When Trust Overwhelms Fear -A 2MefromHim Devotional
Trust overwhelms fear when faith in God drowns out the voice of doubt. A failure to believe God is in control allows the voice of fear to inundate trust with a deluge of doubt.
When Trust Overwhelms Fear
2MefromHim Devotionals
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 1 Timothy 1:7
Trust overwhelms fear when faith in God drowns out the voice of doubt. A failure to believe God is in control allows the voice of fear to inundate trust with a deluge of doubt.
Fear threatens everything I know is true when I allow it to control my mind and heart. I can’t think clearly, can’t sleep, can’t eat, and act irrationally.
Trust is the opposite of fear, a deep, unshakeable confidence that everything will be fine, sometimes despite all reason.
Trust overwhelms fear when faith in God drowns out the voice of doubt. #trust #faith #peace Click To Tweet
Trust Overwhelms Fear by God’s Grace
In 2003, I left a routine physical knowing that, in all likelihood, I had cancer. There was a nodule on my thyroid gland. Two members of my family had already experienced cancer. It was my turn. But no tears came.
Thyroid cancer is one of the most curable. However, any cancer diagnosis is uncertain. A supernatural peace filled my heart and trust infiltrated my thoughts.
As I moved through doctor’s appointments, surgery, and a radioactive iodine ablation, trust carried me. It’s not that I have extraordinary faith. I worry and become afraid, sometimes to the extreme. However, I read the Bible and kept my prayer time every day. God’s goodness and grace buoyed my heart with confident trust that never wavered.
Sixteen and a half years later, I revisited the nuclear medicine department for a scan. Once again, I was overwhelmed at the memory of God’s grace through the months of having no thyroid hormone in my body and fatigue so immense I can’t even describe it. Trust overcomes fear when I lean on God’s grace because I lack strength.
Trust overcomes fear when I lean on God’s grace because I lack strength. #grace #God #coronavirus Click To Tweet
Trust Overwhelms Fear When I Believe Who God Says He Is
Psalm 46:10 AMPC says, “Let be and be still, and know (recognize and understand) that I am God.” When fear threatens, I must determine to be still and think about who God says he is and what he has done in the past. Jesus calmed the storm with the words, “Peace, be still.” How can I doubt the Son of God who holds power over the waves and wind?
If I truly believe God is who he says he is, I must trust his will. When I struggle, he offers strength if I lean on him. He will never leave or forsake me. The Lord walks beside me, indwells me by his Holy Spirit, and leads me through the Bible and prayer. Choose to act from faith, not fear.
Choose to act from faith, not fear. #courage #trust #coronavirus Click To Tweet
Trust Overwhelms Fear When We Listen to the Voice of God
The prophet Isaiah wrote, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” I must take time to sit in silence and listen for his voice.
Much lesser trials have created far greater fear. God wants me to always experience the level of confidence that I knew during my episode with cancer. When fear threatens to overcome trust, I can remember how he helped me in the past. Power to overcome fear with trust depends on my knowledge of who God is and what he says. The outcome won’t always be according to my desires but it will be in line with his character of goodness and grace.
Trust overcomes fear when I listen to the voice of God more than any other voice that vies for my attention. When I feel fear, I can still choose to act as if I trust and real trust will follow.
When I feel fear, I can still choose to act as if I trust. #trust #fear #pandemic #faith Click To Tweet
Trust Overwhelms Fear When Faith Drowns Out the Voice of Doubt
No matter what plagues us with fear and doubt, God is still on the throne. From the beginning of time, he knew every trial I would face. God knew. God reigns. God enables me to overcome fear if I place my trust in him.
The Great Physician
I know the Great Physician,
He loves me tenderly.
My health and gracious healing
Are His priority.
He gave to me The Comforter,
Who always knows my need.
When all is fear and chaos,
He calms and cares for me.
I need not fear the battle,
No harm can touch my heart.
For Jesus, my Great Healer,
Will always take my part.
And if my body fails me,
He surely will be there.
My Lord will not forsake me,
For heaven awaits His heir.
While here on earth we struggle,
When others think all is lost,
I have peace and hope to offer
For Jesus paid the cost.
What peace His Presence lends me.
What hope I can impart
With others who are struggling,
I share the peacekeeper of my heart.
