A Walk of Trusting God

December 1, 2025November 30, 2025 nofearlindaLeave a comment

We begin our Christmas journey with the story of Elizabeth and Zechariah as given in Luke 1:5-6. “In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. ⁷But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.”

Often we do not see the reason for our suffering. Elizabeth suffered socially and mentally with the burden of childlessness. It was thought that this was a curse from God as the ability to have children was a gift from God. Anyone who was barren was considered flawed and looked down upon. However, this did not diminish or change her character and both she and Zechariah were observant Jews and loved the Lord. Elizabeth did not know why she did not have children but as we will see, God had a plan and a purpose for them to fulfill. God is Omniscient. He knows all our circumstances, he is never surprised and there is no where in the spiritual or physical world that God is not. God knew about Elizabeth and Zechariah’s desire to have a child and their grief over being childless. However, they did not let their sorrow or grief turn to bitterness and kept faith in God and His plan for their lives.

I can relate to this story in so many ways. I, myself, waited 14 years for the arrival of my daughter. She arrived on December 1 to a family that was filled with anticipation, joy and thankfulness. Her name is also Elizabeth, after our grandmothers, and she is a constant joy in my life. Like Elizabeth and Hannah, I had prayed for a child and that did not happen naturally. God led us to an adoption agency that brought our daughter from Korea. I had prayed and claimed, as I’m sure Hannah and Elizabeth did too, Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” God in His omniscience knew the child He had for us, but I had to walk believing in Him and trust Him for the future. I had to trust in His plans whether there was a child or not in my future. When scriptures tells us Elizabeth walked with God and was observant, I translate that to mean she believed and walked with God no matter what the future held.

How about you? Are you walking with God trusting Him for your future. I claim Jeremiah 29:11 and hold onto God’s goodness. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” God has plans for me and you, they will always be for our good and His glory. We may not see it today but we have to trust Him and know in His Omniscience His way is good.

As we see this story unfold, the of God’s goodness for Elizabeth and Zechariah is beyond their wildest imagining. The blessings will be multiplied and their trust in God magnified. May it be so with all of us!

Linda

Waiting…Let’s get busy!

May 22, 2021 nofearlindaLeave a comment

When Jesus ascended back into heaven He promised a gift from the Father would come. He did not tell them how long they would wait, but He did say don’t go home. They trusted that the wait would be short enough that they would not want have to return to fishing in Galilee. Scripture gives us some insight into their waiting period which we know was 10 days. The Holy Spirit came on Pentecost which was 10 days after Christ’s ascension into heaven. Acts 1:12-14 “Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. ¹³When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. ¹⁴They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.”

During those days of prayer and fellowship they came to the decision that they needed to chose another apostle to take Judas’ place due to his betrayal of Christ and suicide. Acts 1:15-17 “In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) ¹⁶and said, “Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. ¹⁷He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.” Peter quoted a prophecy from Psalms in Acts 1:20 ““For,” said Peter, “it is written in the Book of Psalms: “‘May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,’ and, “‘May another take his place of leadership.’ They all felt that Jesus wanted them to have 12 Apostles representing the 12 tribes of Israel. There seemed to be several men that met the criteria of having been with Jesus who had followed Him from baptism to crucifixion. This was a unique time period and in the future, after the coming of the Holy Spirit, they no longer cast lots to chose leaders. With the Holy Spirit as their guide, they did not have to use this manner and here is the last mention of it in the Bible. Acts 1:21-26 “Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, ²²beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”²³So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. ²⁴Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen ²⁵to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” ²⁶Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.”

What do we take away from this scene? The disciples knew what Jesus expected of them, their mission was to tell others about Him and to live and walk with him each day. Knowing that they needed 12 Apostles, they set about identifying those amongst themselves that met the criteria of having been with Jesus. They let God choose which would take up this responsibility when they chose by casting lots. So what does God require of us as we await His return? Is it not the same? We have our mission and purpose to tell others the good news of Jesus’ love and forgiveness. We have lives to live that are to glorify Him in all we say and do. We are to walk with Him each day leaning upon His wisdom, understanding, hope and eternal justice as we seek to live humbly, before Him. AND, don’t we have work to do so that we have the methods, people and places ready and in order to carry out His mission. Waiting is not idle time but it is work time. Spreading the good news is essential and filled with purpose.

So… get up, get busy and be about His work while you wait. Study, learn, memorize, speak out, praise, pray, encourage and support one another in love until He comes again!

Linda

Praying with Heart motivated by Joy

July 16, 2020 nofearlindaLeave a comment

Today I am soaking in the joy Paul felt as he describes his fellow coworkers in the cause of Christ in Philippians 1:7-11.

“So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. ⁸God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.”

