15 Scriptures For Overcoming Lies, Fears And Doubts
When we go through dark, lonely times it’s easy for our thinking to get cloudy, to forget the things we know, and to get confused. It’s easy to start believing lies instead of truth. Written by Sarah McGuire
When we go through dark, lonely times it’s easy for our thinking to get cloudy, to forget the things we know, and to get confused. It’s easy to start believing lies instead of truth.
~ Sarah McGuire
During my doubting, fighting-daily-for-faith years, I started a list of thoughts I struggled with and Bible verses that I could go to in order to combat those lies or struggles. This was nothing formal or beautifully done, just a long, narrow sheet of paper torn from my magnetic grocery list pad.
When I came across a verse that spoke to me and could help with a thought I struggled with, I’d jot down the thought and the coordinating verse reference. I left it in my Bible so it was handy to add to it. As it grew over months and years, I had my own personalized list of lie-combatting, confusion-clearing, truth-telling, uplifting Scriptures.
Here is my list, maybe you struggle with some of the same thoughts I did and you’ll find some of these helpful. Some were quite personal and aren’t normally references I would associate the with topic, but the day I read them, it was clear God’s Holy Spirit was speaking it to me, so I put it on my list.
I am valuable – Mt. 10: 30-31; Isa 43:4; Zeph 3:17
It’s more than I can bear. I can’t do it (overwhelmed, inadequate, worn out) – Zech 4:6, Deut 31:8, Ps 37:5, 2 Cor 1:8-9, Isa 43:2
God may not watch out for me in this situation – Haggai 2:19, 23
Troubled, worried, stressed – John 14:1
Overwhelmed by evil or suffering – Phil 4:8
In need of help – Isa 30:18
God has forgotten me – Isa 40:27, Isa 49:14-16
If I seek God, I’ll find God – Isa 65:24
God isn’t in charge of this world – Daniel 4:17, 25, 32
Worried about needs – Mt 6: 33, Rom 8:32, Isa 65:24, Phil 4:19
God always hears me – Jn 11:41, 42
Not sure what to do – Ps 32:8
I’m broken – 2 Cor 1:8-9
God isn’t listening or acting – Mt 6:8, 2 Chron 7:14, Lk 11:9, 10
It’s useless to pray – James 5:16
None of us are perfectly the same. Satan is good at finding our vulnerable spots and the lies that will have the greatest power in our lives. I encourage you to start your own list and let God speak His truth into your life.
Written by Sarah McGuire
A Mentor During Hard Times
Have you ever had those “ah ha” moments? Sometimes they are that one piece that helps everything else fit together and sometimes they are so obvious that you don’t know why you didn’t think of it before. Written by Jonathan McGuire
Have you ever had those “ah ha” moments? Sometimes they are that one piece that helps everything else fit together and sometimes they are so obvious that you don’t know why you didn’t think of it before.
I was helping our youngest son fill out a form for an online contest, when I had just such an “ah ha” moment. One of the questions on the form asked him who he considered to be a mentor of his. He went through the obvious answers of his grandparents, his mom and his dad. Frankly, I was excited to see that I still made the list. It was his last answer that surprised me and made me think. The answer was God/the Holy Spirit.
At first, I wanted to say that he couldn’t say that. I wanted to tell him that wasn’t what the question meant. It reminded me of the old joke where a Sunday school teacher would ask the students a question and the students would always give the answer of “Jesus.” It didn’t matter what the question was.
After we talked, our son reminded me who our God, specifically the Holy Spirit is. He is always with us and He helps us in understanding God’s word. He convicts us. He teaches us.
The definition of a mentor is an experienced and trusted advisor. Synonyms are a guide, confidant, counselor, spiritual leader, and therapist. For those of us, who have a relationship with Christ, the word “mentor” so wonderfully describes who the Holy Spirit is to us.
As followers of Christ, the Holy Spirit is our mentor, our counselor, our comforter, our guide, our confidant who lives within us (Romans 8:9).
Do you ever get stuck in those moments of wanting to give up? Do you ever feel like you are alone in this journey and like a complete failure? Perhaps you are struggling with God, His promises and wondering why He would ever allow your child to struggle with the pain they are experiencing. Maybe you are in the process of making some difficult decision and you feel like it’s a no win situation.
We often go through life, trying to make it day to day on our own. There is a feeling that we should be able to “pull ourselves up by our bootstraps.” Our pain is so deep and vulnerable that we don’t dare open up to those who are close to us but keep it buried somewhere.
In those moments, remember that if you are a follower of Christ, you have a mentor, a counselor, a comforter and a guide. You have someone that knows your fears, your feelings of guilt, and the depths of your struggles. You have someone that will guide you to the truth, and our hope.
Written by Jonathan McGuire
Jonathan McGuire is the father of two sons and the co-founder of Hope Anew, a nonprofit that comes alongside the parents of children impacted by disability on a spiritual and emotional level. You can follow Hope Anew on Facebook here.
When I Feel Alone & Forgotten
Do you have any verses in the Bible that are extra meaningful to you and that encourage you when you feel alone, overwhelmed and like no one gets it?
Do you have any verses in the Bible that are extra meaningful to you and that encourage you when you feel alone, overwhelmed and like no one gets it?
A couple of verses I love are Isaiah 40:26 & 27 which say, “Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing. O Jacob, how can you say the LORD does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?”
I have lived out in the country most of my life. I love being in nature and outdoors. Throughout my life I’ve been able hike and backpack in a few different mountain ranges. At my current stage of life and where we live, a walk around the pond on our property or a short hike at the local state park still lets me enjoy nature frequently.
Several weeks ago, my husband and I were out for a walk at night. The air was so fresh and clean and prompted me to take big refreshing breaths filling my lungs to capacity and releasing it all. We stopped, looking up at the stars. They were so bright and gorgeous and twinkling. The sky was full of them. And we noticed a big, bright orange one that I had never noticed before. A quick check on a phone app quickly told us it was Mars. We stood there and marveled at it, then went and got the boys out of bed so they could see Mars too. They laid down in the driveway and we soon discovered we were in the midst of a meteor shower and shooting stars were regularly darting across the sky. I laid down on the driveway with them and marveled at it all.
That brings me back to Isaiah 40:26, “Who created all the stars?...He brings them out…one after another, calling each by its name…not a single one is missing.” When I feel alone and forgotten, I find that it’s important for me to reflect on verses like this one. Verses that remind me who God is, “Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing.” I may feel alone and forgotten. But that’s not true. This God is MY God. I’m his beloved child. He created all of these stars and planets and meteors. He knows each and every star by name and brings each one out every night. How much more does he know MY name? He even knows the number of hairs on my head. He sees and knows my joy and my pain. If you doubt it, check out verse 27. And then there’s the end of verse 28, “No one can measure the depths of his understanding.” Not only does he see and know, he understands fully, completely, beyond measure. And, if he is your God, the same is true for you. You’re not alone or forgotten or overlooked. He sees you. He knows your joy and pain and he understands.
Written by Sarah McGuire, Co-Founder of Hope Anew