Fear Not: The Seekers Share Verses That Help Them Through Tough Times

Fellow authors, writers and readers, we don't want to belabor the current situation, but The Seekers are a group of Christian authors and bloggers.

Key word: CHRISTIAN.  That comes first, before the word author or blogger.

From Love Inspired author Mindy Obenhaus:

We are believers.

We are women of God, believers in Christ, sisters of the Spirit, bound together not just because we love good books and great stories and romance...

We are one in the Spirit. We are one in the Lord... and they'll know we are Christians by our love...

So that's what today is about.

Everyone reading this has a story right now. We are living in the pages of a coming history book, the Covid 19 Pandemic of 2020, and students will look at graphs and curves and numbers and they'll see that we were willing to risk one of the best economic booms we've had in decades to save lives.

A verse that brings solace to Missy Tippens:

But that doesn't come without pain and sacrifice and worry as millions of people are told to stay home from work and millions of others lose their jobs as schools and businesses face a mandatory closing order.

So here are some beautiful sayings that help us keep it in perspective because that's what God expects us to do.

From Debby Giusti....

Dear Friends, I select a new scripture verse each day and write it on a 3x5 card that I place on my kitchen counter. I also open my Bible to that verse and keep both close at hand to pray throughout the day. The verses are from the daily readings. 

My verse today is Psalm 34:7

When the just cry out, the Lord hears them,

and from all their distress he rescues them.

Nature is nature. Nature will change things. Nature is not always predictable, and sometimes awful things just plain happen.

And we learn to take up the yoke and walk with it.

Here's a beautiful verse from Carrie: (meme by Beth Jamison)

And here is a favorite from Winnie Griggs, one that I think we all love and embrace: 

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

John 14:27

BE NOT AFRAID...

Someone once said that there were 365 exortations to "not be afraid" in the Bible. This gal checked that out and found 145... And that's still a lot, my friends! And you know why? Because we're human. We get nervous. We don't like change. We're normal. Simply put, we are not God. And so we get anxious and we fear and the Lord, our God says "Fear not!"

Annie shared these three verses that bring her comfort when life and the world get out of hand: 

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

- Romans 15:13

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

- Romans 8:28

"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."

Jeremiah 29:11 

And Mary Connealy said offered up one of my favorite verses, too:

 And Mary sent this along with the meme.... 

This makes a wonderful prayer. Isaiah 40:30b-31

And I try and remember when  you pray for someone using this prayer that, when someone doesn't survive whatever this life hands out, then God lifts them up, as if on eagle's wings. He takes them to himself to a place and renews their strength. A place where they can run and not grow weary, walk and not be faint.

That is what we believe.

We believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ, his son, our Lord. We believe in the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.

In this time of anxiety, nerves and reflection, when it seems like our world has been put on pause, or flipped upside down, we are blessed to have God.

And blessed to have each other.

I'm pretty sure I have one more copy of Sarah Young's  "Jesus Calling" and let us know if you'd like it... it's absolutely lovely and I'd be happy to put your name into the candy dish.

No cat dish today.

We're going full tilt on candy, and we are happy to share with all of you.  Leave a comment or tell us your favorite verse in the comments. We would love to hear from you!

And may God bless you, all of you, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.

Amen.

And a beautiful way to draw this to a close is with this verdant reminder from Jan Drexler:

The Seekers are a great bunch of gals who love great books, who write great books and who are blessed to call one another friends... and who enjoy welcoming people into their lives. 

Thank you for being here with us today.