Do you love those you work with when serving Christ? I have felt like Paul and have a special bond with brothers and sisters in faith as we work together for the Lord. Those friendships are lasting and are firmly rooted in the love of Christ. Whether you are near or far from them you always hold them dear and can’t wait to be with them again. Why is that? I think the shared love and spirit of Christ permeates the friendship and links us for eternity. We know that time and place may separate us, but we are and will always be together in the Lord. I can only imagine that this is part of what Paul was expressing to the Philippians. He then explains how he prays for them.

^“9I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. ¹⁰For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. ¹¹May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.” He prays that they will abound in love, continue to grow in the Lord, walk with Him and live a productive life for Christ that will bring glory and honor to the Lord. What beautiful words with power and conviction. He loves his co-laborers in the cause of Christ and desires to see them grow and flourish. Is that what you desire for your brothers and sisters in Christ? Do you pray for their growth, their walk and witness in the world? These are tangible ways we can support each other. Seek God on behalf of your friends and ask Him to grow and develop them for His purposes.

My joy is greater as I stand with others in the cause of Christ.

My joy increases as I walk with Christ. As I seek to grow and serve Him, I am uplifted and encouraged by others in faith.

Joy is renewed and kindled as we work, pray, and serve together! Paul knew that- how about you? Mediate today on your friendships in the Lord and pray for them with a heart filled with love.

Linda

Looking forward with Hope, backward with Thanks 2020 here we come!

December 31, 2019 nofearlindaLeave a comment

I always love December 31 because it means I am on the brink of a new beginning. Those failures I’ve experienced during the year can end, and I can start fresh and new. Hope springs eternally in our hearts as we walk in faith and trust with our Lord and Savior Jesus. In Psalms 42 and 43 David questions himself repeatedly with these words: Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation.

David wonders, and so do I, why I fret over failures, defeats, troubling circumstances, etc? His answer, and mine, is in trusting God alone. His hope, and mine, is in God and the salvation He provides for eternity. So as I end this year, I will reflect on what I achieved for Him, what God did in and through me, and look forward to the New Year with Hope. I will look backward with thanksgiving in my heart as God has been 100% faithful in all things just as He promised.

Isaiah encourages us in 49:29-31 that the Lord knows the way, will provide and lead us in His way of hope.

He gives power to the faint,
    and to him who has no might he increases strength.
³⁰Even youths shall faint and be weary,
    and young men shall fall exhausted;
³¹but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
    they shall walk and not faint.

Will you join me in focusing on Hope and what God will bring your way in 2020? Not only is it a New Year, it is also the beginning of a new decade. Resolve to move Onward and upward with Christ alone!

Linda

The 5 W’s of Pentecost…Let them speak to you today!

June 9, 2019 nofearlindaLeave a comment

Who was there? Scripture tells us in Acts chapters 1 and 2 that the disciples and many other Jews from every nation were gathered together.

What? The arrival of the promised power from heaven that would empower them to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

When? Pentecost was 50 days after the Passover. It was called the Feast of Weeks in the Old Testament. It was 10 days after Jesus’ Ascension into heaven.

Where? Jesus told them to go and wait for the helper that would come. They returned to Jerusalem after Jesus’ Ascension just as He commanded.

Acts 2:2-4 describes to us vividly the arrival of the Holy Spirit. “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” Peter stood and preached to the gathered crowd and told them that this outpouring from heaven was from God. He quoted the Old Testament prophet Joel in Acts 2:17 “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.” The arrival of the Holy Spirit was dramatic- tongues of fire- and noisy- as a strong wind and filled with many languages. It was a surprise arrival yet it had been expected. Jesus told them to go and wait, so they knew something or someone was coming. In John 15:15-17, 25-26, Jesus had promised them the Holy Spirit would come. “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-the Spirit of truth. And all this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” Also in Luke 24:48-49 Jesus told them of the coming power and place, “You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Why was this necessary? When I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, His Holy Spirit came to dwell within me. This Spirit that arrived on tongues of fire and with a great sound lives within me. He empowers me to live a godly life and to speak to others about Jesus and His salvation. 1 John 4:4 puts it this way, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is great than the one who is in the world.” Romans 8:16 “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. ” 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”

How do you answer your own 5 W’s about the Holy Spirit? Who is the Holy Spirit to you? What are you allowing God to do with this Holy Spirit that lives within you? Where are you walking in obedience and listening to His Word? When are you stepping out in faith to tell others about Jesus? Why is the Holy Spirit necessary in your life? Jesus wanted the disciples, and us too, to use the power the Father sent to do the work of telling others and living for Him. Will you begin today by allowing God’s Holy Spirit living within you to lead you to live for Him in a mighty way that will bring Him honor and glory?

Praising Him this Pentecost Sunday,

Linda

Are you Seeing blessings in your life? Take a look!

