Tag Archives: bible study

Why Pressure and Stress Don’t Have to Steal Your Joy

l love summer! It takes forever to come to Pennsylvania, but when it finally arrives, I am here for it. I love the break from school and schedules and the freedom to just enjoy summer. I love being outside in the sun, extra time to spend in my morning time, and all the iced coffee!

Pressure and Stress

But even as I enjoy summer break, I am conscious of the fact that school begins again in just a few short weeks. Once school starts, the busiest part of our year kicks off. While that’s really good, it also brings with it lots of pressure and stress. Right now is a good time to think about how we’ll handle that stress and pressure before it’s actually here.

Psalms 119 has something great to say about handling stress and pressure that we need to take note of.

As pressure and stress bear down on me,
I find joy in your commands.

Psal 119:143 NLT

Two Opposing Thoughts

This verse seems so contradictory. You have two different, opposing thoughts. Pressure and stress…and joy. How do those work together? The writer of Psalms understood that the greater the outside pressure or force on us, the greater the internal pressure needs to be so that we don’t get crushed. The way to withstand great amounts of pressure externally is to have an equal and opposite pressure internally.

We have to get strong inside…spiritually if we’re going to make it. We have to develop those spiritual muscles of faith, trust, obedience, and joy. The author of this Psalm tells us that the way to fight back under pressure and stress is to find joy. Where do we find that joy? In His Word.

A Different Way

The greater the stress and pressure, the more important spending time with God becomes. Yet, we often do just the opposite. We cut short our time with God to get to our work sooner, so we can get more accomplished. As the stress increases, we take on more and more just to try to keep our head above water.

Yet, God shows us a different way of dealing with stress and pressure. He tells us to bring our burdens to Him and let Him carry them for us.

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

I Peter 5:7 NLT

The days we feel the most stress and pressure are the days that it’s crucial to fit in our morning time routine. We can’t skip our time with God on those days because that’s the only way we’re going to find the joy we need to keep going.

More Encouragement

Check out my post, My Favorite Bible Studies to do This Summer for recommendations for Bible studies and be sure to check out Manney Resources for all things morning time routine—journals, Bible studies, and more.

Habakkuk: From What if to Even If

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I recently finished my Habakkuk study from The Daily Grace Co. Habakkuk has some of my favorite verses in the entire Bible buried at the very end of the book. So I really enjoyed my study. In that study, they write about this thought–from what if to even if.

Conversation between God and Habakkuk

In this short book, we are given a glimpse of a conversation between God and Habakkuk that is absolutely fascinating to study. God tells Habakkuk that the Babylonian empire, as cruel and evil as they are, is going to rise and take over Judah. Habakkuk is shocked and grieved and obviously terrified. He understands that God is judging Judah for their sins, but with Babylon? Babylon is even more wicked. God tells him to be patient. The time for Babylon’s judgment will come, but he will use them to judge his own people.

Habakkuk was given clear insight into the coming judgement. God’s words came to pass, as they always do. And the Babylonians invade Judah and destroy it and carry off its citizens. This is the last time the Jews have their own nation until the 1950s.

Habakkuk’s Response

If you haven’t read Habakkuk, it’s sobering and so worth reading and studying. It’s only three chapters long, but there’s a lot packed in there. My favorite part of the book comes in the last few verses, but before that is Habakkuk’s response of fear.

I trembled inside when I heard this;
    my lips quivered with fear.
My legs gave way beneath me,
    and I shook in terror.
I will wait quietly for the coming day
    when disaster will strike the people who invade us.

Habakkuk 3:16

That one verse gives us such an insight into what Habakkuk is thinking and feeling, similar to what we would feel if we’d been told our country was going to be invaded as part of God’s judgement.

Some of my Favorite Verses

And yet, the very next set of verses are some of Habakkuk’s finest and some of my most favorite.

Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
    and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails,
    and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields,
    and the cattle barns are empty,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
    I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
The Sovereign Lord is my strength!
    He makes me as surefooted as a deer,
    able to tread upon the heights.

Habakkuk 3:17-19

Agricultural Society

To understand these words, we have to remember that he lived in an agricultural society. Crops were everything. To have no crops, no fruit, no animals…this was devastation of their entire commerce system. This was starvation and desperation.

And yet, look how he responds. Even though all this happens, and it would, he says, “I will choose to rejoice. I will be joyful in God. God is my strength.” These thoughts from Habakkuk blow my mind. How can he respond this way?

Habakkuk’s Choice

The reason he could respond this way was that he had made a choice. He had already made the choice to serve God and joy in Him no matter what. So his what if was turned to even if. His worry of what if this happens turned to Even if this happens, I will trust God.

