By Erin Elizabeth Austin

Like countless people all around the world, I found myself watching the inauguration and all the drama that ensued last week. Don’t worry; this is NOT a post on politics. This remains a politic-free zone! However, as I watched the protesting, arguing, and disrespect that was rampant on both sides, I noticed something. Instead of focusing on the arguments, I began to listen to the underlying emotion behind many people’s posts on social media. And while there was undeniably anger, there was also another prevalent emotion. I lost count of the number of times someone posted: “What if this bill gets passed? What will happen if…? What can we do?” Do you see it? Underneath all the destruction (and yes, I count words as being destructive), many people were wrestling with fear.

The more I saw fear-based behavior, the more I began to think about how fear affects us. Stop and think about all the times you’ve been afraid in your life – the countless thoughts that run rampant through your mind. How will this bill be paid? What will the doctor say about the latest round of bloodwork? Will my child ever realize the error of his ways? Can my spouse and I come back from this? Fear can come in many shapes and forms, but it has one thing in common. It has the tendency to be all-consuming and completely take over our thoughts, and when that happens, there’s no telling how we will respond.

Scientists have proven that when we are afraid, our brains don’t function the way they normally do. The reason for this is because it’s preparing the body for fight-or-flight mode. Although the brain doesn’t shut down, it can restrict power in one section of the brain so another area of the brain has more energy, and that’s what happens when we’re afraid. Now this is a good thing if you’re in a life-threatening situation, such as trying to avoid a car accident or being chased by a horde of killer bees. However, when we start being afraid of things we have absolutely no control over, we lose perspective fast. It’s as if we’re an old record player that is stuck on the one scratch that the record contains.

It's no secret I’ve often struggled with fear. When you’re diagnosed with a chronic illness, one of two things usually happen. Either you begin to wrestle with anger and bitterness or you regularly deal with fear. Neither is good. For me, I spent so much of my time ensuring I didn’t become bitter about my situation that fear crept in when I wasn’t looking. I’ve lost track of how long God and I have worked on digging out the fear that has taken root in my heart. What I’ve learned over the past several years is that it’s a process. Fear, doubt, and worry act like chains that weigh us down and keep us from fully trusting God. There is a reason God tells us in His Word 365 times to not fear. He wants us to believe and rely on Him. He promised He would take care of everything that concerns us. Granted, things may not turn out the way we expect them to, but that doesn’t mean God isn’t in control.

By Erin Elizabeth Austin

When I started our new series, Believing God, I have to admit I didn’t expect such a huge response. Apparently, I’m not the only one who struggles to fully trust and believe God. Last week, we discussed not running ahead of God and trying to solve our problems on our own. This started a large discussion online about how difficult it is to fully believe God will fulfill His promises, because we can’t physically see God at work. We must choose to trust Him even though we can’t see anything happening.

As I prayed about this, God kept bringing to mind my favorite psalm, Psalm 91. If you aren’t familiar with this particular psalm, I encourage you to take a moment and read it. Verses 1-2 says, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust!’” What then follows is a litany of promises of what God will do in our lives if we simply throw ourselves on the mercy of God and make Him our refuge. Not only is the word “refuge” used three separate times in sixteen short verses, but in verse nine we see a new name for God – Jehovah-Machsi, which means “my refuge.”

So, what does refuge even mean? In the simplest of terms, it means a place that provides shelter or protection from danger. Think about that. God is a place of safety for us. It reminds me of when I was a kid playing tag with a group of children. We always had a safe place where we could go when we needed to take a break from the game. It was called our safe zone; no one was allowed to touch us when we were in the safe zone. In the same way, God is like this. When we let Him, He is our safe zone. God promises to protect us, BUT we must step into the safety zone. God will never force Himself onto us. It’s our job, when problems arise, to run to God and ask Him to protect us, and therein lies our problem. When faced with a challenge, few of us immediately cry out, “God, I’m stepping into the safety zone! It’s Your job to protect me.” Yet look at all the promises God gives us in Psalm 91 when we do just that!

​My favorite promise is found in verse 7 when it says, “A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not approach you.” It’s not always evident that God is protecting us, but just because we can’t see something doesn’t mean He isn’t at work. Every morning before I start my car, I pray and ask God to protect me and my car as I drive. I ask Him to be a shield and protector from all things – be it another car, an animal racing across the road, or something falling off the back of the truck in front of me. Last week, as I was praying about how we can believe that God is working in our lives, God showed me the truth of His promise in Psalm 91:7. On three separate occasions as I was driving to work, something happened to the car in front of me. The first time was a car having a tire blowout. The second instance was a car wreck just a few cars ahead of me. The last incident involved a policeman pulling the car in front me. It was then I realized the truth of verse seven. A thousand may fall at your side, but it shall not approach you because you made God your safe zone.

God longs to be a refuge in each of our lives. Like it says in 2 Samuel 22:31, “As for God, His way is blameless; the word of the Lord is tested; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.”

God has things He wants to do in our lives, but it’s up to us to choose Him. We must let go of the need to be in control and make God our refuge. And it’s a daily choice. It’s getting up every morning and saying, “God, no matter what happens today, I run to You. You are my refuge, my place of safety. Take care of me. Protect me. Shield and defend me as only You can do.”