When Trust Overwhelms Fear -A 2MefromHim Devotional Click To Tweet© Norma Gail Holtman, March 14, 2020
About the author:
Norma Gail writes Fiction to Refresh Your Spirit. Her contemporary novels, Land of My Dreams, which won the 2016 Bookvana Religious Fiction Award, and Within Golden Bands (releasing May 19, 2020), explore the theme of women whose faith triumphs over trials. A women’s Bible study leader for over 21 years, her devotionals and poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the Stitches Thru Time blog, Inspire a Fire, and in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, Historical Writers of America, and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Norma is a former RN who lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband of 44 years. They have two adult children. To connect with her, you can follow her blog, or join her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Goodreads, or Amazon.
Reconciliation and Healing from the Inside Out
Forgiveness doesn’t necessarily bring reconciliation. When angry words and actions lead to broken relationships, trust is destroyed. Trust is not easily regained.
Reconciliation—Healing from the Inside Out
2MefromHim Devotionals
Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so? Amos 3:3
Reconciliation appeared impossible. The gaping wound awakened me again. I flicked on the light and curled into my recliner, hurting, unable to sleep, and wracked with tears. A tornado of conflict and disagreement whirled through my brain, flinging splintered bits and pieces of my life and relationships through my mind. Everything I knew was changed, distorted, and destroyed. My heart was so wounded I saw no way I would ever be whole again.
Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so? Amos 3:3 #reconciliation #relationships Click To TweetI stared out the window into the night, watching as clouds scudded across the sky, covering the almost-full moon. The house shook in the howling wind, battered by powerful gusts, which echoed the storm in my heart. “Lord, I chose to forgive. I acted as you said, but nothing changed. Instead, much of my life appears to be based on lies. Where do I go from here?”
Forgiveness
As an illustration, hospitals isolate patients with infected wounds. Their sores are left open and cleaned frequently to rid them of contagion so healing occurs from the inside out. In the same way, forgiveness begins in the heart and eventually reaches the place where it can be offered to the offending person. However, forgiveness doesn’t necessarily bring reconciliation.
Forgiveness takes place between the person wronged and God, apart from the offender. Once I forgave, a sense of peace began to flood my life. I paid the price of forgiving those who injured me in pride, something I could well afford to pay. However, the relationships remained unreconciled because those who hurt me failed to take responsibility.
Forgiveness takes place between the person wronged and God... #forgiveness #Godislove #healing Click To Tweet
God says reconciliation comes first
Before I chose to forgive, I was infected with bitterness. Hebrews 12:15 says: “See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” A teaching leader in Bible Study Fellowship brought in a tree root wrapped around a sprinkler pipe so tight that water could no longer flow through. Much as Cain grew to hate Abel, anger festers into bitterness, cutting off the flow of love toward the object of our resentment. Notice the last part of the verse, “and defile many.” My anger and resentment overflows to the people around me and defiles them. They choose sides, get involved, and thus become victims of the corruption, which spreads like a plague.
Bitterness defiles and spreads like a plague. #bitterness #plague #relationships Click To TweetAfter I offered forgiveness to those who hurt me and asked forgiveness for my part in the disagreements, some of the hurt began to heal. Matthew 5:23-24 says, “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”
Reconciliation requires atonement
Reconciliation requires atonement, a price paid for the offense. Angry words and actions that lead to broken relationships destroy trust. And trust is not easily regained. It requires time and evidence of change, often some type of reparation must be made.
A relationship can’t be restored if the offender refuses to seek forgiveness or acknowledge the wrong done. Speaking of Christ’s atonement for our sin, Hebrews 9:22 says, “the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” When I hurt someone there is a price to pay to regain trust and enable healing. The offender must accept responsibility, or continuing the relationship will result in more hurt. God never expects us to accept abuse.
What hurts do I need to forgive? What must I offer in order to heal a damaged relationship? Am I willing to humble myself that I might be reconciled to God and those I have injured?
When I hurt someone there is a price to pay to regain trust... #reconciliation #trust #healing Click To Tweet© Norma Gail Holtman, March 9, 2020
About the author:
Norma Gail writes Fiction to Refresh Your Spirit. Her contemporary novels, Land of My Dreams, which won the 2016 Bookvana Religious Fiction Award, and Within Golden Bands (releasing May 19, 2020), explore the theme of women whose faith triumphs over trials. A women’s Bible study leader for over 21 years, her devotionals and poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the Stitches Thru Time blog, Inspire a Fire, and in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, Historical Writers of America, and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Norma is a former RN who lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband of 44 years. They have two adult children. To connect with her, you can follow her blog, or join her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Goodreads, or Amazon.
