Category: Trust God

Unwavering Faith

Unwavering Faith

LaPorter2 Replies

Unwavering Faith, Renew Inspiration

Your faith can move mountains and your doubt can create them. – Unknown Author

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Thought to Ponder – Your mind will always believe everything you tell it. Feed it faith. Feed it truth. Feed it with love.

Welcome back to Renew Inspiration! As you venture through your life on Earth, do you ever wonder if you have unwavering faith? I have always been taught to have faith in God, to read my Bible, to attend church services, and to say my faith-based prayers, but deep down inside I have always wondered how strong my faith really was in a God that I could not see. When my mother passed away in December 2015, my faith in God and everything that I knew God to be was tested to the fullest! Despite being overcome with grief and sadness, I continued to read my Bible, pray, meditate, and write in my journal consistently until I received my breakthrough.

My breakthrough consisted of coming out of a deep depression after seeing a licensed therapist and starting a journey of writing. Since 2018, I …

Unwavering faith will come with time, but you have to do the work which includes following God’s plan for your life, changing your thought patterns, and making time for self-reflection.

DEFINITION – Faith

God is still writing your story. Don’t let go of your faith because of what you have to see. – Unknown Author

Faith can be defined as:

  • Complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
  • Strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

WAYS TO INCREASE FAITH

Faith is building on what you know is here so you can reach what you know is there. – Cullen Hightower

When you are broken in pieces and experiencing so much pain, God can seem distant and even uncaring while you are in this vulnerable, yet lonely place. But before you throw in the towel or choose to give up on living life to the fullest, know that God promises in His Word to be with you always and to give you comfort in the midst of your storm, so whatever your feelings are suggesting to you in this very dark moment, know that God is with you always.

For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death. Psalm 48:14 (KJV)

You must believe in your heart and mind that you will receive whatever it is that you are praying for throughout your journey. No mountain is too big for our God. I always think of a mountain as any obstacle, problem, or situation that happens in our lives. Despite the challenges and constant struggles in life, throughout this process, it’s important to find effective ways to increase your faith.

Here’s a few suggestions and scriptures to help you get started with your spiritual transformation:

  • Read and Study God’s Word. God’s Word should be read and hidden in your heart so that you can fully understand the promises that God made to you. This process will allow God’s Word to guide, instruct, and protect you. Along with your Bible, you can also read spiritual devotions or faith-based inspirational books.

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 (KJV)

  • Make Time for Daily Prayer and Meditation. Schedule quiet time for prayer and meditation inviting God to come into your presence. Remove distractions, quiet your mind, and talk to God regularly while listening with your spiritual ear for the necessary guidance that’s needed throughout your day.

Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints. Ephesians 6:18 (ESV)

  •  Practice Praise and Worship. Set aside time each day to usher in God’s presence through praise and worship. This can be done through speaking words of affirmations over your life or through singing worship songs in the presence of God.

By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Hebrews 13:15-16 (KJV)

  • Be Transparent and Live Out God’s Word. It’s important to not just read and study God’s Word, but you must be transparent and apply God’s Word to your life each and every day. Make a commitment today and watch God work miracles in your life.

 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV)

  • Trust in God. As believers in Christ, it’s important to intentionally focus on God’s plans for you and not get in the way with your own personal views and interpretations of how you think your life should be. Remove any doubt or fear from your heart. Instead replace it with belief and trust in God.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. Proverbs 3:5 (KJV)

Along this journey called life, we have to open our hearts and minds to a true understanding of life’s many challenges and faith, of what it is and what it is not, in our lives and abroad. It’s important to know that faith is something to be experienced and exercised, not defined, categorized, and neatly packaged on a shelf. Faith rests on a solid foundation. The evidence is everywhere before our eyes. Begin to create a safe space for God to work wonders in your spiritual life by reading God’s Word, praying often, and submitting to God’s healing. God wants your heart, gratitude, and honesty which will bring you to His everlasting peace. Remember, every positive change in life must first begin with a commitment to work towards that change. Then, you will be on your way to live a life that’s full of happiness, spirit filled, and with unwavering faith.

FAITH AFFIRMATIONS

Don’t dig up in doubt what you planted in faith. – Elisabeth Elliot

Reciting affirmations are a great way to boost confidence, mood, and self-esteem. Through the incredible power of repetition, you’re able to reconstruct your thought patterns, beliefs, and ideals in your subconscious mind. Begin to set yourself up for a more productive and successful life that you desire by reciting these powerful faith-based affirmations.

  •  All that I seek I can find within me.
  • I trust that my faith in the universe will reveal all opportunities for me.
  • I focus on what I can control and make peace with what I can’t.
  • I trust my inner knowing in the face of uncertainty.
  • I choose faith over fear and peace over perfection.
  • I am ready to move ahead and explore the purpose of my existence.
  • I trust and believe that everything is always working out for my highest good.
  • I am at peace with my whole being.
  • I see my faith, presence and passion being the most beautiful things there are in my life.

