Finding Peace Through Faith: My Journey with Jesus

About twenty years ago, I attended a video-driven Bible study at my church. The speaker was the kind of Christian I aspired to be. She had an active, real relationship with Jesus, and I longed for that same connection. I wanted to believe in God the way she did, to trust Him fully.

As I completed the assigned homework, I began to feel a sense of peace and God's favor. My anxiety and panic attacks lessened. There were moments when it felt like the speaker on the video was speaking directly to me, addressing my struggles. During that time, I went the longest I ever had without experiencing a panic attack.

I began to realize that staying in God's Word daily, confessing my sins, and praying consistently were essential to building a close relationship with Jesus. And, perhaps most importantly, they were crucial to my mental and emotional well-being.

God's presence became a constant in my life. He was so good to me. I was even able to return to Sunday School and choir practice after a two-year absence due to depression, agoraphobia, and panic disorder. Though I'd been diagnosed with a poor prognosis, God saved me and made me whole again.

Today, when I focus my mind on Jesus and trust in Him, I truly feel like I’m living my best life. I’ve come to realize that belief—faith—must be nurtured. My confidence is rooted in my ongoing relationship with Jesus, His Word, and daily prayer. There’s no going back! God is everything!

God's Great Power

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. (Psalm 33:6) NIV

Psalm 33 was in my reading this morning. Verse 6 is one of my most favorite verses from my teenage years. Another favorite of mine is a little longer: 

Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. (Isaiah 40:26) NIV

Takes me back to junior high when we were studying a unit on astronomy. I would sit on the trunk of the family car at night and stare at the stars and think about God. His vastness and power. None can compare with Him. 

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

God, Our Everlasting Rock

 Isaiah 26:4 Trust in the Lord forever, For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock. (NASB)

This verse has been a constant reminder for me that God is my unshakable foundation. The Lord has been my Rock and refuge all of my days. Not because I am perfect, but because He is. His perfection and goodness continually humble me. I often ask myself, 'Who am I, a sinner in need of grace?' And yet, His grace covers all my sins.

Because I’ve confessed Jesus as my Savior and Lord, and I follow Him, I can be confident that every time I cry out for help, God hears me. He helps me. He becomes my safe place while He works things out for my good.

Over the years, God has shown me that His love for me is unwavering, and because of that, I can trust Him. I can let Him be in control. He won’t abandon me in hard times or in good times. He’s my everlasting Rock! I can choose to lean on and rely on Him without fear every day for the rest of my life.

"Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed." (Ps. 34:5) (ESV)

When I look to Him, He fills me with peace and assurance. I know that no matter what, I will never be ashamed. He is my everlasting Rock.

New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Perfect Peace

 Isaiah 26:3: You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. (ESV)

Perfect peace comes from keeping our minds on God, the Father, because we rely on and lean on Him. Refusing to let this world with all its distractions drag our minds away from the Lord will keep us in His peace. If we do get caught up in the chaos in the world, our remedy is to focus our thoughts back on God and His ability, His power, to bring peace to any chaotic situation.

We don’t sink into despair worrying what to do about the chaos. We trust in God, and we turn to Him in prayer. We turn our minds back to our powerful Heavenly Father and pray about the problem or situation, trusting God can and will help. 

This is work—spiritual warfare. The Enemy wants your mind focused on anything other than our Lord and Savior. But we don’t need to fear him. Jesus has promised He will never leave us or forsake us. He is for us, and we have the Holy Spirit in us. 

So, how do we turn our minds from the chaos back to God? Focusing on Scriptures that speak against the chaos, the problem, and/or the fears helps me tremendously. We walk in the kingdom of Light now; we read God’s thoughts found in Scripture, and we align our thoughts with His. We read Scripture, meditate on Scripture, memorize Scripture, quote Scripture to our souls. And soon we’re back staying our minds on Jesus, and we have peace—perfect peace—that only comes from trusting God and His Word. 

Grace and peace to you.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Reopening Redeemed and Summoned

 Almost two years ago, I closed this blog. But I’ve been sensing the Spirit’s urging to start posting on here again. So, I’m going to follow this prompting and do just that. 

First, let me say that God has recently blessed me big time by answering two prayers. These are prayers I’ve prayed for several years. One—that my husband would want to be in the Word with me; and two—that my youngest son and his family would start going to church. 

My first prayer was answered in December when my husband agreed to listen to portions of Scripture each day during Advent (He’s blind from retinitis pigmentosa), and then agreed I could continue reading the Bible to him after supper each night in 2025. We’ve read Genesis, Exodus, Nehemiah, Philemon, and Hebrews so far.

My second prayer was answered this month when our son told us a friend of theirs invited him and his family to go to their church. My grandchildren loved it, and so they’ve been going since then. 

I’m beside myself with joy! 