I don’t know what you might be facing right now. It may seem like you’re in a what if situation. How do you get through? You choose even if. Even if the bottom falls out, I will choose to trust God and find my joy in Him. Even if I get this diagnosis, I choose to trust God and find joy in Him. God is so much greater than our circumstances. We can find joy, no matter what comes our way. Because our joy is not dependent on circumstances.

More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out my post, A Roadmap to Building Deep Faith.

5 Great Products/Ideas to Start Your New Year Right

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I love that God gifts us the gift of new beginnings. New years and new days, fresh starts, a chance to begin again. The beginning of a new year is just like the beginning of a new day—a fresh start, a chance to begin again.

There are different views on the new year. Some people love making goals and resolutions for the year; some people think they’re a waste of time. I am solely on the writing down my dreams and goals for the year side. I love writing down what I want to accomplish for the year with God’s help, and I love looking at that list at the end of the year to see what I was able to accomplish.

No matter which side you fall on, we can all agree that the new year is a great time to push reset.

Some Great Resources for This New Year

If you want to get your year off to a great start, here are a few ideas to get you started.

Daring to Imagine Bible Study.

I finished the end of last year and the first few days of January with this Bible study from youversion. It really encouraged my heart and my creativity. I feel like it’s a great study to kick off the new year. If you want to be encouraged and inspired by what God could do with your life, check out this study. Just download youversion on your phone, if you haven’t already, and look for the plan Daring to Imagine by Rick Warren. You won’t be disappointed; I promise you that!

A Simplified Life.

I read this book by Emily Ley during the last few weeks of last year and loved it! All of Emily Ley books are great, and this one is no exception. I read several of her books last year, but I think this is a great one for a brand new year. It’s all about simplifying your life. She teaches you how to do that by decluttering your home, schedule, calendar, and making time for what’s most important. It’s both really practical with checklists and ideas, and inspirational—which is why I love the book. I think it’s the perfect January book!

Find your word for the year.

My word for the year is more of a phrase. I chose joyful and grateful spirit from Galatians 4. I want my focus this year to be a joyful and grateful spirit, to be joyfully grateful. So many of the problems we have could be taken care of if we simply chose to be grateful for what we’ve been gifted and chose joy. If you haven’t chosen a word for the year, Dayspring has a great quiz you can take. I’ve done that in years past and loved it!

Faithfully Stepping Journal.

If you don’t already journal every day as a part of your morning, I can’t encourage it enough. I use these journals every single morning for my morning time routine. It helps me stay on track every single day with my prayer life and my Bible reading. You don’t have to use these journals, but at least use something to write down what God is teaching you each and every day. It will stay with you much longer; I promise.

A to-do list.

It doesn’t sound like an amazing new year product, but it has the potential to change your life. Commit every day to writing down a list of what you need to accomplish for the day and sticking with it. I recommend using the spiral notebook system if you don’t already have a plan. Even if you don’t accomplish everything on your list for the day, at least it gets you accomplishing something. Very few days do I accomplish everything on my list, but it gives me a direction time and time again throughout the day.

These are just a few simple ideas to help get us back on track in this new year. What ideas do you have for a brand new year?

How Knowing the Names of God Can Help Me Today

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The Power of a Name

Names are so incredibly powerful. I didn’t really understand that concept until I began writing fiction books. It’s amazing the difference a name can make. I spend a lot of time thinking of names for my characters, because I have in mind everything about the character and I have to find the perfect name to suite them.

For instance, if I want a strong, male protector sort of a character in a fantasy world with swords and castles and horses, the name Bob is just not going to work in this context. There’s nothing wrong with the name Bob; it just isn’t going to work. The name Braenin works so much better in this instance. (I may or may not be working on my next fiction book; which is where I got this name.)

There is incredible power behind a name, especially the names of God. One of the goals Matt and I have is to create a devotional of the names of God. There is something about studying the names of God, especially in their original Hebrew language, that helps us to better understand God and his relationship with us.

The Names of God

I was reading in II Samuel a few weeks ago and read a few of God’s names with descriptions. I love it when God’s word defines itself.

The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior ;my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.
He is my refuge, my savior, the one who saves me from violence. I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies.
II Samuel 22:2-4

When we get overwhelmed or feel alone, we need to remember that God is everything we need. His names represent that. In these verses, he is our protection, place of safety, and our promise of good to come.

A great practice to do as a part of your morning time routine is to do a study on the names of God and focus on one for each day. Here’s a list of the names of God to start with.

For More Encouragement

If this resonates with you and you would like to dig deeper, My father-in-law told us about 52 Hebrew Words Every Christian Ought to Know. He’s really enjoying it, and I think it would be great for further study. If you are weary today and need encouragement, read my post Encouragement for the Weary Soul.