New Beginnings Start Now – Faith Over Fear

Last updated on: July 9, 2026 at 2:48 pm by Michele Howe

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New Beginnings Start Now – Faith Over Fear 2026-07-09T14:48:27-05:00 Michele Howe

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Time For New Beginnings

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

James 4:13-15

Anxiety won’t relent, Augustine wrote, “until it finds its rest in Thee.” Anxiety needs its better half in Jesus. We can be slow to get the message and spread our trust as wide as possible. But anxiety will not be quieter until it is home. We need the One who is solid and endures. And we need the One who is close and compassionate.

Edward Welch

Learning to rest in God when anxiety about the unknowns of today (and tomorrow) threatens to undo us can be one of the most valuable spiritual lessons we learn in this life. It is also one of the most difficult. For some inexplicable reason (slow learners that we are) we try in vain to control our circumstances to minimize our pain or to avoid suffering at all costs; which is completely understandable given the pain and suffering so common in our broken world.

Begin Today Choose Faith Over Fear

James explains how we need to approach our pain and suffering and uncertainty. We do so by coming to God in prayer with an attitude of grace-filled gratitude for his personal presence and provision for us in the midst of our pain and suffering and uncertainty. We realize that we are, as James aptly describes, “But a mist”; therefore, we draw near to God in prayer, and he draws near to us.

Begin Today Thanking God For His Nearness

We can’t say it too many times: “We need the One who is solid and endures. And we need the One who is close and compassionate.” Thank Him today for being solid and enduring and for coming close and being compassionate.

Take-away Action Thought

During those moments when I feel like I’m living in a real-life nightmare, I will stop myself from mentally revisiting the difficulties of these past months. Instead, I will take my thoughts captive and start thanking God for his rock-solid love for me. I’ll praise him for being the One who endures all time and is sovereignly ruling even now. Then I will give thanks to my righteous and faithful heavenly Father, who comes close and showers me with compassion every morning.

My Heart’s Cry to You, O Lord

Father, I ask that you would help me to stop awakening every morning with a feeling of dread and discouragement. It’s true that these past months have been frightening and uncommonly difficult. Our lives have changed in ways we could not have imagined. Please give us your grace and strength to live one day at a time and to not worry about tomorrow. I ask that you shower me with your divine wisdom and show me how to live fully and present today. Bestow on me your compassion, which is new every morning, and teach me how powerful giving thanks with a heart of gratitude is as it transforms my thoughts and my emotions. I thank you for the perfect peace only you can supply. Amen.

Practicing Grace and Gratitude

Grace and gratitude from God – Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” Beginning today, I will be mindful of closing every prayer by asking for God’s will in all circumstances. I want to focus on the biblical truth that, no matter what I desire or pray for, I truly want God’s will in all matters, not my own.
Grace and gratitude in me – What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. This week I’ll spend time asking the Lord to help me reframe my prayers so they overflow with grace-filled words and a gratitude-laced heart. My prayers should reflect my understanding that God is sovereign and I am here but a short while with limited understanding of the mysteries of God.
Grace and gratitude in life – Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. Each evening this week, I will spend some time praying my thanks to the Lord. I will use this time to give thanks for every blessing, every mercy, and every show of compassion from the Lord I can recall. Then I’ll end my prayer with an acknowledgment to God that I understand how limited my understanding is about what he is accomplishing in the world events that often trouble me so greatly.

General Christian

Family, Parenting and Religion

About Michele Howe

Michele Howe is the author of 31 books for women, children, and families. She has published over 3000 articles, reviews, and curricula. Her newest release, Brave Faith for Hard Things - Sacred Purpose in Ordinary Suffering, helps readers reframe their current suffering from an eternal and hope-filled perspective. You can read more about the author here.

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