#HowToTRUST (Total Reliance Under Stressful Times) #ForLife Experiences 6: Birds, Birds, Where Are You? Tweet: “Fear-LESS, be trust-FULL.”

Is your life hanging by the cliff?

Are you down to the last dollar for your next meal?

Fear is waiting to rear its ugly head?

It seems like you are probably reaching at the end of your tether, and you are struggling to balance walking on a tightrope of life challenges.

A tough season.

The glimmer of hope is, tough season don’t last but tough people do.

Perhaps it is time for some reorientation. How about take a day out for some birdwatching? God has so much to say about them. They can be His physical reminders of His Great love and Faithfulness. And appreciating nature is a great way not only to de-stress, it helps to reorient our focus on God who is the Creator, Provider and Sustainer of all things. Nature can teach us something- Look at the caterpillar, the birds, the grass, and the “mountain / hill”:

He also gave their crops to the caterpillar… (Psalm 78:46a)

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (Matthew 6:25-34)

Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds. (Luke 12:24)

Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God for help, and wander about for lack of food? (Job 38:41)

All the birds of the heavens made their nests in its boughs; under its branches all the beasts of the field gave birth to their young, and under its shadow lived all great nations. (Ezekiel 31:6)

Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. (Psalm 84:3)

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:29-31)

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. (Luke 12:6)

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. (Psalm 121:1-3)

He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)

Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. (Mark 11:23)

Why is it so difficult to stop striving and simply trust in God’s provision? Perhaps, you are thinking that your best isn’t good enough… So how to be fear-proof? TRUST. (With added emphasis). Simply trust, it flushes the trash of worry and anxiety. Abide and rest in God by trusting that no matter what happens, God will take care of things like He takes care of the birds, He clothes the grass of the field. He is the Maker of all things, so He is ultimately in control– Fear-LESS and be trust-FULL, day by day, step by step, God provides the manna one day at a time.

P.S. Take time off for some bird-watching yeah?

HowToTRUST (Total Reliance Under Stressful Times) #ForLife Experiences 5: Dwarfing The Giants

Who are your Goliaths? The giants who loom and lord over you?

What occupies your mind nowadays? What keeps you awake in the middle of the night? What possesses you the entire week? Have you been stewing anxieties for months?

Let’s face the number one adversary that seek to sidetrack us- FEAR (of any sort).

FEAR in its naked form simply an acronym of False Expectation Appearing Real.

We fear anything, and every thing. Fear has no other name, call it a spade, a spade. And is a no respecter of persons. But fear knows our name, intimately; it croons each night to jolt us from slumber; it robs us of peace that we could have enjoy for the day; it revs us up in hyperventilation mode any time.

Fear is irrational, it can blind, deafen and desensitise us. It grips, immobilises and gags us with a band of strong men, imprisoning us for prolonged period if we continue to allow it the authority to play punk.

Fear is unreasonable, argues baselessly with faith, and loves to wrestle and tussle insensibly with Trust.

None of us are strangers to those legitimate fears that are so “real”. And these are Satan’s favourite hot buttons to activate our system breakdown and cause us to go haywired easily.

But fear shall not be the final voice because God has the last say, if only, we tune in to the correct source and listen, “Headline these Truths!”:

1. TRUST.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways, acknowledge Him (God) and He will make straight your path. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Life won’t make any sense, no matter how and no matter what, because we live in a fallen world that is utterly broken. We won’t be able to find or get any answers to life’s uncertainties and its unfathomable fallacies, anyway. The only recourse is to surrender and simply trust that God will work things out for good, with all our heart.

2. TRUST.

I will have no fear of bad news; my heart is steadfast trusting in the Lord. My heart is secure, I will have no fear; in the end I will look in triumph of my foes. (Psalm 112:7-8)

There is always light at the end of the tunnel. We just have to keep walking, walking, walking, no matter how tiring or how long it takes… God will always make a way when there seems to be no way- the Light is round the corner if we keep our gaze ahead.

3. TRUST.

You will keep me in perfect peace if my mind fixes on you, because I trust in you! (Isaiah 26:3)

In order to experience the supernatural Peace of God, we simply fix our mind on the God of Perfect Peace. Look up and we will never get to see the shadows. God is, and still is, in control: He holds the ground, he holds the fort. Pax Vobiscum.

Internalise the truth, and trust God, He is way much better at handling our lives than we do our own. Our giants will come tumbling down, and down, and down… It is time for your own Disney’s sequel of “Honey, I shrunk the kids!”

