Posted on Thursday, January 21, 2021

How to Change Your Life

The power is in your praise and prayer

When the Covid crisis began last Spring, my husband and I were expecting our first child. Dreams for that glorious day when we would meet our little girl were dashed when we learned of hospital restrictions, airline cancellations, and lockdown procedures. My husband and I were getting a taste of parenthood during a pandemic.

Just over 24 hours after delivering our little one, we were packing up and heading home where there were no visitors waiting, no extra hands to help out, and no hot meals being delivered. Isolated, sleep-deprived, and puzzled by all the unknowns with a newborn, my spirit struggled to call this joy. Streams of postpartum tears were the only expression I had left in me.

About halfway through the book of Acts, we find the apostle Paul in Philippi sharing the good news of Jesus. Paul encountered a slave girl with an evil spirit and he cast the spirit out. This cost the owners of the slave girl some fortune-telling money and they had Paul thrown in jail.

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.” (Acts‬ ‭16:25-26‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

When all is stripped away, we still have everything we need to praise and pray.

Paul lost his freedom but he didn’t let a dark place pull him down. When pressed, Paul responded to his trial with praise and prayer; two things that could never be taken away.

In his difficulty, Paul decided to sing. He didn’t dwell on his dire situation, the darkness, or the detour from his mission, but instead placed his thoughts in a position of praise and prayer.

A change of heart

This summer in the middle of isolation, my pastor stood on the stage of our empty sanctuary and begged the Church not to lose hope. He said, “fatigue is the great enemy of faith.” He urged us to grab a notebook and use entire sheets of paper to write out encouraging reminders to hold fast to our faith. He told us to tape them to our refrigerator where we would see them often. Two of those reminders included “sing a little louder” and “fill me Holy Spirit.”

For seven months my husband and I kept our reminders up. Daily we drew strength from singing praises and praying for the Holy Spirit to fill us up. We praised God for delivering a miracle and we prayed for the eyes to see it. We praised God for providing for our family and prayed for opportunities to share it. We praised God for our spiritual family and prayed for those living without it. Those praises and prayers purified our own hearts.

Praise and prayer are two of the most powerful privileges we possess that no circumstance can take away.

My heart, and my words, changed when I chose to live life from a place of praise despite the question marks looming over my circumstance. My prayers went from “save me, God” to “I trust you, Jesus.”

There is rest in my soul knowing the Lord will not let even the changing of a single dirty diaper go to waste. He is chiseling my character out of the trials of motherhood.

Friend, if you have stumbled into a dark place or are struggling through a difficult season, my hope is that your spirit will be lifted when you think about who Jesus is and how much He has saved you and me from. May you find the strength to lead your days and all the moments in between with praise. I pray you will find the courage to sing a little louder to our Creator, our Savior, our Truth, and Light. God sees you. He knows your situation. And He longs to be gracious to you. May you lean into His love with your prayers and rest in the assurance that He’s got you in the palm of His hands. And may your heart stay ready for the “immediately” or “suddenly” that typically follows close behind.

So where will you start with your praise? Your health? Your home? Our Faithful Father? Our Savior, Jesus?

What are you holding control of that needs to be surrendered in prayer? The choices your children make? The way your spouse expresses love? How a friend, family member, or neighbor responds or doesn’t respond to your request?

Not sure your prayers are making it to heaven? Here’s an article to remind you of the power behind a common man’s prayer: https://trishakeehn.com/the-miracle-in-a-common-mans-prayer/

First Published on Empowered Women Faith Club

Posted on Tuesday, August 25, 2020

What the bible says about anxiety

Humility Preserves Peace

Stepping out from a doctor’s appointment, my heart was racing with thoughts of being so unprepared for this part of my story. Soothing words wrestled with my emotions, but it didn’t take away the feeling of losing control.

Flipping my bible open to verses on anxiety, I read 1 Peter 5:6 and my heart sank with the first two words: “Humble yourselves.” Was my anxiety stemming from pride?

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7 ESV)

Anxiety and stress can tempt us to lose sight of the sovereignty of God. Fear might overcompensate with pride and persuade us the outcome can be controlled. The problem with these emotions is that they will wear our human hands and hearts out.