JOURNAL PROMPTS

Let your faith be bigger than your fear. – Unknown Author

I love journaling because it is a safe place for me to put my feelings and emotions into words, then put my words into action. Remember, journaling is your very own personal journey throughout life, your ups and downs, your successes, and failures. Journaling also allows for past reflection, future insight, and present surrender. Ready, set, write!

  • What is the best way to increase your faith?
  • List five ways you’ve become stronger and more faithful this month.
  • How can you strengthen your faith in God?
  • The area where I need to put more trust in God is …
  • I feel God’s presence most when …
  • God is leading me to make the following changes …
  • Sometimes I get angry with God about …
  • I feel most distant from God when …

Let’s talk. How do you plan to increase your faith in 2023? Please share your thoughts in the comments section. I look forward to reading your feedback!

Believe in yourself today, tomorrow, and forever!

 Affiliate Disclaimer: This site contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you purchase through any of the links (at no additional cost to you).

Copyright © 2023 – Renew Inspiration – All Rights Reserved

Worry Less and Trust God

Worry Less and Trust God

LaPorter7 Replies

Renew Inspiration, Worry Less and Trust God

Worrying is a waste of time. It doesn’t change anything. It just clouds your mind and steals your happiness. – Unknown Author

Affiliate Disclaimer: This site contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you purchase through any of the links (at no additional cost to you).

Thought for today – Not once does the Bible say, “Worry about it” or “Stress over it” or “Figure it out.” But over and over the Bible clearly says, “TRUST GOD.”

Welcome back to Renew Inspiration! It has been more than two months since I’ve posted here. Lately, I have found it very difficult to focus on writing projects, to limit my worrying and to trust God for everything pertaining to my life. I had to take a mental break from researching and writing, but now I’m back. As I have stated before, I promised myself, that I would write about topics that I personally experience so I can help others who may be going through similar life changing situations. If you live your life constantly worrying about things that are out of your control or have anxiety that cause you to stray away from things you love to do, then it’s time to worry less and trust God.

SCRIPTURES

Old Testament Scripture – Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. (Psalm 55:22)

New Testament Scripture – Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

MY STORY

Anxiety comes from trying too hard to control the future. – Unknown

What’s my story related to worry and anxiety? I’m going to be honest, I never really worried a lot or felt anxiety to the point where I would not do certain things until my mother passed away in 2015. It was at this point that I felt like a total failure because I could not help my mother fight her Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). It was so difficult just watching her breathing get worse and worse. My mother was a small woman with strength of a lion, but COPD broke her body down quickly right before my eyes.

Even as I write these words, emotions begin to stir around inside of me, but I continued writing so I can help someone else who may be experiencing the same thing. It’s hard to admit sometimes, but the grieving process has been very difficult for me, but I turned to writing as a way to release my pain and emptiness inside. I am glad to say that I no longer blame myself for my mother’s death. I realize I had no control of her chronic illness and God’s timing. This process has shown me that you can learn different ways to handle worry and anxiety throughout life, but it’s fair to say that it may never leave your body for good, it’s just resting inside waiting for an opportunity to arise.

DEFINITIONS

Worrying does not take away tomorrow’s troubles, it takes away today’s peace. – Unknown Author

Did you know that worry and anxiety often times goes hand in hand? Let’s define both.

Anxiety can be defined as a feeling that lives inside us and blocks us from fully living the life we want to live. Anxiety has various symptoms that can be felt anywhere in the body. Anxiety can happen at any time, and it can influence our thoughts, emotions, actions and physical health.

On the other hand, worry can give way to anxiety or unease. Worry allows one’s mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles surrounding one’s life. Worries are a chain of thoughts based in words. For example, “What will happen if” … “It will be terrible when” … “What if I can’t”.

WORRY TRIGGERS

Worrying doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrows; it empties today of its strengths. – Corrie Ten Boom

Let’s face it, we all have issues that we worry about, right? Sometimes we’re not even aware of why we’re worrying, when we’re doing it or what we tend to worry about the most. We just know that we often feel anxious, and we find ourselves stuck in a vicious cycle of worry. One of the ways to break this vicious cycle is to be aware of which things trigger our anxiety.

Here’s a few questions to ask yourself when determining your worry triggers:

  • Is it when you’re in certain places?
  • Is it particular times of the day?
  • Is it when you’re around certain people?

Many different things can trigger worry and understanding your particular triggers can help you process and establish ways to respond to your anxious feelings. Keep in mind that anxiety can trick you into believing your thoughts are reality.

FEELING OVERWHELMED

You can’t calm the storm…so stop trying. What you can do is calm yourself. The storm will pass. – Timber Hawkeye

When you’re feeling anxious, you struggle to distinguish what you’re actually experiencing and what your thoughts are projecting. Begin to divert your attention from the thoughts inside your head to what is real around you. Pay attention to what you’re doing right now in this very moment, not on your worries or anxiety.

