Category: faith

Thankfulness

We’ve come once again to the season of Thanksgiving—a time for family gatherings, good food, laughter, fun, and love. For many, it’s a time to celebrate and reflect on the blessings we’ve received throughout the year.

Taking this time to pause and truly think about what we’re thankful for is meaningful. Yet often, the holiday becomes just another day to enjoy turkey, dressing, and all the trimmings. We sometimes forget how many mornings we were blessed to wake up this year, how many breaths we were given, how many dangers we were spared. We made it home safely each day—whether driving, walking, or taking public transportation. We survived sickness, avoided accidents, overcame financial setbacks, kept a roof over our heads, and saw our children and families protected and provided for. All of it—every moment—was by grace and goodness.

But there are also those for whom this year didn’t go as smoothly. If things didn’t work out the way you hoped, as long as you are alive and have breath, there is still much to be thankful for. “The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still” (Exodus 14:14). This means don’t worry, don’t exhaust yourself trying to figure everything out, and don’t dwell on what went wrong. Even in the hardest moments, the battle is not yours alone.

People who are struggling often feel frustrated when told they should still be thankful. What they may not realize is that the person offering that encouragement likely had to go through something themselves. They learned to stand back up—sometimes many times—before they understood the truth of gratitude. So for those who recognize their blessings, and for those who are still searching for them, know this: God is with us and in control, no matter what things look like. “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). He is always working behind the scenes, fighting battles we cannot see. “There is no searching His understanding” (Isaiah 40:28). His ways are not our ways, but His ways are always better—even when we don’t understand.

So in the meantime, we can continue to be thankful—not only at Thanksgiving but every day. Gratitude opens the door for God to move on our behalf.

Be thankful this Thanksgiving, and every day forward in the coming years.

Happy Thanksgiving

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“Be Still: God’s Invitation to Rest”

Psalm 46:10; Isaiah 30:15; Exodus 14:14; Hebrews 13:5

The Sign in the Store That Stopped Me

I was out shopping the other day, moving quickly through the aisles, when a picture caught my eye: “Be still and know that I am God.” I walked past it—but couldn’t shake it. It felt like the Holy Spirit whispering, You’re going to need this reminder. Often. So I turned around and bought it.

That simple sign exposed something deep in me. I started remembering all the times I did not obey God’s invitation to be still. Instead, I pushed, strategized, worried, lost sleep, and tried to fix things in my own strength. And when my effort didn’t work, I just worried harder—sometimes even after praying, and sometimes without praying at all. No surprise: I wore myself out.

When Prayer Turns Into Panic

Have you ever prayed and then, when nothing changed right away, assumed God was taking too long—or maybe not going to answer at all? We shift from prayer to anxiety, from anxiety to frustration, and sometimes even into anger. In that swirl, we forget God’s promises and start imagining worst‑case outcomes instead of God’s best.

Scripture reminds us: God will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). While we are “waiting on God,” it’s often true that God is waiting on us—to trust Him, to slow down, to stop trying to muscle through what only He can do. Our part is to bring what we can do, and then release what we cannot to the One who sees the whole picture.

Why Stillness Matters

I’m not saying being still is easy. It isn’t. Everything in our culture rewards hustling, fixing, managing, controlling. But striving without surrender rarely speeds things up; more often, it slows what God is forming in us. Stillness is not passivity—it’s active trust.

God is sovereign. He sees what we cannot. Whatever the situation is—He’s got it. Our rest is found in remembering who is in control.

“In quietness and trust shall be your strength.” (Isaiah 30:15)

We may feel like quietness can’t help us, but anxiety and worry certainly don’t.

“The LORD will fight for you; you need only be still.” (Exodus 14:14)

What Does It Mean to “Be Still”?

Being still is more than sitting in silence. It’s a posture: heart surrendered, mind anchored, spirit attentive. Here are some practical ways to practice it.

1. Pause & Breathe Prayer

When worry spikes, stop and take a slow breath. Pray, “Lord, I know You are God. I place this (name it) in Your hands.”

2. Anchor in Scripture

Keep verses where you’ll see them—mirrors, phone lock screen, dashboard, that new wall art you felt led to buy. Let God’s Word interrupt anxious thoughts.

