Category Archives: Walking with God

Gratitude for Christ Jesus

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We are now less than two weeks away from Christmas.  The season seems to be flying by this year as it seems like we just passed Thanksgiving.  I know everyone is busy in the hustle and bustle of their Christmas shopping as we near the big day and celebration.  I look forward to all the time with my family over the coming weeks.  If you recall, in my last post, I wrote about the moment of Christ’s birth and how pivotal that moment was in the history of the world.  So profound that the armies of heaven came down to sing praises and glory to God.  Simply amazing.

As we near closer to the day and through all of the craziness that has started to accompany this season, have you stopped to reflect on Christ and His purpose for coming.  As you know I read through scripture everyone morning.  Part of my reading right now includes devotional on Christmas Carols and the meaning behind them.  One this week, was on “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.”    Particularly from that song, was a focus on the words, “Mild He lays His glory by; Born that man no more may die. Born to raise the sons of earth; Born to give them second birth.”

Christ came to this world to save us from our sins and the fate we deserved as a fallen creation.  He set aside his glory and took the punishment we so much deserve so that we could be re-born through Him.  1 Peter 1:3 says “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation.”  Christ came and gave his life to give us new life.

Reflect on that today.  Remember what the purpose of Christ was.  Not just that He was born in a manger in Bethlehem, but the reason for it all.  He came here for each and everyone of us.  How amazing!  Reflect on this today and throughout the season.  Give thanks to Jesus for what He did for us.  We did not deserve it, but because of God’s unfailing love, we now have new life.  I am grateful everyday for this.

The Christmas Season Has Arrived

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I hope everyone of you had a very Happy Thanksgiving, those readers here in the US at least.  We are now entering what has to be my absolute favorite time of year, as it is for many more.  That of course is Christmas!  I have many great memories throughout the years of Christmas.  Waking up early to sneak downstairs when I was younger, the time with my family in the morning opening gifts and just hanging around, and then making our trip over to my grand parents house in the afternoon to spend the rest of the day with them and aunts, uncles, and cousins.  Since I became a husband and father, my joy now is with my wife and kids.  The traditions we have of decorating the house the day after Thanksgiving.  No shopping for us.  The joys of Christmas morning to see their faces light up when they open their own gifts and the great time we have to spend together.

The biggest and most important part of the season of course, is the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  That is the reason we celebrate Christmas each year.  Part of my annual tradition is to add to my daily time in scripture, devotionals and readings about the birth of Christ and the prophecies leading up to his birth and so forth.  This year, I chose to go with a 25 day devotional that unlocks the themes behind many of our favorite Christmas Carols.  It’s great reading.

My devotional yesterday, covered “Angels We Have Heard on High.”  This really made me stop and think about that moment when Christ was born.  In Luke 2, Luke describes the shepherds in the fields that night and an angel appearing before them to announce the birth and “Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,“Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”” (Verse 13-14 (NLT)).

Have you ever really stopped to think about that moment and how profound that really was?  This was the most profound event that had or has ever happened in our history.  God came into this world as a human, as Christ Jesus.  Our savior, to deliver us and set us free from the slavery of our own sin.  This even was so profound that the angels of heaven, the armies of heaven made their presence known here on earth to sing praises to God.  It is such a pivotal moment in human history since our creation.

When I stopped to think about that, it was absolutely amazing.  I never had really reflected on just how profound that moment was.  In actuality, we can’t even begin to comprehend the true glory of that moment. It’s amazing to really think about though.  It has been weighing on my mind so much the last 24 hours, that I had to make sure I shared my reflection of the moment.   Just goes to show more and more just how awesome our God is.  How He has continued to show his unfailing love for each us.  No matter what, He will not abandon us.  What amazing love!!!

I will reflect more on Christmas over the next month with you all, but for now, I wish each of you a very Merry Christmas!  Enjoy this great time of year!

Being Bold and Showing Your True Self

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I have found my writing through the 4 Pillar Blog to be a great avenue for me.  Through my journey and growth in God I have been able to use my writing as a way to discuss what I learn and share my testimony.  In my own writing, my hope is that I am able to help others as well who may be going through struggles with their own lives to find their way to God by learning the amazing things he has done through my life.

