Category Archives: Fear

Thoughts of Peace.. When You Have None of Your Own

I’ve never been one for sending “good thoughts” to someone who is in crisis. You ‘ve seen the comments on a Social Media Post where someone is sharing their devastating situation they’re in and well intentioned subscribers are commenting “sending positive thoughts your way!” When you’re in the throes of a major crisis, “religious” or not, you want powerful prayers sent up on your behalf, not mere fluffy good thoughts.

Our Nation is in deep turmoil and breakdown. You may be in a crisis of some sort yourself. But I would propose ironically, that you DO need though, not only prayers sent up on your behalf, but you also need some stabilizing and prophetic THOUGHTS OF PEACE when you have none of your own.

Thoughts- as in the kind of thoughts that God thinks towards you, expressed in Jeremiah 29:11:

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.“

There’s an awful lot of demonic and evil thinking that’s going on in our Nation lately- and many are not sure where these downright evil thoughts and agendas are coming from. Evil thoughts lead to evil plans which leads to a host of evil plans or an “agenda”. Freedoms have been trampled on, protective borders have been broken through, food sources have been targeted and tainted, questions abound as to what’s safe, and on and on. That’s an obvious assessment of whats been happening these last couple years in our country, some would say.

But the next statement I’m going to make is not an obvious one: If you’ve never cared about, or desired to be in one, or if you never believed they even existed, you are now in a spiritual war. (And perhaps unwittingly in another kind of war as well. But we’re not addressing that in this post).

It’s a battlefield out there, every day. And in your home as well- if you’re reading or watching any kind of news sources and updates and factual reporting which has managed to get through to you. It’s an onslaught for your mind to take in. It’s affecting your spirit, your emotions, your physical well being. Every time you hear about another explosion or derailment or contamination or health scare or shut down of any sort, your mind is trying to take that all in, at the same time that you’ve got the job to somehow stay cool, calm, and collected.

What thoughts are running through your mind every time you hear or read of something frightening? For most of us, it’s: I can’t believe this is happening! What happened to our country? Who’s going to fix this? Can this be fixed? What’s really the truth behind this? and…How much worse is this going to get??

These obviously are NOT thoughts of peace. And I’m not going to propose you need to quickly and mindlessly recite some magic mantra of “Everything will be ok, Everything will be ok” .

There is NO Peace in just words themselves. BUT THERE IS PEACE AND POWER IN THE ONE WHO UTTERS THESE WORDS TO US!

And when God speaks about knowing the thoughts and plans that He is thinking towards us, we need to understand that whatever God thinks about and plans on, manifests and becomes real. His thoughts are intentional, they are directional, and they result and culminate in new life, new miracles, new hope, and new ways in the wilderness, and a way out of the wilderness.

Here’s we we get prophetic- as in speaking forth the truth, speaking what is true even when it doesn’t look true, speaking the words of God by faith even though our heart is racing. This is where we speak to that mountain and tell it to be moved, just as Jesus instructed:

“I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” Matt 17:20

“But Lauren, Jesus said we have to speak to the mountain. What does that have to do with thoughts? ” you ask? You’re absolutely right- we need to speak to impossible situations with the authority God gives us.

BUT MORE THAN SPEAKING TO THAT MOUNTAIN, WE NEED TO HAVE THE RIGHT THOUGHTS ABOUT IT FIRST! Because the Bible tells us that out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth SPEAKS! What you’re thinking about, what you’ve stayed quiet about out of fear, what your heart is in turmoil about- all that leads to what will come out of your mouth…and what won’t come out of your mouth. Will you address that mountain before you or will you stay quiet and forfeit your authority to address it ?

Your words have power, yes, but your thoughts deep down inside are busy concluding things and rendering important decisions and convictions. This is the arena of Faith which gives unction to our prophetic declarations, proclamations and prayers. Simmer all day long on circuitous anxious and paralyzing thoughts and you’ll pray prayers of pleading and desperation. Its almost a form of mental torment to get caught in pleading and begging like that. God does not intend that for His children!