#HOWTOLEAN On #TRUST (Total Reliance Under Stressful Times) Experiences 4: Facing The Giants And The Pharaohs One Day At A Time

I ever wondered if I know how my future is, I may be better prepared now to face the “unforeseen” of what is forthcoming. Nothing is further than the truth- if I saw what it shouldn’t be, I think I would have better off not knowing than to be anticipating with anxieties or fears of what will unfold each day— the giants and Pharaohs I have to face, the rejections, the closed doors, the health challenges, the financial crises— I might think, “It is better to just stay where I am so that I don’t get into those troubles…” I may even manipulate the course to force a desired outcome out of my own myopic insensibilities and ended up with more messes or in situations that are (potentially far) worst than “originally allowed”.

And there comes the groans of the heart— we have heard them, because we made them— They are the vernacular of pain, the chosen tongue of despair. And when prayers do not come, the pain sensors will up the notch, to get us tuned in and we will get haywired. 

That is why, God is gracious for not showing us the details because He knows we would talk ourselves out of it. If we can’t figure out how something that is ever going to work out, we will start to get anxious and be robbed of the peace for the day.

It is more comfortable to live in the moment, and one day at a time. For tomorrow has enough troubles of its own, why would we need to borrow tomorrow troubles with today’s strength? Would it be needless to be robbed of today’s joy over tomorrow’s worries (which might not even happen)?

Our responses should be, “God, I don’t see a way or have the answer for how this situation can work out, but I trust You!” This attitude of faith allows God to do great (and greater) things. He had the solution before we had the problem. All we need to do is to pass our own test and simply trust Him for the outcome, which will be temperated by His Love and Faithfulness.

One day, at a time.

HOWTOLEAN On #TRUST (Total Reliance Under Stressful Times) Experiences 3: Do You Know You Have Unlimited Trust Funds?

“Miss Worrywart, are you not a beneficiary of God’s trust funds?”

Pray.

Great miracles happen.

Trust.

Good things follow.

Believe.

Opportune times ensue.

HOWTOLEAN On #TRUST (Total Reliance Under Stressful Times) Experiences 2: Get Your Hands Off!

Penned on 7 Aug 2022:

DISORGANISED TO REORGANISED:

Since I was injured, my mornings are getting sufferably earlier and longer that I have had so much time to catch up with a long list of “to-do”s, one of which is to tidy up my devotionals and blogs that have been collecting e-cobwebs since the season of COVID, lol!

(Seriously! Ok, back to my penning now…)

STIR UP TO LEVEL UP:

If you found yourself often catching laborious breathing, experiencing jittery hands and being immobilised with a hyperventilated soul. Chances are, something must be getting out of control… And coping with changes can be unsettling. But changes can be used for good, which is necessary for growth.

So if there is one thing to drill home, it is this: nothing in this life is guaranteed nor stay constant, not health, finances, business, career, nor any of our plans. Anything can change and not everything we can have control over. God, who is infinite, is the only constant. We can be assured that God’s character remains unchanged, no matter how much change in the day to day, God will forever remain powerful over all things, trustworthy in all He says, and faithful and compassionate through all changes.

God’s faithfulness and compassion are not dependent on our faithfulness, He is faithful and gracious to us because of His character. That’s just who He is, so you and I can be assured that God will always be faithful no matter what happens, and that His compassion for us will never fail!

Therefore…

1. Relinquish the Need for Control: Shift our focus

We need to recognise and accept our own limitations, fallacies and finiteness. We need not be victimised by changes while living in the fallenness of this world, we just need to relinquish the need for control, believing in the promise that Jesus has already overcame the world and is standing with us in victory over our foes.

Whenever anxieties hit, shift the focus that God is ultimately sovereign and in control in every situation.

RESET TO REGAIN:

2. Recommit the Decision to Trust: Exercise our choice

Trust is not a one-time commitment. It has to be a daily practice. It is a rededication of worship; surrendering the need to know everything. It is indeed a tall order and a very hard lesson to learn—especially when each day looks more uncertain than the last or the next. Trusting God has to be an active choice, it cannot be fundamental on our feelings, as our feelings will change, but choosing to trust in God is an act of faith- to trust beyond how we feel, whether we like it or not, even when we don’t feel like it.

Every challenge provides room for growth in new and powerful ways. In teaching us obedience, the Lord redirects our natural inclinations so we can grow in a Godward direction.

Humble yourself therefore, make it your goal to be a pliable student in the Lord’s hands, do not disdain His discipline in moulding mind, shaping values, and tutoring heart. Let your plumb line be measured by His precepts. Do not try shortcuts or short-circuiting the desert time of God, as it will only leads to cul-de-sacs, which force you to revisit the lesson(s) you have yet to learn. Embrace the process, so that you will come out purified by His Refiner’s fire, temperated with His Great Love.

HOWTOLEAN On #TRUST (Total Reliance Under Stressful Times) Experiences 1: Knowing The One Who Can Be Trusted To Help

My recent trauma with a critical fall on May 14, prompted me to consolidate my experiences on the word, ‘TRUST’ and ‘FEAR’, as part of my learning process. In sharing this series do not mean I have mastered being trustful, but to remind myself in retrospection and reflections should 1 day I be confronted by this giant. I hope in sharing, those seeking life answers may find hope, peace and breakthroughs in some ways.