For those that know me personally, they know that for most of my life, I did not proclaim my faith with boldness.  I would talk about it in passing from time to time, but never really got out there to really show it.  In the last two years especially, I have used my writing though as way to get bolder and really show who I am in my faith in God and how He has helped my growth.  It’s not about being in your face, “Look at me, I’m a Christian” either.  It is about being proud and proclaiming loudly that I trust the heart of God and am allowing Him to work through my life.  This has been a growing process for me, but I proclaim it louder and louder each day, in my writing and conversations.

I receive daily emails from Ransomed Heart Ministries that include daily readings that have been written by various authors in this ministry.  I’ve mentioned before that I read Wild at Heart and am currently reading Fathered by God by John Eldredge who is the President of this ministry.  One email this week had a reading from the book, “The Sacred Romance.”  It really spoke to me about the daily battle we have in our lives of being bold and pursuing the heart of God or giving in to the evil that is in this world.  Here is a bit from the message.

There is another great “revealing” in our life on the road. We run our race, we travel our journey, in the words of Hebrews, before “a great cloud of witnesses” (12:1). When we face a decision to fall back or press on, the whole universe holds its breath—angels, demons, our friends and foes, and the Trinity itself—watching with bated breath to see what we will do. We are still in the drama of Act III and the heart of God is still on trial. The question that lingers from the fall of Satan and the fall of man remains: Will anyone trust the great heart of the Father, or will we shrink back in faithless fear?

As we grow into the love of God and the freedom of our own hearts, we grow in our ability to cast our vote on behalf of God. Our acts of love and sacrifice, the little decisions to leave our false loves behind, and the great struggles of our heart reveal to the world our true identity: We really are the sons and daughters of God.

Reading this spoke to me about my own life and the decisions I have made in life, some good, some bad that either shows trust in God or fear and faithlessness.  Whenever we stand-up and are bold about our faith and whenever we choose the path of God we show our true identity to the world and it gets louder and louder and we begin to see the evil pushed back more and more.  As this reading said, and as is stated in Hebrews, there is a great cloud of witnesses.  They wait for how we will act and the decisions we make.  Stand and be who each of us were created and called to be.  When you do so, you come alive in the creation you are that God intended for you to find and become and you can overcome the evil that is in this world.   Be who you were always meant to be, not what this world thinks you should be.

Returning to Your True Father

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As I have written about many times, I have been on a long spiritual growth journey these last few years.  It has taken me through ups and downs as I’ve learned more about myself and my calling in life.  A big part of that journey is also dealing with the kind of father I want to be and how the influence of my Dad molded my beliefs and direction.   It all correlates to the how I relate to my family (my wife and kids) and how I am now guided through life.

As I shared last month, my life took a wild turn 4 years ago when I lost my Dad suddenly in a car accident.  I struggled with that for some time as I tried to find answers and a sense of purpose in life now that the one person I thought was invincible and a giant in my life had now been called home and stepped into eternity.  It was all so sudden and how to move from that was quite a challenge.

I then shared with you my spiritual journey from there and how I buried my self in scripture everyday to get my life back in order and regain purpose.  This journey began about 3 years ago and has been amazing.  My walk with the Lord everyday has helped me grown immensely as a man.  I recently finished a book called “Wild at Heart” by John Eldredge and now reading his next booked “Fathered by God.”  These readings have helped give me better perspective about my purpose as a man created in God’s image and my real purpose in life.  It has helped me to understand that in life we all have wounds that we have to deal with and learn to accept and overcome.  As a man I am called to live the life of a warrior now for God to stand and fight for His Kingdom and be bold in my beliefs and how I share my testimony with all of you.

As I’ve written before, I recognized that the tragedies that are put in front of us are a part of the plan that God puts before us to help us return to him.  That is how I came to grips with my Dad’s death.  He was called home suddenly, but it was a call to return to God.  It is up to us, however to recognize that calling and then find our way back to Him.

Yesterday while reading “Fathered by God”  I came to another realization about God’s plan and purpose for each of us.  My Dad was an amazing man.  He guided my growth even through times where I was an idiot and his influence helped me through the challenges of my teenage years and early adult years in how I dedicated myself to my family and made sure that I was always there for my wife and children.