A humble heart acknowledges the mighty hand of our Sovereign God and can accept that we’re not in control. Humility helps us let go of the questions and cast our cares with confidence in a loving, powerful God.

When we’re willing to release our grip on life and pray from a place of surrender and humility, we see the Truth that God cares enough for us to work it all out for our good.

The Almighty God who got us here can also take us there. He cares that much for us.

Are you still holding onto control in an area of your life, as if you can handle all that is coming your way? When those anxious feelings come up, think about where your future rests. Will any of your decisions change what God already has in mind?

If you feel like you’re drowning in anxiety, here’s a good place to refocus those thoughts: Father God, I know You are for me and not against me. You hold my past, present, and future in Your hands and will not let me stumble. Help me step down from the throne of control and humbly accept Your love and peace. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.

First Published on Beloved Women

Posted on Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Are You Really Surrendering Your Prayers?

It’s difficult to maintain inner peace when life is filled with so many unknowns. Will my job still be there tomorrow? Will my kids return home safely today? Will I have the money to pay my bills next week?

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6,7 ESV)

These two verses can make life sound like a fairy tale. We pray, and peace comes. But how many times have you prayed and the inner turmoil didn’t let up? Maybe it’s because giving up our requests to God requires surrender of the anxieties and outcomes to God. How often do we actually do that?
When we open our hearts and lips to pray, we also have a responsibility to let go of the results.

Jesus is willing to shoulder our worries when we’re willing to trust Him.

Paul urges us in Philippians to go to God with gratitude and let our worries, concerns, and anticipations be made known to God. When we let go of those requests, the next verse tells us the peace of God will stand guard over our hearts and minds.

When we understand the gravity of God’s unfailing love and faithfulness to his children, we can sit gratefully at His feet with our simple prayers and fully surrender to His will. Then we will experience the kind of peace we’ve been longing for, the peace that surpasses all understanding.

What has you anxious or worried today? Have you tried to speak them out loud and visualize laying them at the foot of the cross as they come to mind?

Here’s a place to begin your prayer: Father God, I surrender. I let go of the things keeping me up at night. I lay at Your feet the worries weighing me down during the day. Jesus, I declare my trust is in Your love and faithfulness as soon as the words leave my mouth. I ask for Your peace that surpasses all.

First Published on Beloved Women.

Posted on Monday, December 17, 2018

Studies show gratefulness might be the key

Statistics on gratitude say those who are grateful live longer, healthier lives. Studies say people who live with a thankful mindset are also more compassionate, forgiving, and feel less lonely. But living a life of gratitude is easier said than done when life isn’t going our way.

How can we be grateful when our spirit is broken and the weight of our situation crushes the life out of our praise?

When life circumstances feel unfair, unjust, and simply uncalled for, we can quickly stop trusting God and try to take control of the situation. Especially when the tears won’t stop and our situation feels like it’s getting worse.

waiting, hope, trishakeehn.com

God doesn’t want us to hold back the pain or cover it up with cliches. In those moments of despair, our loving Father wants to hear from an honest heart. Our Healer wants to handle the heartbreak.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26 NIV

God is making all things new. While the pain is real, He wants us to fix our eyes on His greater plan and promises. As we wait on God’s ways and His timing, refocusing our earthly hurts onto the heavenly hope of Jesus is for our own good.

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8 NIV

When our weary hearts anchor hope in the Word of God and believe He is always faithful, those worn out, wrecked thoughts transform into expectant, grateful hearts.

But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57 NLT

Practicing gratitude takes conscious effort. It’s easy to lapse into a negative mindset when life turns upside down. One easy way to help you see beyond your situation and reflect, recharge, and refocus on God’s Word is with one of our Bible plans focused on gratitude.

To create small reminders of God’s goodness during your day, use the YouVersion Bible Lens App to capture faces, places, and moments you’re grateful for. When you upload your photos in the app, Bible Lens will pair your picture with the perfect Bible verse. This can help transform your thoughts about the day. You can also try writing down one thing you’re grateful for either at the beginning or end of each day.

God does not push us away when we bring Him our pain. He brings us in even closer. When we refocus a burdened spirit on God’s unfailing love, we find hope that things will not remain the same. He is making all things new.