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To Forgive Demands a Surrender of Pride
The failure to forgive or to seek forgiveness grants the devil a foothold that destroys our hearts.
To Forgive Demands a Surrender of Pride
2MefromHim Devotionals
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:3
To forgive demands a surrender of pride and pain in order to reach out to others as Christ extended grace to us.
To forgive demands a surrender of pride and pain in order to reach out to others as Christ extended grace to us. #forgiveness #pride #grace Click To TweetLearn to forgive
As a young Christian of seventeen, it became clear that God required me to right a severed relationship. However, following a youth conference, I knew the time for healing had come. God used the heartbreak to lead me to salvation. It was all for good.
When I shared the testimony of what God did in my life, the one who hurt me sat a few feet away. I once rejected his plea for forgiveness. It was time to surrender my pride and let go of the hurt. And it freed us both. The lesson is etched in my memory.
Examples of forgiveness
Likewise, the world has never understood the importance of Jesus’ words on the Cross when he said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” We injure others by words and actions without even trying. Proverbs 11:17 says, “Your own soul is nourished when you are kind, but you destroy yourself when you are cruel.” NLT
Joseph provides an excellent example. Sold into slavery, transported to a foreign country, and thought dead by his father, he was treated unjustly time and again. Years later, when his brothers appeared seeking aide in a time of famine, he revealed himself, telling them not to be distressed. God had a plan. When his brothers feared retaliation, he answered their pleas for mercy by saying, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good…”
Called to forgive
In recent years, a painful situation created a gulf between myself and people dear to me. Once again, the lesson I learned as a teen returned. As a result, I humbled myself to seek forgiveness for words spoken in anger. Likewise, I needed to forgive the hurt I suffered. Forgiveness is a choice made on a daily, often moment by moment basis, whenever hurtful thoughts appear.
Forgiveness is a choice made on a daily, often moment by moment basis, whenever hurtful thoughts appear. #Forgiveness #choices #relationships Click To TweetHumility brings reward
Quarrels never honor God. He is wounded when we offend others by our actions and words. In Ephesians 4, Paul admonishes us to “not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs.” However, our, loving Abba Father understands our weaknesses. If we humble ourselves, He will heal and renew. The failure to forgive or to seek forgiveness grants the devil a foothold that destroys our hearts.
Forgiveness frees the offender as well as the offended. #Forgiveness #freedom #reconciliation Click To TweetPerhaps the way you can build up another today is to apologize. Maybe you need to forgive someone who doesn’t realize how they hurt you. Forgiveness frees the offender as well as the offended. Surrender your pride. Choose to forgive. It’s never easy but the reward is peace.
© Norma Gail Holtman, February 26, 2020
About the author:
Norma Gail writes Fiction to Refresh Your Spirit. Her contemporary novels, Land of My Dreams, which won the 2016 Bookvana Religious Fiction Award, and Within Golden Bands (releasing May 19, 2020), explore the theme of women whose faith triumphs over trials. A women’s Bible study leader for over 21 years, her devotionals and poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the Stitches Thru Time blog, Inspire a Fire, and in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, Historical Writers of America, and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Norma is a former RN who lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband of 44 years. They have two adult children. If you’re interested in connecting with her, follow her blog, or join her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Goodreads, or Amazon.
Choose Kindness & Compassion – A 2MefromHim Devotional
To choose kindness and compassion, I must overcome uncharitable and selfish thoughts. It’s what Jesus would do.
Choose Kindness and Compassion
A 2MefromHim Devotional
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32
Always choose kindness and compassion. What we remember most about others is how they treat us. The best friend is one who goes out of their way to show love. Yet how easy it is to find an excuse to do the opposite.
Choose Kindness
Not long ago, I sat at the bedside of my dying aunt. As a former nurse, sitting beside a deathbed wasn’t uncomfortable, however, a friend’s visit cheered my heart. When she realized the imminence of death, she remained. We sang hymns, read scripture, and prayed. Sacrificing her own plans for the day, she sat with my uncle and me and remained until after my aunt’s passing. Her thoughtfulness and generosity will never be forgotten.