Here’s a few suggestions that you can use when you’re feeling overwhelmed:

  • Take slow, deep breaths, as many as you need to in order to feel calm.
  • While breathing slowly and deeply, visualize a peaceful, soothing place. Examples may include walking on the beach, taking a hike in the woods, reading a good book, sitting in a meditation pose, doing yoga, etc.
  • You can pair deep breathing exercises with aromatherapy using a candle or essential oil diffuser to infuse the air with a calming, relaxing scent such as lavender, rose, bergamot or chamomile.
  • Drink a soothing, noncaffeinated tea. Great herbs for reducing anxiety include lavender, chamomile, passionflower, hawthorn, kava, ginseng and lemon balm.
  • Ground yourself physically in a way that feels comfortable. For example, you may sit in a chair with your feet firmly planted on the floor or you can stand with your feet planted on the floor and your back pressed against a wall.
  • Notice negative thoughts and replace them with simple positive ones. For example, I can’t handle this becomes I am handling this right now and I know this anxiety will soon pass.

WORRY LESS AND TRUST GOD

Worrying is like sitting in a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but it doesn’t get you anywhere. – English Proverb

It’s impossible for you to completely eliminate worry and anxiety from your life, but you can significantly lessen its hold over your life. Part of this process is learning when it might show up (triggers) and coming up with a plan to deal with it when it does (solutions).

Here’s some great ways to worry less and trust God:

  • Pray and read God’s Word daily.
  • Determine the source of the worry, so you can do something about it.
  • Allow yourself time to worry (10 to 15 minutes).
  • Understand your specific symptoms. What are your thoughts when your anxiety escalates? In what situations do your symptoms intensify? Lessen?
  • Know what works for you. Which strategies are helpful in moments of high anxiety? Examples could be deep breathing exercises, mindfulness exercises, meditation, journaling or talking with a support person.
  • Ditch the small stuff and put things in perspective.
  • Give into laughter and smile more.
  • Engage with positive people.
  • Schedule therapy sessions with a mental health professional. Be open and honest.
  • Write down your thoughts and feelings in your journal or notebook. Then, reflect on them throughout your journey.

Although experiencing worry and anxiety in our lives are natural, when they become chronic and trapping your mind in vicious cycles with no resolutions, is when they become a problem. Stop using your energy to worry. Instead, use your energy to believe, create, love, grow, manifest, heal, and trust God. Be blessed!

AFFIRMATIONS TO HELP YOU STOP WORRYING

Affirmations can be used to change your current mindset, boost your self-confidence, mood, and self-esteem. Through the power of repetition, you’re able to reconstruct your thought patterns, beliefs, and ideals in your subconscious mind.

Here’s some affirmations to help you let go of stress, worry, and anxiety:

  • As I breathe, I am calm and relaxed.
  • I am strong and courageous.
  • My thoughts and feelings are valid.
  • I live peacefully alongside all of my emotions and worry.
  • I accept what is happening in my life, moment by moment.
  • My acceptance gives me courage to face situations and people.
  • I live my life fully and freely, enjoying my life even when I feel anxious.
  • I feel grounded in this moment which helps me to move freely past the worry or anxious feeling.
  • I have survived my anxiety before, so I can do it again.
  • I let go of what I cannot control.
  • My anxiety does not define me.
  • I have the power to control my thoughts, feelings, and emotions.

TIME FOR REFLECTION – JOURNAL PROMPTS

To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. – Lao Tzu

Journaling is a powerful way to process events in your life, build self-awareness, get more clarity, and keep yourself on track. Journaling also allows for past reflection, future insight, and present surrender. Keep in mind that this is a journey, and everyone takes their own path. Ready, set, write!

  •  What positive things will begin to take the place of worry and anxiety?
  • What are your biggest challenges that prevent you from overcoming worry and anxiety?
  • What are some of your worry triggers?
  • When do you find yourself worrying about these triggers?
  • Where are you when this worry is at its peak?
  • What makes your worry or anxiety worse? What makes it better?

JOURNAL TO OVERCOME GRIEF: A PERSONAL JOURNEY TO HEALING

 No matter how bad your heart is broken, the world doesn’t stop for your grief. – Faraaz Kazi

Journal To Overcome Grief: A Personal Journey to Healing can be purchased via Amazon.com.  This beautiful grief journal includes thought provoking journal prompts and quotes that will help you navigate life after loss.

Journal To Overcome Grief

 

There will be times when you’ll want to cry and other times when you’ll smile as you explore your personal reflections. This is a unique way to honor your loved one and connect with their spirit through writing while creating your own personal keepsake for years to come.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

Please share what helps you to worry less and trust God more? How do you choose to cope with worry and anxiety? I look forward to reading your comments and feedback!

Believe in yourself today, tomorrow, and forever!

Affiliate Disclaimer: This site contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you purchase through any of the links (at no additional cost to you).

Copyright © 2022 – Renew Inspiration – All Rights Reserved