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV

In our struggles, we can be grateful that God hasn’t left us to fight these insurmountable battles alone. Our Great Defender has defeated the valleys of life and the grave of death to give us a new life, a new spirit, and a new heart in Him!

Posted on Friday, October 26, 2018

What the Bible can teach a busy heart

And why we must find balance in it all

Twenty-four hours never feels like enough. If only we had more time! A couple extra hours a day could make all the difference. Or maybe an extra day in the week just to catch up, right? You might be juggling family time, social commitments, work demands, health goals, business ambitions, school assignments, relationships, and kiddos. Need we list more?

The problem with busy is that it’s often rooted in anxiety and worry. We might multitask out of fear we’ll let others down or because we struggle with letting others help. Or we might derive our value from an overpacked, overwhelmed schedule and wear our busy schedule as a sense of identity. If we’re not careful the results of our busyness can lead to pride.

We’ve grown into a generation reliant on gadgets to get us instant results so we can “do it all,” but Psalm 39 says, “We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing.”

Merely moving shadows. Rushing ends in nothing. The Bible makes it clear that all our scurrying is in vain. The Lord has ordered our days and is ultimately in control.

Before you go quit your job and resign from all your responsibilities, notice that the Bible never said being productive with our time is a bad thing. Work is actually one of our God-given functions. But even a busy-body can make worshipping God feel more like work than rest. A good heart might schedule time to read the Bible, join a LifeGroup, and commit to serving in church, but when the time comes, an overloaded soul cancels—suggesting another time when life doesn’t feel so busy.

Our productivity will not earn God’s approval. Here are three truths to help you re-prioritize your lists today:

1. God will accomplish through you what He needs to accomplish in the time available. You can’t make your days longer. Do your best, and leave God with the rest.

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east? Job 38:4,12 NLT

2. We are created to be in God’s presence. As humans, we have a biological need for consistent rest and refreshment. Making time to rest in the Lord can be challenging, but there is rejuvenating power in pausing to be with our Maker.

Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27 NLT

3. We will always benefit with God’s presence. When we turn to God, He puts our days in perspective and it helps us prioritize the important stuff. Our worries can find rest and quiet strength in God’s Word for those situations when we feel weak.

I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 ESV

For nothing will be impossible with God. Luke 1:37 ESV

As God’s children, we don’t have to hustle to make things happen. His love for us goes beyond all the busyness. His help extends past our limits. In God’s eyes, your worth is not measured by your work. Your value, your significance is simply based on who the He is.

Is there a commitment you need to let go of to get your priorities right with God? Just remember, sitting at the feet of Jesus is for your benefit. God honors us when we honor Him with our time.

Posted on Tuesday, July 18, 2017

What would your second chance look like?

Today is a second chance.

While you can’t change the past, you can change the present.

The crushing convictions you may have experienced in the aftermath of your past are not lost. That burden of conviction on your heart is a guilt between you and God, and He is a God of second chances; it’s called today.

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. – Jonah 3:1-3 ESV

Today is your second chance.

You can change how you respond to frustration. You can set new boundaries and protect what you have left. You can get help. You can walk away from that addiction. You can honor your loved ones by putting new priorities in place.

There’s still time to pick up the phone, text, reach out, show up. Perhaps for you it’s not picking up more but putting down what you already have; the pain, the blame, the worry.

Conviction is between you and God, the Author and Creator of your soul. He uses this kind of remorse and guilt on your conscious to change the course of your days ahead. He’s guiding you with a hand on your heart to steer your steps into more blessings, more favor, higher places with more responsibility.

If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. – Luke 16:10 NLT

Your Father will not give you more work or more burden than you can bear. He gives you and I a choice every day as He waits for change to reveal your growth, your strength, your resilience.

There is no shame changing who you used to be into the person you want to be, the person you know you can be.

Here is an opportunity to respect failed attempts yesterday by taking the second chance to change today.

If you don’t know how to begin again, a good place to start is with “I’m sorry.”

The past carries casualties of our ignored convictions. May your present be the change God is calling you to be.

Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2017

How to give grace when life doesn’t make sense

Truth, God is good, God is loving, God is right, waves of questions

If we don’t guard our hearts and minds, we begin to think God is so good to us because we have done something right.