But stabilize your thoughts on what God says and promises, and bring those fears to Him, exchange those anxious thoughts for HIS thoughts on the matter, and receive from His Word your words of intercession and proclamations of peace that you have the right to utter- well then everything changes.

Some days I have no thoughts of peace , of my own. I can wake up and realize I’ve been battling anxious thoughts in my dreams and I wake up to more bad news in the world, and my own honest thoughts as I look with bleary eyes about me, are: This is bad. This is pure evil. Everywhere I look. If I stay with those thoughts, my actions and my prayers that day are going to be ineffective in helping to bring anything good or godly into my life, or my corner of the world.

But when I don’t have any powerful, life changing, thoughts of peace of my own, I turn to God. I say “Holy Spirit, what are you thinking here?” I want God to permeate not only my thoughts, but my thought patterns. I want my thoughts to be super charged by His Word and by the prophetic unction of Holy Spirit.

Then my thoughts will be not only thoughts of peace and shalom that I can bask in, just like David who had a feast prepared for him by God, in the presence of his enemies- but I can DO something with those thoughts! They will lead me into productive prayer. They will lead me into speaking supernatural peace over volatile situations, and these thoughts of mine bathed in His Word and His comforting presence, will cause me to speak out and speak up, to bind and to loose what is needed, and to speak to any mountain looming in front of me which tries to intimidate me.

“Move, Mountain!” I speak in Jesus name. And I mean what I’m thinking when I say this!

So have no fear. For fear shall not torment your thought life. I break that off in Jesus Name. I speak the Powerful Peace of God to you today. Take a moment to think about that. Bask in that thought of how much God loves you that He would send His Son Jesus to be the sacrifice for your sins. And that God continually prepares plans for good for you, for your life, because He’s thinking not only of you, He is thinking His powerful good thoughts towards you every day. That’s the overflow of His heart.

Receive that! In Jesus’ name.

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If You’re Feeling Empty

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Sometimes, the times when you feel the most alone, are the times when God is freeing you up of false support systems so that you can fully come to sense His presence, His power, His love for you, above all else.

This past year I’ve seen the truth of this in a whole new way. At first it felt rather bleak, when things, dreams, and people got whittled out of my life. Then it got quiet. Distractions were few. God was persistent in letting me know there are few people who genuinely have your back and also have the power to lead you forward anyhow, so He repeatedly hinted that it might be best for me to get used to this new cozy relationship He wanted to have with me. So I finally responded with, “Okay, let’s do this then, God.” I didn’t have much left to lose, and I wasn’t expecting a lot. Maybe a bit of insight or some needed wisdom.

But then God blew me away this past year, in how He Himself made up for every lost and every broken thing in my life.

Maybe you’re at a point of loss right now. The closed doors you’ve experienced in relationships or opportunities have been devastating, and you might be wondering where God is, in all that.

That’s what happened to Naomi, in the book of Ruth. Widowed and grieving over the loss of her two sons, she finds herself returning to her home town, with one daughter in law who refuses to leave her side– a daughter in law named Ruth, who had suffered loss too, but had not lost faith in the God of Israel that she had come to trust in.

And when Naomi utters how broken she feels and how she thinks God’s hand has gone out against her, she was speaking that all the while that Love was leading her home to Bethlehem, house of bread– and the place where important, life changing, prophetic fulfillment was about to take place in her life. Where a great filling up was about to take place, and literally spill over in generations to come.

You may feel empty right now, but God wants you to know, He’s looking to FILL you up….to overflowing. You don’t even have to be able to see how God could do such a thing. You just need to know that He CAN and that He WILL. Just open your eyes, and open your heart to Him as well. You may be in a scarcity mindset, but God operates so opposite of that. He’s waiting for you to take just a step closer to Him, open your eyes a little wider, and discover that He knows how to redeem every last and every lost thing in your life.

“Do you not perceive it? Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:19

Something beautiful is about to rise from the ashes of your past.

Because Your Redeemer LIVES.