If you’ve been praying for something for a long time that you know is in line with God’s Word, I encourage you to stay with it. God is faithful. He’ll either answer in the affirmative, or He’ll let you know to let it go and trust that He knows what He’s doing. 

May God bless you with answered prayers in 2025! Nothing is impossible with God!!

Saying Goodbye

I'm not sure how many of you are still getting updates on this blog, but I wanted to let you know that I'm closing it down. I've reduced the number of posts and am leaving up the ones that I think will be most helpful for those who surf the Internet looking for help for panic and anxiety. 

After 14 years of blogging on Redeemed and Summoned by Name, this a hard post to write. Thank you all for taking the time to read my posts on this blog for all these years. I feel blessed to have shared some of my life journey with you. May God bless you and keep you, may His face shine upon you, and give you peace. 

 Oh! I forgot to add something I haven't mentioned on this blog before which I believe is very helpful because it's helped me through the last few years. Dr. Tim Clinton says that meditating on verses that speak of God's love for just twelve minutes a day reduces heart rate, blood pressure, and improves memory. Best of all, it reduces the firing of the brain's fear center. Verses like: Ps. 94:18-17, Ps. 36:7, Ps. 143:8, Ps. 86:12-13, Ps. 40:11, 1 John 3:1, Ps. 103:11-14, Jer. 31:3, and Lam. 3:32.

Good Information on Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder

The Mayo Clinic on Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder

Click here.

Read the Bible to Your Anxiety

Dr. John Piper takes on anxiety in this three-part video series. Click here.

Love this excerpt:

"Jesus assumes that truth — reasons, arguments, facts — affects or influences the emotions. Anxiety is an emotion. It is not a decision. We don’t decide to get anxious. It happens to us. Jesus attacks anxiety in Matthew 6 with truth, facts, promises, and reasons."

Store Up God's Word

“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Ps. 119:11, ESV

Merriam Webster definition for stored: lay away; accumulate; to stack against a future time, to place or leave in a location for preservation or later use…a source from which things may be drawn as needed; a reserve fund; an abundance.

Stick some of that definition in the verse above and it might look like this: I have stocked up, accumulated, reserved an abundance of your word in my heart in order that I may draw from it as needed so that I won’t sin against you.

I’m thinking God wants His Word to be the spiritual weapon I use to nail my sinful nature to the cross.

Praise God, Exalt the Name of Jesus

No matter what is going on in your mind, heart, or life right now, praise God. Sing His praises and remember you belong to Christ. Keep Jesus exalted in your mind over every thing because no thing is greater than your Savior.  He chose you, called you, redeemed you, justified you. He will enable you to stand, and stand you will. God is faithful, no matter how it feels or looks right now. God is watching over you. Praising Him will strengthen you and encourage you, and help you get rid of "stinkin thinkin".

You are loved and precious to God. You can have fellowship with Jesus. Keep your eyes on the goal--complete union with Christ, following His example and His leading.  Remember what the Lord told Peter--"You follow me".  Let everyone else and everything else go, entrust them to God, and you follow Christ. He is your refuge and your strength. He is your life!

God Knows

Never believe the lie that God doesn't know what's going on in your life. He knows. He not only knows what's happening, He knows your every thought. (Ps. 139) The Lord proved to me this evening that He knows even things that we ponder out of curiosity. He is the ever-present Lord! Lean closer in to Him. Quiet yourself and allow Him to speak to your heart as you "pour out your heart like water before the Lord". You can trust Him with your thoughts, your hurts, disappointments, all your "stuff". Just tell Him all and then wait on Him. He is our Prince of Peace, our Counselor, our Everlasting Father. He is the God who forgives all your sins, heals all your diseases, redeems your life from the pit, and crowns you with love and compassion. He satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles. I want that kind of renewal, and He wants that kind of renewal for me. It comes as we walk in close fellowship with Him. What better thing do you have going right now? For me, I don't have anything better. "For me it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge." (Ps. 73:28, NIV)

My Redeemer is Jesus Christ

I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth. Job19:25 NIV84 

Thankful this morning for all my Redeemer's done for me. More than I can ever repay. I know He lives, and I am so grateful for that deep-seated knowledge. It was worth going through all the panic and depression so that I could be brought to the point of desperation and finally let go of my fears, doubts and insecurities and let God take it all. I don't know why it took me so long to just give in and admit I couldn't fix myself. My Redeemer is a much better Fixer than me. He does better than fix...He restores and makes all things new. Praise to you, Lord. You are most worthy of all praise! 

Jesus Makes All Things New

It is fitting that we celebrate Jesus' birthday near the end of the year. As we review the past twelve months and remember the hurts, disappointments, and losses, we also remember Jesus--our Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.  Instead of placing our hopes in a new year, we can place them in Jesus, who makes all things new.