March 5, 2019 nofearlindaLeave a comment

Being a blessed believer I’ve discovered has many layers. I began weeks ago with a definition of what blessing is in man’s eyes: a gift of divine favor, good wishes or approval, anything that gives happiness or prevents misfortune. Then I looked at scripture to see what God calls blessedness. All of God’s examples show divine favor towards us and His divine ways of having His blessings in our lives. Which ones have you seen, are seeing or hope to see in your life? When you do- you can count yourself blessed!

Blessed is the believer who: walks in His ways. Psalm 1 *whose’s sins are forgiven. Psalm 32:1-2 *who takes refuge in Him. Psalm 34:8 *who trusts in the Lord. Psalm 40:4 *who wisely listens, obeys and accepts the Father’s discipline and instruction Psalm 94:12 *who fears (reveres) the Lord and delights in His Commandments. Psalm 112:1 *who is blessed through his children (physical or spiritual). Psalm 127:5 *who fears God and walks in His ways. Psalm 128:1-2 *who does what is right based in His righteousness. Isaiah 56:1-2 *who is deep rooted in Him, standing firm in all seasons of life. Jeremiah 17:4 *whose sins are forgiven, dependent upon God for His righteousness in Christ. Romans 4:6-8 *who is steadfast, persevering and awaiting reward. James 1:12 *who is humble, sorrows over his sin and dependent upon God for forgiveness, hungers after God’s Word, merciful, has a clean heart before God, is a peacemaker, is persecuted for His sake. Matthew 5:3-10

What a list to take to heart and meditate upon. If you are not seeing some of the blessings God provides for believers, take that to heart, pray about it, search scripture and ask God what He would have you do so that you might partake in His divine blessings!

Linda

Can you stand the heat of life?

February 19, 2019 nofearlindaLeave a comment

Our blessings passage today comes from Jeremiah 17. Like in Psalm 1 where the blessed man was contrasted with the wicked man, so Jeremiah presents God’s description of the blessed or God favored man versus the worldly or self-sufficient man. I looked at this passage in several translations but really liked the Message as it seemed to explain the essence of this passage the best. Jeremiah 17:5-8

^5-6God’s Message:

“Cursed is the strong one
    who depends on mere humans,
Who thinks he can make it on muscle alone
    and sets God aside as dead weight.
He’s like a tumbleweed on the prairie,
    out of touch with the good earth.
He lives rootless and aimless
    in a land where nothing grows. The man who depends on himself or this world is not rooted or grounded in anything but like a tumbleweed, rolling around in life, not producing any fruit and bumping from one thing to another.

^7-8“But blessed is the man who trusts me, God,
    the woman who sticks with God.
They’re like trees replanted in Eden,
    putting down roots near the rivers—
Never a worry through the hottest of summers,
    never dropping a leaf,
Serene and calm through droughts,
    bearing fresh fruit every season. The men and women of God are quite the contrast being rooted, growing, flourishing, trusting and bearing fruit even when storms, droughts or things get ‘hot’ in life.

Which type of person are you? I know from time to time we can all be tumbleweeds- tossed to and fro by the winds of the world, but we have learned that trusting and clinging to Jesus can bring us through every situation. Walking with Him keeps us steady and calm in the midst of life’s storms and gives us a life that is fruitful and honoring towards God.

I challenge you to walk like the blessed man today. See if you don’t have a song of praise in your heart and your steps are lighter as you trust and cling to Jesus.

Linda

How to Live Towards Blessings

February 15, 2019 nofearlindaLeave a comment

In Isaiah 56:1-2 the Lord reveals that blessings come from doing what is right, supporting justice, looking forward to God’s salvation, keeping the Sabbath and staying away from doing evil. God promises that living a life based in His righteousness leads to blessings.

This is what the Lord says,
“Maintain justice and do righteousness,
For My salvation is soon to come,
And My righteousness and justice is soon to be revealed.
“Blessed (happy, fortunate) is the man who does this,
And the son of man who takes hold of it,
Who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it,
And keeps his hand from doing any evil.” Isaiah 56:1-2 (AMP)

Blessings are gifts of divine favor that bring happiness into our lives. Living our lives with a desire to do what is right is a gift from God. Seeking His righteousness that He reveled through Jesus will help us walk with Him each day and bring blessing. I love the way God tells us to take hold, grab onto this lifestyle so we can receive His blessings and favor to the fullest. Keeping the Sabbath, a day devoted to worship, family, praise and one that is a respite from our days of working that life requires, will bring blessing. We must really strive to live apart from the world and its ways that are based in greed and self-fulfillment. I like the description James gives us in 1:26-27 “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. ²⁷Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” Watching what we say is of upmost importance, doing good for others and keeping ourselves unstained by the world’s standards and acts is what God is looking for in our lives and in our hearts as we seek to show love and devotion to Him.

“Blessed (happy, fortunate) is the man who does this, is the goal God has set before us. Knowing that a life lived for God is based on His righteousness and reflects His justice, love, mercy, compassion and hope for the world around us. Look for His blessings as you walk with Him today. He is forever faithful and will do as He promises.