We might conclude that escaping tragedies like divorce, depression, or addiction is a sign of dignity. We may determine healthy kids and a wealthy household is based more on merit than on God’s mercy.

Truly God is compassionate.

Not a tear falls without Him knowing, collecting and reaching out with comfort.

Listen, we will never be able to figure out why God responds the way He does. We can’t know why this devastation was ‘allowed’ and ‘that’ life was spared.

Be careful with any desire to have the answers. We might rob today with skepticism. We may waste this moment searching for reasons that go deeper than what we can see. We could potentially strip an innocent heart of its integrity and worth if we’re continually waiting for the shoe to drop or for the flaw that’s going to break it all. Sometimes the answer is simply timing.

The questions can stir up doubt that God even cares about our concerns. Confusion can shake the foundation of faith that God is even in control here.

Beneath the waves of questions is this Rock of Truth: God is always good, always right, and always loving.

If you’re brave enough to stand up in the storm on this bedrock of Truth, you’ll find the strength inside to love, to forgive, to extend grace in a sea of what doesn’t make sense. Your character is what is left when the bottom falls out.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26 NIV

Posted on Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Your Good For His Glory

Isaiah 55:8, working for your good, His ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts

God made a decision about you.

2016 was quite the year. Challenging for many of us. It carried such glorious and gut-wrenching moments. Some of the most sacred and then shocking of events. God gave so much and He took too. The enemy sent arrows that sunk deep, piercing peace, breaking love and bleeding out joy. There were words that barreled through our boundaries and stirred up the dust on bitterness.

Satan’s attacks were meant to disrupt and divide us; to push the pain, stir up shame and bully beautiful hearts into despair. The past may have opened up doors of depression while the future shook you with worry and fear. Some of the things you walked through were not pleasant. It was unprecedented. Dramatic. Revealing.

It was a year that fell short, like most things that end with the number ‘6’ do. 2016 carried weapons that HURT but here’s what I want you to know, they did not prosper. They brought the warfare but they could not win; goodness and mercy were following you all those days buried in the confusion and turmoil. The devil had his moment but it’s over now. The purpose of last year has run its course. Your trouble is about to be put in its place.

God was not taken by surprise in all this, you know.

He has a plan and you’re right in the middle of it.

The hand of heaven is in control and hovering over the gates of hell. Everything you survived will ultimately swing in your favor. His purpose in allowing this hurt is for your good and ultimately for His glory.

God is so good, God does good and God can work together all things (even the not so good) for our good and His glory.

I hope you live fully expecting great things in a year that ends with ‘7’, for He who promised is faithful. He’s working to complete His perfect plan and I think 2017 is a great place for our Father to finish some things in our life; healing in some hard places, redemption from the wreckage and restoration in our promised land.

Don’t assume that because it doesn’t feel good that it isn’t working for your good. His ways are not our ways. God is not haphazard in handling us. He is strategic and intentional.

God is restoring and He’s rebuilding. Your past may have actually been a painful gift of maturity and growth.

There’s brand new opportunities, fresh grace, restoring mercy just waiting for your knock at the door. He’s going to complete it for His glory. The seeds that were sown and prayers prayed last year may just show up seven-fold this year.

Get into position. What you lost is on its way back around in ways you never imagined!

Posted on Wednesday, December 21, 2016

How to warrior on in the wait

waiting, advent, season of waiting, Christmas

Waiting takes the most vulnerable parts of us and puts them to the test. In this place between the death of a dream and anticipating the arrival of a new one, is a battleground of learning how to trust God.

Advent is all about waiting. We anticipate the arrival in these days leading up to the birth of our Savior. Advent is the question and Christmas is the answer. Jesus is the response to our pleading howls in the night.

Our tears tell the truth, it’s hard to celebrate in the wait. When we feel rejected or forgotten by God, this kind of brokenness can keep us in bondage to emotions of longing and loneliness. Yet, it’s in the long days that God leans in. I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness—secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name. Isaiah 45:3 NIV

When we quiet our thoughts and emotions that compete with God’s attention, we find in the stillness this profound grace of His presence. These painful places of waiting can offer a glimpse of the face of God if we let them. When we don’t feel very merry, Jesus offers us mercy. He holds the power to fill what’s empty, mend what’s broken, and find what’s lost.

