to take captive today so that you can find gratitude in truth?

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“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:4-9

Every once and in awhile, I wake up to a day when my insecurities and worries threaten to get the best of me. It starts subtly, but can quickly spiral into a full-on questioning of the meaning of life! “Who am I? What if people don’t like what I have to say? What if I didn’t really hear God right and I’m not the right person for the job?”

Do the worries of life sometimes overwhelm you? Maybe the little everyday stressors stack up and weigh heavily on your heart. I have recently realized how easy it is to become trapped in a prison and it’s called worry. You may know it by its other names…anxiety and fear. These things can immobilize you and keep you from the joy and peace that God intends for you. It is a slippery slope off the path that leads to peace and joy. It starts small and grows until all you can see is that worry or fear.

Good news! God has given us a way to be set free. In this section of Scripture, Paul tells the church in Philippi to “rejoice in the Lord always.” He follows it by saying, “The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything.” Although these two phrases may not seem related, they are meant to go together. He knows we cannot fully rejoice until we let go of the worry and fear. Joy and worry are opposites in nature. Worry threatens to take our joy. Fear is out to destroy our peace. We must give our worry, in every situation, to God through prayer. When we lay them down in His capable hands we are set free from the hold they have over us. We trust in an all-powerful God, our Heavenly Father, who knows and loves us. He takes care of our worry and need, and gives us peace instead.

Maybe your worry isn’t over a situation but rather a matter of the heart. Some of my biggest worries are over my own insecurities. Paul reminds us that there is a way out when the insecurities start to surface and whisper lies into our heads. The first key is relinquishing our worries to God. Once we allow God to take them over, we need to start filling up with truth.

In John 8:32, Jesus said that, “the truth will set you free.” In Ephesians, Paul talks about putting on the armor of God and the very first item is the belt of truth that wraps around us. This is why he goes on to say,

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Paul is reminding us to fill up our minds with truth and goodness. This can help us take every thought captive for Christ as we compare it to this list. When the narrative in my head starts to spiral out of control, I can stop and ask, “Is this true? Is this right? Is it lovely or admirable?” When I stop to line my thoughts up with these questions, I often realize that my thinking is not grounded in the truth. I am caught up in the lies of the enemy. Satan wants us to remain ensnared by the untruths that tell us that we are not capable, not good enough, not called, that we are unlovely or unloved. He wants us to feel alone and paralyzed by worry, fear and insecurity.

But God’s message is different. He gently calls us as a loving Father, to hear truth.
“Come to me, my child. Give me all that weighs so heavily on your heart. Let me remind of what is true. You are radically loved. You are uniquely and wonderfully made by me and I make no mistakes. I have called you to be my child and be a light in this dark world. You have purpose and significance–there is work in this world that only you can do. I have given you everything you need to do my good work and I will provide for all your needs. Put your trust in me. You are never alone for I am with you always and will never leave you or forsake you. I will take your worries and give you peace that will guard your heart and mind”

So today, if you find your worries and anxieties spiraling out of control, put these things into practice. Ask yourself, “Are my thoughts based in truth? Does the message in my mind match the message of God’s truth?” If not, talk to God about it and let him know what is on your heart. Trust Him with all that burdens your heart and mind and allow His peace and joy fill you up. He will give you a peace that rises above your circumstances, so that you truly can rejoice.

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“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior…” Isaiah 43:1-3

I must admit, lately I have been struggling with fear. Not the healthy kind of fear, but the horrible kind that can immobilize you and keep you from living life to its fullest. The kind that can get a grip around you and make you worry about the worst case scenarios. The problem is that I start to make decisions based out of this fear. Fear changes how I see the world, myself, and others.

During a time of prayer this week, God brought the verse above to mind. At first, I wasn’t sure why, but as I read over the words I realized something: the opposite of fear is trust.

In the verse above we see that God starts the verse with “fear not”. As we keep reading we see that he says that we don’t need to fear because He has a firm hold on us; we belong to him and he will protect us. As I read this, it makes me think of how a parent would comfort a child who is afraid. When my daughter is in bed at night and fearful of the monsters lurking in her closet or under her bed, I come alongside her and hold her. I tell her that she does not need to be afraid because I am there and I will protect her. More importantly, I tell her that God is with her and He is bigger than any monster. 🙂

Our fears may not be imaginary like the monster under the bed. You may be facing some real fears such as not having enough work to make ends meet or of the future or of being alone. But God still draws near and whispers in our ear, “Fear not, I am here. I am the Lord your God and you are mine. I am mighty to save.” Something amazing happens to our hearts and minds when we choose to trust. In trusting, we are no longer giving power to our fears. We lay each fear into the hands of God and that trust will bring us peace.

So whatever fear you are currently facing, God is bigger than them all. Trust in Him. As the river of fears this week attempt to overwhelm you or the flames of your worries rise up, remember that God is with you. He can calm the waters and douse the flames as we lean into him, trusting him to be who he says he is—The Holy One of Israel, our Savior!

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“…Every scrape upon my heart, tells the story of your grace.”– Ryan Kennedy from Letting Go

I first heard this lyric at the Gospel Music Associations’ Immerse Conference last year. Ryan was performing it live and it moved me then as it does even now.

When I was eight, I slipped and fell on the sidewalk while running through the sprinklers. I scraped up my knee and it was the first time I would need stitches in my life. It took only two stitches, and a place for my poor mother to lie down before she fainted, to repair the wound. It left a pretty good scar, one I still have and when I see it, I remember the story vividly. The same way the scar on my knee tells a story, the scrapes on my heart tell one too.

They tell of unrequited love, misguided efforts, disappointed hopes, loss and grief. My little heart has been put back together again and again, by the One who created it. I couldn’t ask for a better physician and friend. And while the scrapes on my heart hurt for a little while (some longer than others), they tell a story of God’s grace. Of His tender hand guiding me, healing me and setting me on my feet again. They tell a story of victory.

I hope you enjoy my friend Ryan’s song. Catch him on iTunes and YouTube for the latest tracks.

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