Post Mountain Top Pep Talk on FEAR & ANXIETY

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If you’ve recently made a breakthrough in your life, but now you’re struggling with fear or anxiety, I’ve got a pep talk for you that will cause you to stand up straight and march on!

I’ve recently spoken at 2 Women’s Retreats here in the Northeast and I can tell you that the women in this region are still strong, still kicking, and that we don’t go down without a fight. And that even if we go down, we come back up …because

NOTHING CAN KEEP YOU DOWN!

Sometimes after you’ve heard an invigorating talk and you’re ready to implement some new strategies in your life or determined to break an unhealthy pattern in your life, you get all fired up…only to get cooled down by criticism or naysayers, problems that balloon into obstacles, or just that old enemy of your soul who doesn’t want to see you break FREE.

So here is your Post Mountain Top Pep Talk, for any who need shoring up; for any who experienced a recent revelation and now things are a bit murky and gray:

You are not going back into a state of fear or anxiety. You’re done with that gripping attack on your mind, that lie that you are at risk, at a disadvantage, or that you are no match for the problems or challenges you face. That kind of feeling of panic comes from forgetting that not only is God for you, but He Will COME THROUGH FOR YOU EVERY TIME. Just remember, the way God comes through is never the way we thought He would. He’ll use a variety of interesting circumstances and people to reach out to us and pull us up to a place where we can stand on solid ground. When a scary situation occurs and your initial reaction is complete fear, remind yourself that God won’t drop you, and God won’t leave you. Remind yourself that the biggest battle is to keep your trust in HIM alone, so that your mind won’t become a playground for Anxiety and Panic to run about freely.
You’ve got a Sound Mind. The soundest of all minds respects God, experiences and knows His love day by day, trusts fully in Him, and can respond to Him in love- not out of fear or dread. A sound Mind is clear, settled, and at rest. It’s at rest because it is set on God’s unlimited power and on the truth of God’s pure motives towards you– He wants you to be at peace. So accept the peace. Embrace it. Because what you dwell on is going to become more real to you!
When you go through the Valley of Disaster, just remember you are not going to live there permanently. You are just traveling THROUGH it. And that you are going through it with God at your side. And He’s out in front. And He’s behind you as well. You’re covered. He’s like a Seal Team x 7. What’s more, He can work all things together for good, and can transform your trouble into a time of Hope. And Hope is not a light feathery thing– it’s an anchor for your soul!! 1 Corinthians 13 tells us that the alpha team of Faith, Hope and Love outlast anything.
Lastly, if you’re going to have an expectation of anything, which is a type of faith, have an expectation that GOOD is ahead. Have godly convictions that line up with God’s Word. Jer 29:11 says He has good plans for us. So we should learn to expect good from God and not dread what’s ahead! Dreading things is looking forward but only “seeing” bad things coming down the road. When you dread the future, you are anticipating and expecting negative things and literally experiencing the fear of them happening– before they’ve happened. Proverbs 11:23 tells us that the expectation or the hope of the righteous is only good! Dreading is a type of reverse Faith. Hebrews 11:1 tells us that we should have our Faith (confident assurance) in God and have the certainty that what we are hoping for is waiting for us. Is God’s good plan waiting for you– or is it a life of misery and hopelessness waiting for you?

Let me shout out the answer to that last question: Nothing but God’s good plan is waiting for you. His peace, his path of abundant resources and abundant grace, are in His hands and those hands are stretched out to you today.

He’s saying, “I’m a Big God. I’m bigger than your fears. My heart is bigger than the heart of those who want to bring you down. My plan for your life is bigger than the plan you would have for your life. And my plan is for your GOOD. So, yes, I’m a Big God, a capable God, a powerful God. But I’m a Loving God too. Merciful and Compassionate and Strong and Wise. I’m telling you, you’re safe, with Me.”

As the song goes, He’s the God on the mountain, and the God in any valley you might walk through. I’ve found Him to be completely trustworthy. And because of that, I’m finding myself….Fearless and FREE.

Come join me on this journey.