  • Psalm 46:10 – “Be still, and know that I am God.”
  • Isaiah 30:15 – “In quietness and trust shall be your strength.”
  • Exodus 14:14 – “The LORD will fight for you; you need only be still.”
  • Hebrews 13:5 – “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

3. Do What You Can—Release What You Can’t

Make two columns: My Part and God’s Part. Act faithfully on what is yours; pray and release what is His. Revisit the list when anxiety returns.

4. Schedule Stillness

Set aside a daily or weekly time to be with God: read, pray, journal, sit in silence, listen. Consistency trains your heart to settle more quickly when storms come.

5. Ask for Help

Stillness grows in community. Ask a friend to pray with you, check in, or remind you of God’s promises when you start to spiral.

When Life Hurts

Whatever you’re facing—sickness, loss, financial struggle, work pressures, family stress—God invites you to stillness in Him. Stillness does not deny the reality of pain; it anchors us in the greater reality of God’s presence and power.

So today, if you feel overwhelmed, remember that sign in the store—and the God who prompted me to turn around. He’s saying the same to you: Be still. Let Me be God.

A Simple Prayer

Lord, You are God and I am not. I lay down my need to fix what I cannot fix. Teach me to be still, to trust Your timing, and to rest in Your presence. Fight for me where I cannot fight for myself. Thank You that You will never leave me or forsake me. Amen.

What helps you stay still when life feels out of control? I’d love to hear your practices and verses in the comments.

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Belief vs. Unbelief: The Impact on Our Lives

They say that seeing is believing, or I’ll believe it when I see it, but with God believing is seeing (Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen) so the question is what do we truly believe? Do we only believe when our prayers are answered in the way and time frame that we want? Or are we trusting God to be God and answer them in the way that is best for us.

I wonder how much of our beliefs shape and form the trajectory of our lives? We can say we believe in many things, but our words and actions can tell an entirely different story, I wonder how much of what we do, or do not believe, leads us to try to solve and handle our own problems instead of relying on God?  How much of what we do believe causes us to believe other people over God. Or our circumstances over God.

If we truly believe in something but we don’t act accordingly, as if we do believe, by speaking what we believe in, not worrying and instead resorting to complaining starting to fear and becoming impatient, when something we’re believing for doesn’t happen on our timeline, then are we truly believing?

 For some it may be believing in things in the world to change or be different or finding that wife or husband or our soulmate, or healing or starting a business, or becoming financially stable, but no matter what we’re believing for do we really believe, if we don’t believe enough to wait for it?

Do we continue to believe when things are getting worse instead of better? Or when it looks like it’s not going to happen? Do we continue to believe when the healing is not happening fast enough, or when we’ve lost a loved one? Do we continue to believe God is still a good God in those type of circumstances? Do we believe or tend to question everything? Do we believe when things are difficult and it seems like everything is going wrong, or do we believe that things should not have happened in a certain way? Or should not have happened to us at all.

Often times we question the unfairness in the things that we go through, taking us further into unbelief, and sometimes causing us to give up or to believe that things will truly work out for our good.

What we fail to understand, is our unbelief is what causes our prayers to sometimes be stalled, we say we believe but act and talk in a way that says we truly don’t. (Hebrews 11:6 says without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those that earnestly seek him)

So, while we’re waiting on God, he’s waiting on us to get in line with the word of God. There often may be times in our lives when things do not make sense and seem so unfair, and we may need to go through the process of questioning God as to why something may have happened the way it did, and asking God to help us through it, but even in those times we must get back to our belief in God, believing that God is always a good God, even when we don’t understand.

So in the best as well as the worst of times believe God, believe that he is a God that does not lie (Numbers 23.19) believe that he answers our prayers not always in the way that we want but in the ways that are best for us, believe that he will help us through even in times when we are having trouble believing, Believe that God is the same yesterday today and forever (Hebrews 13:8)

There may come a time in all of our lives when we stop believing, just one of the times for me, was when my mother died early on in life, I could not understand or believe that a God that loved me could let my mother die, and it took me a while to believe that God is still good even when we can’t make sense of things that we don’t understand. For some of you it may be losing a loved one, it may be and illness, it may be a financial problem or a disaster that has happened, but whatever it is, we can still believe that God is good.

Just remember that believing is seeing, not the other way around.

Posted on by normascott21 0