Likewise, there is a stark contrast between a display of kindness and those who are either neglectful or mean-spirited. Henry Drummond said, “The greatest thing a man can do for his heavenly Father is to be kind to some of his other children.”
Kindness Heals
I came across a quote recently from Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Occasionally, family members treat each other with less courtesy and kindness than they do acquaintances or even strangers.” I think this even applies to our family of fellow Christians and the greater family of mankind. Nothing should cause us to deny someone’s need when it is within our power to be kind. Even relationships broken by mistrust, lack of understanding, and hostility can begin to mend through a single act of self-sacrifice and care. It matters little if we understand completely, only that we help within our ability.
Broken relationships can begin to mend through a single act of self-sacrifice and care. #healing #relationships #hope Click To Tweet
Lack of Compassion Hurts
In contrast, a confrontation with someone lacking kindness reminds me of the screams my husband and I heard coming from beside some railroad tracks near a sightseeing spot. We ran in that direction, only to discover a deer taken down by a pack of wild dogs. Though we chased them away, they returned. Similarly, to be treated with a lack of compassion and understanding leaves deep emotional wounds. Self-preservation makes us avoid people who hurt rather than help.
To be treated with a lack of compassion and understanding leaves deep emotional wounds. #compassion #depression #pain Click To TweetThe Cost of being Kind
My father is remembered for his kindness. After he died, a dear friend related how he showed up at their door one year with money to buy Christmas gifts for their boys. Their savings were stolen from his wife’s purse, and though our family wasn’t well off, my father somehow found the means to help.
As a child of God, I must overcome uncharitable and selfish thoughts in order to treat someone with kindness. It’s what Jesus would do. It dishonors Christ to ignore someone’s plea when I possess the power to help. Yes, it costs us to be kind. We pay in time, humility, and sometimes money. However, the reward is everlasting.
Who do you know that needs to be shown some kindness? Will you honor Christ and make the sacrifice necessary to help?
Treating someone with kindness costs us something but pleases Jesus. #kindness #healing #Jesus Click To Tweet© Norma Gail Holtman, February 22, 2020
About the author:
Norma Gail writes Fiction to Refresh Your Spirit. Her contemporary novels, Land of My Dreams, which won the 2016 Bookvana Religious Fiction Award, and Within Golden Bands (releasing May 19, 2020), explore the theme of women whose faith triumphs over trials. A women’s Bible study leader for over 21 years, her devotionals and poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the Stitches Thru Time blog, Inspire a Fire, and in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, Historical Writers of America, and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Norma is a former RN who lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband of 44 years. They have two adult children. If you’re interested in connecting with her, follow her blog, or join her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Goodreads, or Amazon.
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Believe that You Have Received – 2MefromHim Devotionals
Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. Mark 11:24
Believe that You have Received
2MefromHim Devotionals
“Believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.”
I repeat this promise multiple times a day, as I pray. As children, it’s not uncommon to disagree with a friend, move on to a new best friend, and never regain the closeness that once existed. I changed my best friends several times for multiple reasons. However, none of those instances haunts me.
All things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. Click To TweetAs an adult, and a Christian, however, I’m held to a higher standard in my personal life than in childhood.
For instance, recent events have removed people from my daily life, my holiday table, those with whom I share my joys and sorrows, those I call on in times of need. As a result, pain throbs deep and unrelenting in a heart that is no longer whole.
Pain throbs deep and unrelenting in a heart that is no longer whole Click To TweetBelieve there is purpose in waiting
Jesus said, “All things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them.” The Holy Spirit has impressed upon my heart that there is purpose in waiting. Time spent in prayer changes my heart. To wait, patient and trusting, gives God time to work in the hearts of others.
Time spent in prayer changes my heart... Click To Tweet
Belief requires faith. James says that if we lack wisdom we must pray. I have no idea how to approach this problem. But, the solving of the dilemma doesn’t rest solely with me. However, James says we must ask in faith and not doubt. Doubt makes me unstable and unsettled like the wind tosses waves of the sea against the rocks.
Believe prayer changes your heart
I am weary of the battered, brokenness of being constantly tossed against the rocks. Therefore, I began to pray daily for God to heal, to bring repentance, and reconciliation into damaged relationships. Nothing has changed, but oh, what changes I see in my shattered heart. As a result, my days are now free of the nagging doubts and uncertainties that slammed me against the rocks and left me bruised and battered. Nights are no longer haunted by questions about “what-if” and “how.” What relief to rest, assured that my prayers are being answered, unconcerned about if, how, or when.
