"I am your Refuge and Strength, an ever-present Help in trouble. Therefore, you don't need to be afraid of anything... Every day I manifest My grace in countless places and situations... blessings (and) outright miracles on your planet... have eyes that see and ears that hear...My abiding Presence in the world." Psalm 46:1-3 (379)
Fear has a way of capturing our attention and our ambitions. Both can be sabotaged and get stuck on the fear factor, causing us to feel trapped, immobilized, totally defeated and depleted.
However, with God's help we can capture our fear and use it to capacitate, or enable, our attention and ambitions to be even more creative and productive. How is this done?
One day I learned that when I was fearful I was imagining the worst or most painful outcomes. On the other hand, when imagining the best or most productive outcomes, I was left energized and far more creative. The solution was fairly simple - start envisioning the best outcomes rather than the worst! (Remembering to put it into practice was not always so simple.)
I needed to basically believe more in what God was saying and doing (blessings and miracles) than in what my fear was saying and doing to me. Fear was shouting at me from various sources; like the news media, others' opinions, and my own self-doubt. However, God was generally whispering to me through meditative moments in His Word, encouraging encounters and in hidden hopes and dreams deeply tucked in my own heart.
It all came down to how I was going to use my God-given gift of imagination.... what was I going to envision? Was I going to be captured or was I going to be capacitated? Encumbered or encouraged? Fear-filled or faith-filled?
Incapacitating my fear & Capacitating my faith...dmc
A special "Thank You" to my precious mom, Dorothy Volesky, who brought me into this world...giving me life and then leading me into a relationship with Jesus... helping to anchor my eternal life! I've been abundantly blessed with an awesome loving mom and dad! That makes this day a very special birthday for me!
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Happy Birthday Dawn Marie!!! I thank God for you and the blessing you have been to me!
ReplyDeleteI may have said this before but I didn't realize that Dorothy was your mom. It was a pleasure getting to know her when she was helping with Awana. She is a wonderful woman of God and so are you!
Thank you, Melissa! I have an awesome mom who inspires me in many, many ways!
ReplyDeleteBlessed Indeed!
CEV translation of Psalm 46:1-3:
ReplyDelete"God is our mighty fortress, always ready to help in times of trouble. And so, we won't be afraid! Let the earth tremble and the mountains tumble into the deepest sea. Let the oceans roar and foam, and its raging waves shake the mountains." Wow! What an interesting description of earthquakes, storms, and floods (mudslides too?). But God is "ALWAYS ready to help"! What a wonderful, comforting promise. We can depend on his unfailing presence and help.
The second paragraph of the devotional brought so many pictures to my mind. I am not a creation worshiper but since an early age I have seen God, the creator, everywhere in nature. Green leaves and multicolored blossoms burst forth in the spring, Birds build nests and babies hatch from the eggs chirping noisily as the parents bring them food. Many animals give birth to their young. Thunder rolls while magnificent lightening displays light up the sky and the wind sweeps through the trees during a storm. Fields, gardens and orchards produce an amazing variety of food in the summer. Trees, bushes and weeds turn gorgeous colors in the fall while the animals grow warm coats, gather food and migrate to appropriate climates. How can one deny the great creator as Orion and Pleiades march across the winter sky? Ah, HE is everywhere! One only needs to “have eyes that see and ears that hear”. “Our God is an awesome God. He reigns in heaven above…” My whole being sings his praises.
A belated (Posting Dec 30) Happy Birthday. Dawn. I know your mother is very proud of you—and thankful too. Both of you are blessed!
Thanks, Amelia! I am also one who is deeply impacted by the beauty and wonder of creation. It's like God left pieces and pictures of Himself in everything He created...what a GIFT!!!
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