When I lost my Dad however, I felt I lost that influence.  Who do I turn to now?  Who can I confide in and seek out for guidance as I continue to grow.  At 35 years old, I’m not close to done growing.  The answer came to is that while I lost my earthly Dad, I now had to turn my true Father.  My creator, my redeemer, and my sustainer.  He is the one that I now had to turn to for my guidance and my continued growth to live my existence in God’s image.  I am still an unfinished man and have a great deal more to go.  My time spent immersing myself in God’s Word has become my time to turn now to my Father for my continued growth.  My Dad, Rocky, brought me a long way, and now God is there bring me the rest of the way.  I turn to God for his guidance, Jesus for his salvation, and the power of Holy Spirit.  That is what I now have to bring me through life and to live out my purpose, fully alive in God.  The Glory of God is Man Fully Alive!

So what does this mean for you, especially you men out there who are wondering through life unsure of yourself or who to turn to.  I can testify that we are ALL meant to turn to our True Father.  He is the one that created us and is the the true end of all things.  Turn to scripture and I promise you that the Word of God WILL bring you a long way.  If you allow yourself to open up to God and the Good News, I promise you that your life will forever change.  He has brought me so far these last few years, since I fully turned to Him.  As I said, I have a long way to go still, but I am so thankful that I still have my Father to turn to.  He will never abandon us and will bring us through any storm we come across in life.  He will give you the strength to battle the evil one and sustain you through.  All we have to do is return to Him.

How Will Your Next Chapter Read?

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As I have shared with you many times, my faith and life journey has gone through an amazing adventure the past few years.  It has led me from a dark shadow and doubt to a renewed sense of who I am and who I want to be based on what I know that God has called me to be.  Last year, a colleague and friend of mine gave me a book called “Wild at Heart” by John Eldredge.  With everything I had going one, it took me a while to really sit down and read this book.  A couple of months back, I made a tough decision to step away from my doctorate studies to refocus myself.  At that point I decided to finally start this book.  For me, I am not one that can sit and read a book in a weekend.  This was a slow and deliberate process.  But what a journey, let me tell you.  This book has ignited me in my journey with God and my journey and growth as a man, husband, and father.  I feel I am more ready than ever to take on this world and use my life testimony to share with others and relate with others in their lives and where they have been and where they are going.

We all have a calling in life and reason for why God created each and every one of us.  There are many who never realize that calling and slump through life complacent, miserable, and never know what it means to truly come alive.  “Wild at Heart” reaffirmed my belief that we are called by God to a purpose and it is up to us to answer that calling.  To not let the evil of this world tell you that you can’t.  You have a chance to get away from the dredges of everyday complacency and get out there and live the life you were created for.  For you men out there, this is a calling for you to live as the adventurous and wild spirit that you were intended to be.  Remember you were created in God’s image.  Everything that is God is about the risk, adventure, strength, and courage that is reflected in men.  Remember as boys, we were wild.  We wanted to explore, we built forts, played war, looked for new adventures.  That is the embodiment of God in us as men.  When we grow, we tend to lose that sense of adventure as the world begins to call.

I challenge each and everyone of you to spend time in prayer and scripture every day.  Ask God to show you what He has called and created you for.  He will show it.  I promise you.  And don’t fall into the trap that once you figure that out, everything will change instantly.  It will take time and dedication to get there, but you can do it.  It’s like I tell my wife as she slowly builds her photography business.  Each day is a growth journey.  The more time you put into the effort, the better you get, and the closer you get to fulfilling that purpose.

We all have the opportunity to come alive folks.  Focus on those key areas of life that will help you come alive.  It is up to you to write the next chapter of your life and where your journey takes you.  What will your next chapter in life read?  Will you continue to live a complacent life that does not help you come alive, or will you step into the calling that you were created for.  Let’s all step up to this challenge.  I sure will and I hope that you will join me.  We can all get there.  

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4 Years in the Whirlwind

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I have not taken the time to write as much as I would like these last few months.  A few blog posts here and there, but as often happens to us, life and priorities get in the way.  This morning, however, I felt compelled to make sure I wrote something new.  I’ve mentioned this some in my writing and its definitely something that has taken precedence in my book.  4 years ago today, on October, 13, 2009, my entire family and I were tossed into what I call, the whirlwind.  On that day, we lost my Dad after a terrible rush hour accident that claimed his life and two of his co-workers, with injuries to six more of his co-workers.  It was a day we never imagined would happen and dealing with that tragedy was something we never thought we would have to deal with.  We were forced to come to terms with a lot from dealing with our own struggles of faith in why this happened, to dealing with the person that set this event rolling by an act of stupidity.  It was an emotional roller coaster that still plays out to this day.