P.S. We all are work in progress, and learning about life is never a destination but an ongoing process of discovery.

Penned on 1 Sep 2022:

While the world is beginning to wake up from a forced hibernation of the post-COVID19 endemic, some of us are beginning to be jolted to reality, coming to terms with what has been broken, displaced and lost.

Anxieties and fears have been a common vocabulary for the past 2 years when unforeseen circumstances beckon us in the first instance to cower to niggly fears- fear of bad news, fear of what is next, fear of lack in the future… The stress and the fear of the unknown rattled us, with the merciless cronies of anxieties, dismay and gloom, gnawing our innermost relentlessly, leaving us insecure and uncertain about life that often seems like a long, zig-zag winding road, disconcerting us when we can’t see what’s around the corner…

Amid the uncertainties, we can still find peace by ruminating on the truth that God is in ultimate control and we can trust that He is Sovereign- He rules and reigns in the spiritual and physical realms in power:

1. God is our Guide For Life.

He holds the compass with our journey already pre-mapped out, navigating the biggest bends to the smallest curves, positioning the sign-posts along the way and erecting road blocks against deadly ends. God will direct our every steps under His watchful eyes.

2. God is the Author Of Our Story.

He knows the unwritten pages of our future, and has penned down a plan for each of us in advance. There is no need to worry because He holds the last page.

3. God is our Helper Of All Times.

He is always ready and timely, in great faithfulness, step by step, and day to day. We can fall back on His Safety Net without being afraid. He is always ready to catch us should we stumble.

Each time we decided and chose to obey in faith, the shackles of anxiety will loosen gradually. We may still feel fear, but we do not have to let it dictate our life and immobilise us. Our human tendency to catastrophise must fully yield to trust in God’s sovereign care.

Remember that nothing can get to us without first getting through God. So no matter what happens, we will still be in God’s good Hands.

Remember that Jesus has overcome the world.

Remember that God takes care of the birds of the air and clothe the grass of the fields, would He not care about us and take care of our needs since we are much more valuable as His children?

DO YOU KNOW #RelationshipsMatters #ItTakesTwo #BeTheChange Tips 40: It Is Not Over, Yet.

Final?

Finally.

Get going, beyond.

Serve, beyond.

Give, beyond.

Persevere, beyond.

Die (to self), beyond.

Exceed, beyond.

Change (first), beyond.

Forgive, beyond.

Live, beyond.

Love, beyond.

Break the mould.

Push the boundaries.

Exceed your own limits.

Easier said than done?

Sure, nothing in life is easy anyway.

Enough is enough?

Really, what is the limit of enough anyway.

He or she is simply not the right mate?

Truly no one is perfect anyway.

Just do it anyway.

Just do it every way.

Just do it all the way.

Be better,

not perfect.

Go, beyond.

Do, beyond.

Moving, beyond.

Period.

P.S.

And yes, this ends my sharing of a total of 40 relational tips series, whew! That is why, “Finally!” Hmmm…… my pen may ink a limited edition whenever inspiration visits, keep your eyes peeled! No promise though, (smiling).

DO YOU KNOW #RelationshipsMatters #ItTakesTwo #BeTheChange Tips 39: Deshackle The Me Kingdom

This is a fact- People won’t change as much as you want them to.

This is the truth- You can’t change others.

This is the key- Don’t expect other people to change.

This is the miracle- Nothing changes until you (first) change.

When you change, other people change.

What is to be changed? Your mindset.

It is all in your mind-

An anonymous quote that goes, “It is all in your mind. Whatever you hold in your mind will tend to occur in your life. If you continue to believe as you have always believed, you will continue to act as you have always acted. If you continued to act as you have always acted, you will continue to get what you have always gotten. If you want to have different result in your relationship (applies to your life too), all you have to do is change your mind.”

“Who say so?”

What is your problem?

Your problem, and my problem, is, The Me Kingdom.

The Me Kingdom is ruled by the self:

Who made the law?

You. And me.

It all starts in the mind.

Our mind is the command tower or center that control every part of us – it sends out messages through our thoughts and translate into actions to the rest of the “distribution facilities” of our body. As a result of these “top-down instructions” to function internally, we automated outwardly.

People can’t see the inward roots of our lives but they can tell by our outward fruits- bad roots produce bad or rotten fruits don’t they? Good fruits can only grow on good roots isn’t it?

So what is the cause of any relational breakdown? Find the root, get to the root, and uproot it:

Deshackle The Me Kingdom;

Denounce your throne;

Demolish all strongholds.

All you need to do is, to change your mind.