faith

“Finding Peace in Letting Go: Trusting God’s Plan”

/ Mikki Halbach

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and 
supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made 
known to God” – Philippians 4:6

I remember studying Philippians years ago, in an Aglow Bible study group, and hearing the leader telling me I should stop worrying. My kids were still pretty young at the time, and I thought, “Anything? Like nothing? Really, God?Impossible!!”

It’s not that I doubted God or didn’t trust what He was saying to me in His word. It was just that with 4 kids, endless sports and activities, a house full of things to do,and church and ministry commitments, I couldn’t help thinking “but I have so much to worry about!”

I know I probably wasn’t alone here. If you’re human, you worry. It’s almost like we can’t help ourselves. We worry about money, our kids, our aging parents, our jobs, our futures, our health, the list could go on and on. Life demands so much from us and as much as we try our best to keep up, it often feels like more than we can handle. So,what do we do? We worry!

But Philippians 4:6 commands us to NOT do exactly that. Yes, it literally tells us, “don’t worry.”

In Matthew 6:25-34, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us “Don’t worry” five times in these 10 verses. If Jesus tells us to do something once, of course we recognize it’s important, but FIVE TIMES, we better be paying attention.

But why would Jesus tell us not to worry? Should we not care about all these critical areas of our lives? Our kids, our homes, our marriages, our jobs? Yes, we should care and do our very best to handle those situations and relationships exactly as the Lord wants us to.

Worrying means we think we are the only one that can handle a situation, that we are the only one in control. As much as we hate to admit it, we must understand, we are not the one in control. This is actually great news. There is so much peace in knowing that the outcome of our lives is not entirely reliant on us and our decisions. God is the one who is truly in control. 

One of my life verses for the past year has been 1 Peter 5:6-7 “Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety upon Him because he cares for you”. I have come to realize that more often than not, my worries and anxieties come from my need to control, and my need to control comes from pride.

Thinking we can control anything, tends to show itself in 3 areas:

We want to control others. Yet that is not what God has called us to do. We can influence, instruct, encourage, guide – but we cannot control. People must answer to God for themselves. In Acts 20:30, the Apostle Paul had done all he could for the believers at Ephesus when he finally said, “And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified”. When we are tempted to try to control others, we must put them in God’s hand and remove our own.

We want to control our circumstances. Only God can do that. No amount of manipulation or effort can make right all the wrongs in this world. In Genesis 27, Jacob’s pride caused him to scheme and connive instead of leaning on God. In Genesis 32 Jacob’s anxiety (or worry) was taking over as a result of his earlier scheming. If we try to control our circumstances as Jacob did, we will, as Jacob did, bring consequences that only increase the anxiety and worry we try to avoid in the first place.

Control issues are spiritual issues. The real issue is: Will I trust God?

We want to control our lives. But the Lord tells us that we must yield, not control. We are not able in our own power to do what is right, but under the control of the Holy Spirit we can. (Romans 6:13) When we are tempted to take control, we must stop and commit our needs to God, who alone has the wisdom and power, to rule the good and overrule the evil. 

If you’re anything like me, giving up control is easier said than done. So, what is the solution? Here are some ways that can help us fully trust God instead of worrying ourselves to death.

#1. Acknowledge

Admitting we have a problem is the very first step. Recognizing our pride, and understanding that thinking we can control that which we cannot, is really just making ourselves an idol. Acknowledging the problem is the foundation for getting free from our worry and need to control.

“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is 
the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” – Proverbs 19:21

#2. Surrender

Once we’ve acknowledged we are not in control, we can surrender the circumstances to God. He already knows we are not going to win on our own and is just waiting for us to raise the white flag.

The start of surrender is doing exactly what Philippians 4:6 tells us to do; fall to our knees and pray. Tell God why we are worrying and what it is that we need, then thank Him for all the times He took care of a situation in a way that we could have never done on our own. 

I have countless examples of times God has stepped in and resolved a situation in miraculous ways as well as examples of times when I didn’t allow God to step in and my own plans ended in disaster. I also have examples of times in my life when God did not answer exactly as I prayed but had something better in store for me. I must trust that His ways are so much higher than mine, so even in those situations, I can fully trust Him.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways 
my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” – Isaiah 55:8-9

#3. Rest

We must understand what rest means. Rest looks different for everyone. Mirriam Webster defines rest this way; cease work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, or recover strength.