In dealing with this tragedy, I have had to come to terms with a lot in my own life.  First, the loss of my Dad in such a tragic way, profoundly scarred me and sent me into a dark shadow for many, many months.  I tried to find my way through my faith, but honestly, it was not strong enough yet.  For some time, I did not think a thing else in life mattered.  If something like this could happen to someone like my Dad, who was a wonderful man of God, and an awesome Father, what was the point of things.  I was not angry at God, but I just did not know what to make of it all.

After the first year or so, I began to refocus my life and worked to really make sense of all of the emotions I’ve had to deal with.  I have a wife and children that depend on me and I knew that I could not spend my life dealing like that.  I began to read more books related to faith and then finally found my way to the Word of God.  I made it a point to read every single day.  I knew that through God’s word I could find the answers I was looking for in life and a way to make sense of all of of the emotions I dealt with from this tragedy.

Through this journey, I have learned the power that forgiveness has.  I’ve learned that despite the anger I have for the one that set this whirlwind in motion, I knew that forgiving was one of the only ways to release that anger.  It freed me from the burden of constantly worrying about this guy and was a huge step to move forward.  From there, I learned to simply surrender to God’s will.  To let him take control of my life and understand that He is in control and has a purpose for everything we deal with in life.

So what of this purpose?  What does it all mean?  Truth be told, my brother, Rob, said it best at my Dad’s funeral when he said that we may never know all of the answers until we go to meet God face-to-face.  I do however think there is a reason that has been revealed now.  We often hear the question of why God allows these terrible things to happen.  The purpose of it all is quite simple actually.  These tragedies are are allowed as they bring us back to God.  Often times people stray away.  I’m know exception, but through tragedy, many times people find there way back to God as they search for their own answers.  This was no exception.  I sometimes think that God looked at Dad, knowing he already had a devoted son, and this was a way to grab the attention of the rest of us.

We all deal with tragedies in different ways.  The bottom-line however is that through any tragedy in life, if we surrender and turn to God and find redemption through Christ, there is nothing we cannot overcome.  Nothing is impossible through Him.  Let Him take control.  We will always go through all of the pain and emotions that come with any tragedy, but know that God loves you through all of that.  He is there with you and waiting for you to turn to Him and I promise you, that you will find the healing and the power you need.  He is so Awesome!  If I did not have Him to turn to, I don’t know were I would be now, 4 years later.  I certainly would not be here writing this.  His love and His healing is so real, if you choose to seek it out, surrender, and let Him take hold of your life.

Thank you for reading.  I am closing today with this little prayer that you can say just help on your own journey.  God Bless you all!

Father, thank you who you are and for continuing to love us everyday.  Help us to love you and love each other more and more each day through all of the events of life. Thank you for the redemption we have through your son Jesus Christ.  Guide us each day as we learn to seek you more and let you take hold of our lives.  In Christ’s name – Amen

Dad and me Christmas 2008

Let The Spirit Work Through You

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Do you ever recognize that feeling that God is using you for a purpose?  That feeling comes where you feel like you are being called to something bigger than you have ever faced before.  It is quite a feeling and many of us meet that calling in different ways.  Some embrace it and let the Spirit guide them while others chose to maybe stay on the sideline and not act.  That choice can come from fear of the unknown or lack of faith in where you are being guided.

There are also those times where you may feel that you are not being guided or you are just not sure what it is God wants you to do.  These feelings may come in times of uncertainty.  Maybe career disappointments, challenges with your family, or any of a number of other things.  Maybe you were pursuing a career opportunity you hoped and prayed would pan out.  Then at the end it does not pan out and you are left wondering what next.  My brother Rob, said something to me yesterday that was pretty powerful.  We recognize God’s hand during those joyous times, but we often fail to realize that even in those times of what may be disappointment, it is really the God’s hand sheltering you.  Maybe protecting you from what may not be a good road or maybe he is just not ready for you to move just yet.  Believe me, when He is ready for you to move, He will move you.