When I pray in God’s will, I have the assurance He will answer Click To TweetBelieving prayer aligns my desires with those of God. Therefore, whatever I pray is in agreement with His will. When I pray in God’s will, I have the assurance He will answer.
God’s heart breaks
God’s heart breaks when relationships are broken when His children can’t get along. It’s possible to know peace in the midst of unsettled relationships. Trust His promise and believe you have received it. When you pray, believe God will answer.
God’s heart breaks when relationships are broken when His children can’t get along Click To TweetTis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus
In conclusion, may this precious old hymn comfort your heart as it does my own:
‘Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus
’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
And to know, “Thus saith the Lord!”
Refrain:
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er;
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
Oh, for grace to trust Him more!
Oh, how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
And in simple faith to plunge me
’Neath the healing, cleansing flood!
Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peace.
I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.
Public Domain
© Copyright Norma Gail Holtman, February 7, 2020
About the author:
Norma Gail writes Fiction to Refresh Your Spirit. Her contemporary novels, Land of My Dreams, which won the 2016 Bookvana Religious Fiction Award, and Within Golden Bands (releasing in the summer of 2020), explore the theme of women whose faith triumphs over trials. A women’s Bible study leader for over 21 years, her devotionals and poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the Stitches Thru Time blog, Inspire a Fire, and in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, Historical Writers of America, and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Norma is a former RN who lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband of 43 years. They have two adult children. If you’re interested in connecting with her, follow her blog, or join her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Goodreads, or Amazon.
Love Others Well – A 2MefromHim Devotional
Let’s love each other well this Valentine’s Day!
Love Others Well
2MefromHim Devotional
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13
Learning to love others well
Valentine’s Day fills us with thoughts of love but not necessarily the right kind. A walk through the mall reveals that the love God speaks of is very different than what advertisements and entertainment portray. John said, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.” He should be our source of learning how to love others well.
Broken wedding vows. Broken hearts. Hurt feelings. Ruined friendships. Families destroyed. We don’t do a good job of loving.
Broken wedding vows. Broken hearts. Hurt feelings. Ruined friendships. Families destroyed. We don’t do a good job of loving. #relationships #family #marriage Click To TweetJesus’ commands
Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind, and the second is to love our neighbor as ourselves. However, the greatest insight comes from Paul. He uses action words such as patient and kind. Instead of being envious, boastful, or proud, we must aside personal feelings and needs and reach out to the very people who wounded us.
Learn to forgive
What if we let wrongs slide off our backs like heavy weights rather than dwelling on our differences? How would family and friends respond if instead of reacting in anger we set aside our perceived rights and forgave? Because we are forgiven, we must choose to follow His example. A failure to do so is to choose to sin against the Author of love.
In truth, the single greatest reason for failure is pride. My pride. Matthew 5:44 says, “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” Does it not, therefore, stand to reason that we are to forgive those closest to us? When I pray for those who injure me, my own hurt changes to concern for the well-being of others.
Love by putting others first
Paul says love always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres. Clearly, to love well, our emphasis must be on the other person, rather than ourselves. If I hold onto hurt and anger, pride, and refuse to seek forgiveness when someone believes I wronged them, I fail. Therefore, I must offer prayer instead of resentment and forgiveness rather than pride.
Who would God ask you to treat differently this Valentine’s Day?
What if we offered prayer instead of resentment and forgiveness rather than pride. What if we loved God's way? #God #love #forgiveness Click To Tweet© Copyright by Norma Gail Holtman, February 10, 2020
About the author:
Norma Gail writes Fiction to Refresh Your Spirit. Her contemporary novels, Land of My Dreams, which won the 2016 Bookvana Religious Fiction Award, and Within Golden Bands (releasing in the summer of 2020), explore the theme of women whose faith triumphs over trials. A women’s Bible study leader for over 21 years, her devotionals and poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the Stitches Thru Time blog, Inspire a Fire, and in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, Historical Writers of America, and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Norma is a former RN who lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband of 43 years. They have two adult children. If you’re interested in connecting with her, follow her blog, or join her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Goodreads, or Amazon.