​God is Jehovah-Machsi. He is my refuge, my safe place. Is He yours?

“Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah.” ~Psalm 62:8

© January 19, 2017​

By Erin Elizabeth Austin

We were ready. The forecasters had been talking about it all week. It was going to be the big snowstorm of 2017. Food was bought. The roads were prepped for ice accumulation. Warm clothes were brought out of storage. Everything was ready. All we needed was the snow. So we waited. And waited. And waited!

After giving up on it snowing before we went to bed, we eagerly anticipated waking up to a winter wonderland. Yet when we awoke the next day, there was nothing to see. We got nada. Zilch. Bubkkes. It was cold, dreary, and rainy.

Normally, this wouldn’t be such a big deal, but when you live in the South, snow is a precious commodity. For us, it’s akin to Christmas. It comes around once or twice a year, if you’re lucky, and most people look forward to living in a snow globe for a day or two. Needless to say, there were a lot of disappointed people Saturday morning.

Twelve hours after it was supposed to start snowing, the first snowflake fell. As I watched the drab browns of winter begin to change into a beautiful white, I couldn’t help but think about how life is often like this. We know God’s promises, we pray expectantly, and nothing happens. Or rather, nothing happens per our desired timetable. Because Scripture says God will bring it to pass, we “know” our prayer will be answered immediately and in the exact way we expect. Yet seldom does God work in the way we expect. Sometimes we must wait much longer than we anticipated, while other times His answer is vastly different than what we expected. But like the snow, an answered prayer is no less beautiful than if it happened in the exact way we deemed it should. More times than not, we appreciate God’s response even more when we have to wait.

The problem with waiting on God is we often lose our faith in Him when He doesn’t immediately answer our cries for help. We buy into the lie that not having our prayers answered in the way we demand means God doesn’t care. Yet one of the first names for God we come across in Scripture is El Roi, which means “the God who sees.” In Genesis 16:4-13, Hagar ran away from home when her problems became too much for her to bear alone. While in the wilderness, God came to Hagar and told her to return home because she wasn’t alone. El Roi was with her.

​I don’t know about you, but I’m guilty of trying to solve my problems on my own when I get tired of waiting for God to magically fix my problems. Yet God doesn’t call us to fix our problems on our own. He calls us to stand firm in our faith, believe Him, and wait for Him to work.

By Erin Elizabeth Austin

The holiday season is officially over, and you know what that means – no more Hallmark movies! I can hear you now. Half of you are cheering and the other half are booing. In my house, we’re split on our opinions about Hallmark movies. My dad would love to boycott them, while my mom would gladly keep them playing on the television 24/7. Personally, I like to watch one occasionally, but I need a good storyline and decent acting.

One of this year’s movies, Journey Back to Christmas, is actually one of the few movies my whole family watched together. I won’t bore you with the plot, but the thing that stood out to me the whole time I was watching the movie was just how cynical all the characters were, and I don’t think the story was overdramatized. Truthfully, the movie did a good job in portraying just how normal it is for Americans to be skeptical about people and life in general.

In this day and age, being cautious isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We have to keep our eyes open for scams on social media, con-artists on the side of the road, and sales that are just too good to be true. But the problem is that skepticism and negativity has the tendency to affect all areas of our lives.

Over the summer, I stopped blogging and doing so much online because my laptop was hacked. Despite the fact I had an excellent firewall and security system, a hacker broke into laptop and brought my entire life online to a screeching halt. From the ministry’s website to my bank account, every area was impacted. It took months to get everything back to normal.

During that time, God really began to speak to me about my faith, or lack thereof. Specifically, He showed me how little I truly believe Him. Notice I didn’t say believe in Him. The majority of people reading this believe in God. It’s a prerequisite for trusting God to save us from our sins. But there’s a difference in believing in God and believing God. Merriam-Webster defines believe as “to accept the truth of what is said by someone; to have a firm conviction as to the goodness, efficacy, or ability of something or someone.”[i]

Let’s be honest. It’s hard to not be cynical when problems come barreling at you like a ton of bricks. When challenges arise, it’s not easy to believe that God will provide and take care of our needs. Our first inclination when something unexpected happens isn’t to stop, pray, and remember to trust and believe that God will protect, defend, and deliver us. We believe in God, but rarely do we believe God. We have the heart of a cynic.

William R. Huntington said it best. “Either there is a God supremely good, One whom His children may love and trust to the very uttermost point without the slightest fear of the reality falling short of the heart’s desire, or else there is no God, no love, no forgiveness, no redress. God is wholly good, if good at all, and those who hope in Him will be wiser if they hope with all their hearts than if they hope with only half their hearts.”[ii]

Over the coming weeks and months, we’re going to do a study on the names of God. One thing I’ve learned over the past six months is that we can’t believe God if we don’t know God. Going to church, praying, and memorizing Scripture is all well and good, but if we don’t know whom we claim to believe, then we will never be able to fully trust Him. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of half-hoping, half-believing, half-trusting. We serve the same God of the Bible – the same miraculous, all-powerful, awe-inspiring God. He wants to work in our lives, but we have to let Him.

Are you ready to believe?

​“The Lord said to Moses, ‘How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst?’” ~ Numbers 14:11

[i] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/believe
[ii] Strength & Joy 354-Day Devotional Journal; EllieClaire, 2016