Life presents so many challenges and also so many reasons to celebrate.  We were created for God’s purpose, so the best thing that any of us can do is to get out of our own way and let His Spirit work through us.  We allow that to take place and we will be guided to where we were meant to be.  It may be a bumpy road.  It may be filled with many trials, but you will be that much stronger for it in the end.  St. Francis of Assisi is quoted as saying, “If God can work through me, He can work through anyone.”  That’s just another example of how important each of us are.  We all have part to play if we just let the Spirit work.  The Holy Spirit is always here to guide us.  Paul said in Romans 8:26, “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.”

So what stops you from opening up to God’s plan and letting Him work through you.  It may not always be evident, but He is always at work in our lives.  I’ve seen in through my family and friends and in my overall outlook of life and faith.  If you close off from God’s purpose for you, how can you ever expect t come alive fully.  Our spiritual growth is the foundation of who we are.  Without it, nothing will matter.

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Isn’t The Lord Simply Amazing?!?!?

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We’ve all heard that term, “The Lord works in mysterious ways.”  It’s amazing just how true and real that statement is.  I’ve learned throughout my life that He works in ways we just don’t see coming often times.  Maybe its through a tragedy.  Often times we may wonder what God is doing when something bad happens.  What I have learned though, is that those things happen in order to give us a chance to return to Him and glorify Him more.  It also allows us to gain strong glimpses of His goodness when he moves others to work.

My family and I received a wonderful view of this in the past couple of days.  My son, Brandon, was diagnosed as a Type 1 Diabetic this past fall.  Obviously, with all of that comes added costs of buying insulin, monitors, test strips, and doctor follow-ups.  It was certainly a challenging time frame for the family and most certainly my son as he has learned to live this new life as diabetic.  He has adjusted to this so much better than I could have ever hoped though and does not let it run his life.  In fact, he was named by our local Children’s Healthcare system as their Comeback Athlete of the Month and now is being voted on for Athlete of the Year.  He is a competitive travel baseball player and did not let it stop him at all.

With that said, this week, at our doorstep, there was delivered a whole host of diabetic supplies.  A new monitor, test strips, needles, and more and will be replenished every three months at no cost to us.  Someone, somewhere put our name in to this Christian Foundation that is now supplying these supplies on going.  I can’t even begin to tell you what an amazing blessing that was to our family.  To know that a substantial portion of this permanent cost is now covered is simply amazing.

This was just further proof of God’s amazing and mysterious work.  It is quite evident that His Spirit moved through someone to do something that we never saw coming and was a tremendous blessing to our family.  We are so grateful to this mysterious person and recognize that this was God’s work.

If you ever have a doubt that God is not at work in your lives.  Think again.  He is very much there through every aspect of our lives.  He has a purpose for everything He does and that we encounter in life.  Challenges come to Glorify Him and wonderful things happen to Glorify Him.  It all comes back to God.  Don’t lose site of the Lord and take time to speak to Him through prayer.  he will intervene in your life.  Many times in ways you never see coming.  He is always there and I am so thankful to have a God that loves us that much and whose glory shines down everyday in our lives.

Don’t Wait For Happiness To Come To You

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You know all too often, we hit periods of time where for one reason or another, we just are not happy with ourselves or with the current status of our lives.  It may be circumstances with our work, maybe our career is not going the way we want to go, maybe things are not as happy as they should be in the home with strained relationships with one’s spouse or even children.  Maybe you have lost sight of God in your life because of circumstance and not sure he is playing a roll in your life.  It could be anything.  Many of us, including me ,have come to points where we are just flat our miserable and not sure when things can get better.

When we hit these points of depression and unhappiness we often find ourselves in a more negative state.  It becomes difficult to be positive and your not sure how thing can get better.  Like I said, I am no different.  What in the world do you do with that?  How can you get yourself out that rut and move toward a point where you are happy again with life and your direction?  I certainly had those questions.  About 8-9 years ago, my career was at a point where I was flat miserable everyday.  Nearly 4 years ago, I lost my Dad in a tragic accident and thought, what does anything matter anymore.  I was in bad way mentally, even though most people would not know it.