The idea of rest used to be a real struggle for me because I thought rest meant going to bed earlier or doing nothing other than sitting around watching TV. The truth is, neither of those things give me true rest. For some, rest may mean gardening, journaling, napping, or cooking. I have come to learn that reading a book, hanging out by the pool, or as an extrovert, spending time among lots of friends, is what gives me rest. Rest is you doing what spiritually, mentally, and physically refreshes you.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I 
will give you rest”. – Matthew 11:28

#4. Ownership

If you’ve given your life to God, your life is no longer your own. The Bible makes this clear in Jeremiah 10;23, O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps”. When we remember that we belong to Him, it’s easier to surrender, to submit to Him. If we’ve devoted ourselves to God, we need to then be Spirit led. God owns us. We are His creation. If we can gain this higher perspective, we can overcome our control issues. As a result, we will live a more joyful, free, and victorious life. 

I am a visual person, and I recently ran across a practical method for this step. Make a list, not the typical “to do” list, this list is a bit different. Whenever facing any situation that is causing you worry or anxiety or when you are tempted to take total control, take a sheet of paper and draw a line straight down the middle. On one side write “What I Can Control”, on the other side, write “What Only God Can Control”.

“A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs 
his steps.” – Proverbs 16:9

Some things are our responsibility, we can’t just be idle and expect God be a puppet master. We must prayerfully ask God to give us discernment, to show us what belongs on our list and what should only belong to God AND we must be 100% OK with that.

Philippians 4:6 is followed by verse 7 which says, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” That peace, that surpasses all understanding, can only come from Christ. We can’t find it on our own, it ultimately comes from giving up control and worry and recognizing that no matter what we face here in this life, it is preparing us for that which comes next. 

Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are 
wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an 
eternal glory that outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on 
what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is 
temporary, but what is unseen is eternal –2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Heavenly Father, I pray that you will give us peace in our hearts and the wisdom to go straight to you in our times of worry, anxiety, and fear. Help us to know, deep down in our hearts, that you are the one in control and you want the very best for us. Show us daily what is ours to do and what we must leave to you. Remind us that your plans are perfect, and are not for our temporal pleasures, but for your eternal glory. We love and trust you Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Your Heart Sister,

Mikki 💜

Roadblocks

/ Amy Jo McCranie / 2 Comments

“The human mind plans the way, but the Lord directs the steps”. Proverbs 16:9

Just a few days ago we had some unexpected weather. The forecast called for a clearing of skies following a day that a rather heavy snowfall had been forecast, (one which, by the way we did not receive). The wee morning hours brought a frozen mist, the kind that can’t be seen, but only felt. Around daybreak the snow began to fall. While it was beautiful to look at it, it proved to make for an extremely long and frustrating commute for those trying to get to work; my husband was one of those frustrated commuters. 

Paul had a similar experience… “And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them” (Acts 16:6-7). Paul travelled from place to place sharing the Good News and, scripture tells us, “Many people believed”. Acts 16:5 tells us that the churches were strengthened in faith, and they increased in numbers daily. I can only imagine the momentum Paul had, but there was a roadblock ahead.

Can you relate to Paul? Think about it, life is going along just fine, your expectations are being met. There are no bumps in the road and then, BAM! Roadblock. What are you going to do? I met a Christian woman years back who experienced this in her own life and I learned some valuable lessons from her that I’d like to share with you.

First. Grieve the loss. Take time to let go of your perception of how you thought your life would
be. Isaiah 43:18-19 says “Forget the former things: do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!” 

Second. Trade any thoughts of hopelessness for thoughts of hopefulness. God always has a will and way, and His plans are always for our good and His glory.

Finally. Surround yourself with good, godly friends. I don’t mean a lot of them, just a special few who will “surround” you with love, truth and wisdom. You know, the type of friends who feel like a warm sweater on a cold day. These are the friends who will be waiting for you at your next roadblock, directing you in a new direction, pointing you to your Heavenly Father.

Do you wonder why God placed the roadblock in Paul’s path? After all, Paul was on mission for God. Further reading of the scripture tells us what happened as a result of Paul’s roadblock… 

  • He was called to preach in Macedonia 
  • Lydia and her household were converted 
  • Paul and Silas received a miracle when their prison chains were loosed
  • The Philippian jailer and his household were saved 

Do you wonder why God puts roadblocks in your life? Look around. See what God is doing and join Him. Thank God for going before you, making a way with a promise to never leave us at a dead end! Need some directions? Here you go! “Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways”. (Proverbs 4:25-26) 

About my husband? He finally made it to work. The 18-mile trek from Iron Station to Cornelius took two hours and forty-five minutes, two hours longer than his normal travel time. With each direction he tried he found the road was closed and he had to turn around and try another way. 

