Life shifts and we change.  There is something new in the air.  We question and redefine our priorities.  This is part of being alive!  We call the big changes transformations or conversions.  What about small changes?  The little steps we take towards God. What about those?  Does that change us?

A few years ago I started asking the Holy Spirit, every morning, to guide me.  Just for one day.  Now in the morning, I start my prayers with “Holy Spirit, guide me today.”  It is a simple prayer that has changed my life.

I am closer to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit than I have ever been.  My faith has grown and now I trust in God more than I do in man.  Looking back along this journey, I see God pulling me closer step by baby step.

In 2020 our lives shifted.  We have walked into a hurricane of fear.  Maybe there are people with no fear.  I am not one of them.  Fear has been a part of me for as long as I can remember.  There is a lot of advice on how to get over fear.  I worked on it, swallowed it, and acted unafraid.  Pushed fear away from me and faced it in the eye.  I can tell you when fear pursues you none of these methods work for long.

A virus crisis has doctors and politicians panicking.  The media runs on speculation and conflicting advice.  The shutdowns fuel the specter of doom.  We mix in murder.  What follows is judgment, unforgiveness, mayhem, and violence.  Mob mentality scents the air with an unholy smoke and fear swirls in the air we breathe.  This is not from God.  It carries none of his trademarks.

He brings love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. [Galatians 5:22-23]

I almost fell for the fear trap.  I know enough about microbiology to make me worry.  Don’t think I didn’t fall for the fear just because I’ve been walking with the Lord and asking for guidance.  Oh, I certainly did.

What went through my head went something like this:  What if this new strand of cold/flu is like Ebola?  How will we survive? What does a ventilator feel like?  It must be awful.  It’s sweeping across China, and Europe.  What will we do?  Hurry! Hurry! Run! Run! Hide! Hide!  It’s ridiculous, I know.  But my mind glommed onto the fear first.

Do you see it?  When I look back I see I was not trusting God.  I still got up and asked the Holy Spirit to guide me through my day.  And he did, step by step.  Looking back on the path we walked together strengthens my Trust in Him and the fear dissolves.

What we see in America today and in God stands in stark contrast to each other.  When I ask for His guidance.  It doesn’t matter what I am afraid of, I choose to follow Christ.  He is my peace.

When I started my blog, I thought I would wander and find my way through this big transition in my life.  It didn’t work out that way.  I found a guide to help me navigate the narrow path.

Now during the perfect fear storm, I am walking with my shepherd guide through the valley of the shadow of death.  This way I can believe what God said in Isaiah 41:10:

“Fear not, for I am with you;

Be not dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you,

Yes, I will help you,

I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

The one little change I made a few years ago reset my thinking.  No, it is not perfect.  I still fall into fear.  By asking my Shepherd to guide me daily, I find the fear melts away.  I cannot explain this.  My mind does not understand.  But here is my experience:

When I handle fear with man’s advice, it returns every time when something to fear presents itself.  if I battle fear on my own, the situation gets worse and generates more fear.

Walking along the footpath with the Shepherd and yielding to His guidance.  The fear leaves.  A miracle happens.  The fear dissolves or melts away.  I walk through the storm and the valley of the shadow of death and fear no evil.  It does not say it will not harm me, sadden me, grieve me, or anger me.  Psalm 23:4 simply states, “I will fear no evil; For You are with me;”

I need my Shepherd to guide me.  His rod nudges me back on the footpath and his staff pulls me back from the brink of fear.  Through this practice I know He is with me, He is my God; He will strengthen, help, and uphold me with His righteous hand.

Blessed be the Lord God Almighty.  May He bless and guide you away from your brink today.  May the Peace that passes all understanding settle over you, your families and homes today.  In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

May the peace of God walk with you today.

Milly

P.S. All references are from the New King James Version