First over the past couple of years, I chose to walk closer with God each day and that reestablished my relationship with Christ.  Then I realized, no matter what they situation is, I have to make the choice to get myself out of a rut and find the happiness that helps me come alive again.  I have done a lot of reading and a lot of soul searching in recent years.  I’ve quoted Earl Nightingale many times especially from the “Strangest Secret” when he says, “We become what we think about.”  If we set our mines on the negative we will never find the positive.  We have to gear our minds to think toward the positive, to think toward the goals we want, to think toward happiness.  It is all purely mental.  You have to have the  mental toughness to not let circumstance keep you from reaching your potential.

Going back to Earl Nightingale, he also said, “Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it’s at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored.”  We have to find what makes us happy.  We cannot wait for it come falling in our laps because it won’t.

I’ve come to realize that our time that God gives us on this Earth is very precious and is gone in the blink of an eye.  Don’t stand by and let it move past not make the most of the time you’re given.  It can be gone in a snap.  Don’t waste your time on the negative.  Things will happen in life.  It is a part of life.  But you need to have the mental toughness to bounce back and move forward with life.  Paul said in Philippians 4:8, “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.  Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”  You have to fix your mind on the positive.  Fix your mind on what is worthy and not where the adversary wants you to go.  Fix your mind on Christ and he most definitely will guide out of the difficulties you face to freedom and happiness.  You have to make that choice and not wait for it come to you.

Conquering Fears That Tell You No

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We all have fears in life, don’t we.  There are those things that we encounter that tell us that we cannot do something.  What fears have you encountered?  It could be anything from riding a roller-coaster, flying in a plane, fear of new opportunities, fear of failure, and even, yes, fear of success.  Fear is something that is so stifling, that it can keep you from perusing your dreams and goals and force you down paths that are completely contradictory to anything that you would otherwise do.  Fear can keep you stuck in a job that makes you flat out miserable.  I know many that have been there.  Either they become too secure in their job and its benefits or they just don’t want to risk going on to something new for fear of the unknown.  This fear can suck the spirit out of you and keep you from ever coming alive.

Dr. Charles Stanley had a great quote about fear.  He said, “Fear stifles our thinking and actions. It creates indecisiveness that results in stagnation. I have known talented people who procrastinate indefinitely rather than risk failure. Lost opportunities cause erosion of confidence, and the downward spiral begins.”  Does this sound like you or anyone you know?  The fear can come from a number of areas.  It can be your own psychological fears of moving forward or it could those naysayers that constantly want to tell you that you can’t do this or you shouldn’t do that.  Either way, as Dr. Stanley said, fear stifles your thinking and actions and can result in lost opportunities.

The struggle that must be faced by everyone is how to conquer that fear.  What can you do to brush aside the naysayers and that nagging feeling that keeps you from pursuing the goals you have ahead and what God has intended for you?  Elbert Hubbard stated that “The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing that you will make one.”  We all know there will times where you will not succeed in one venture or another.  If you never try however, for fear of failing, then you have once again let fear overcome you and your goals.

So how do you conquer those fears?  The biggest thing is to put your trust in God that He will lead you through the challenges and toward the path He wants you on.   Psalm 56:3-4 says, “But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.  I praise God for what he has promised.  I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?”  That’s self evident there.  What can anyone or anything do to stop you if you put your trust in God.  He will help you overcome your fears when you trust in Him and let Him take control.

With your trust in God, you can muster the strength to overcome any fear and follow your dreams.  Les Brown stated that “A lot of people do not muster the courage to live their dreams because they are afraid to die.”  Don’t be afraid of where the path goes.  Follow your dreams and goals and follow them without fear.  I have a frame on my wall at home that says “The Will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.”  Know that He is always there.  Don’t be afraid of failure.  Don’t be afraid of success.  Don’t be afraid of the unknown.  Have faith that the path you follow is the one you are meant to be on.  You keep your mind fixed on those goals and they will come to fruition.

So don’t ever let anyone or anything tell you that you can’t follow your passions and dreams.  You can conquer those fears.  I have had my share of those fears over the years of where I may end up.  It is now in God’s hands and he is guiding down the path I was intended to take.  You can do the same thing.  It takes time, so don’t let that stop you either.  Stay focused and you can conquer those fears and come alive!