So, when you hit those roadblocks, which you will, keep your chin up and you, like Paul, will eventually get to where God intends you to be. Paul writes, “Rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances. (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Words to travel by.

Who God Is

/ Sandra Bivens Smith / 1 Comment
Photo by Brett Sayles on Pexels.com

Lately I have been troubled concerning how our world, even our Christian world, seems to have either forgotten, or chosen to ignore who God is.

In Revelation 2:4 Jesus reprimands the church at Ephesus for having forgotten their first love. As the scripture reads, they were doing all the “right things” but, apparently, not from the right motive. In his commentary, Adam Clarke writes – “They did not retain that strong and ardent affection for God and sacred things which they had when first brought to the knowledge of the truth, and justified by faith in Christ.

I believe we are experiencing this same problem both in our churches and in our personal lives.

For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In His hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. (Psalm 95:3-7)

We learn so much about God from these few verses.

We learn that the LORD is Jehovah God – The Self Existent, Eternal One. God is not a created being. He is our Alpha and Omega, He was always and will be always. In this we can be certain, God is not going anywhere.

We learn that He is EL God – a God of strength, power and might. Because He is EL, we can have great confidence for the trials of this life. Romans 8:31 reminds us, “What then shall we say, if God is for us, who can be against us?”  We have His word that whatever forces may come against us, no matter how strong, He is stronger.

We learn that He is Maker God – Creator of all things. The apostle John clearly affirms it when he writes “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.  (John 1:3). There are two Hebrew words for Maker,  Asah and Bara. Both words mean to create, to choose, keep, maintain, commit. God is the absolute Master of universal nature. He is our absolute Master. Having created us, He has committed to keep us and has chosen to have a covenant relationship with us through His son Jesus.

We learn that He is El-Ohiym God – Supreme God who alone is worthy of our praise and worship.

There is something more to be learned from Psalm 95, we learn who we are to Christ. The Psalmist leaves us with a sweet reminder that this God, this Great and Mighty God, is also our gentle Shepherd. He will pasture us, lead us, feed us, shear us, protect us, and even die for us.

As we have learned, God’s names are His attributes. His essence, His strength, His creativity and His loving care should propel our hearts to worship Him. What we have learned about God should lead us, as the Psalmist says, to come and bow down, to kneel before the LORD for He alone if worthy.

Grace and Peace,

Sandra

Rejoicing in Hope

/ amyjomccranie

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12


On September 24, 2024 Hurricane Helene made landfall. Helene cut a 500-mile path across six states and left 250 dead. In the mountains of North Carolina, she dumped 1 ½ feet of rain on a land still trying to recover from the effects of the previous two days of flooding. Nearly one hundred deaths were reported in North Carolina alone; as of this writing fifty are still reported missing.


Lives were lost, homes were washed away from their foundations, towns were wiped off the map. Entire families clung to trees, waiting and hoping someone would save them.

Like you, I have been greatly moved by the devastation we have witnessed. Helene is the worst storm to hit our nation since the Great Flood of 1916. Despite the pain of so many, we’ve heard the many reports of hope from those who have the least reason to hope. They tell about the goodness of God that they have witnessed amid the sadness.


Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope Romans 5:3-4


Jewel Warrick has lived in a town, Relief, NC for fifty-five years. Helene tore through her small community and buried her home in mud. She and her son James evacuated just days before the storm. Six residents of Relief died, including two young boys. Jewel is quoted as saying “we’ll survive, we’re not giving up. We can’t. There’s hope and when you have hope, you move on”!


Jewel’s hope, and that of so many others, is not human hope or worldly hope, that kind of hope is merely a wish for what one desires to happen. No, the hope we’re talking about is a hope founded on that which is greater than what man can do. It is not an elusive hope, it is a living and sure hope. It is not based on the temporal or what is seen but what is eternal and unseen.


What is the source of this sure, eternal hope? It is the hope we can find only in God; He alone is the reason we can even dare to hope. It is a hope that binds His oneness to you.


May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13


My pawpaw was known for many things. He was a man of great wisdom and many of his words still ring in my ears today. “Just remember, no matter how bad off you think you are, you can always find somebody that’s worse off”. Now, he in no way was assigning a degree of suffering but rather pointing out the importance of perspective. Even when it feels like you have no where to go there is hope.


In a few days we will be celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday. As we gather around the table with family and friends let’s determine to set our minds on the goodness of God and His great bounty. There is a sadness for certain. So many will have empty chairs at the table. But there is also a reason to rejoice. Our God is a God who loves. He is a God of mercy. He is a God of hope.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead 1 Peter 1:3