It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. 1 Peter 1:3 ESV

Can you relate to a season of waiting? The yearning is very real here. Strangely, the strongest thing we can do when we feel stuck is to surrender. It takes more strength to let go than to hold on. The death of one thing brings life of another.

While we wait with eyes of faith, Hope sustains a burdened and weary heart. In the weak places is where Jesus releases His power. It’s okay to grieve in the wait without giving up on God’s promise. Peace can come from just knowing the Author and Creator has a plan.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 ESV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV

And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. Isaiah 58:11 ESV

When it feels like Heaven has pressed pause and Earth has gone silent, face your fear of being alone and embrace this quiet place. The still, small voice of God speaks louder to a heart in the silent nights.

It’s easy to blur our focus of God with busy schedules this time of year. We might drown our days with distractions in hopes that the noise will suppress the sadness of the season. Time won’t heal the wound; only Jesus can.

You get to decide what your focus will be. If you shift your focus from the object of your wait to the One who forms your faith, you find this rich place of communion and healing. His companionship is meant to do a work in you before God goes to work through you. When you seek more of God with your thoughts, your words, your walk through His word, the scene changes.

You might be waiting on a miracle or maybe you’re just waiting on an answer, if you believe God is for you then this time won’t go to waste. When you trust God with the desires of your heart, you can surrender your ways to His will. Here’s a few ideas on how to wait well in this season of Advent:

When you’re tempted to sulk in the pain, pray for someone else who might be suffering. Out of the overflow of God’s grace for you, you can give this same grace to others.
Encourage your mind by recalling the ways God has been faithful in your life.
Start in the Word and thank God for the promises He has already made to you. Then thank Him for the fulfillment of those on their way.
Ask God for a renewal of your thoughts, the root of joy which is this Hope and lasting change in the deepest parts of your heart.
Surround your soul with community.

So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better than. 1 Peter 1:13-14 ESV

What situation in your life are you giving more attention to than your devotion to God? Your soul will be most satisfied when you are where God wants you to be. I pray that what is right and good and worth believing will outshine these days of darkness and brokenness that’s within and around us.

His love is stronger than the death of your dreams – even IF things don’t turn out better than expected. Do you believe that? Do your actions and words believe that? Keep this moment here close because the sun will shine soon and you’ll need this reminder of what God has done a year from now.

What are you waiting for?

Posted on Friday, December 16, 2016

Is the most wonderful time of the year weighing you down?

Every November I declare, “this Christmas is going to be different.” Before December is here nearly every weekend in my calendar is scribbled with parties, baking, shopping, and holiday events. There’s little time left to plug in Christmas pictures, greeting cards, decorations, cookies, crafts, and that annual Jingle Bell Run.

Why must it be this way every year? Why does the most wonderful time of the year end up weighing me down?

Usually by Thanksgiving, I’ve already run out of time to celebrate Jesus. I find myself tempted to abandon Christlikeness in favor of the lists and the lines.

This is a season that is supposed to center around a silent, holy night, the star and a Savior being born. It’s also a time of year known for overspending, overeating, overindulging, and overcommitting.

When we’re caught up in a calendar of activities, a very chaotic version of ourselves is created. We’re short with long lines, we might react to frustrations, or even become bitter instead of better with people.

What if the best gift we can give family and friends is something they don’t have to wait until December 25th to unwrap? Let’s not wait until after Christmas to begin the exchanges.

I have a feeling if we surrendered our to-do lists, demands, and desires for God’s plans of a peaceful place in our soul, we might find the deepest desires of our heart is met.

The presence of His peace in our soul is the fruit harvested when we place it all in His hands.

Less crazy. More sanity. That’s the goal.

The best part is that we are actually serving others when we swap out stress for a serene approach to our relationships. I want to offer family and friends a calm and joyful spirit, instead of an exhausted sigh. Wouldn’t it be nice to spend more time celebrating from the overflow of my heart instead of cringing at a cluttered calendar at this time of year?

Trisha Keehn

Living in the midst of gravity and grace. Biblical perspective for when life doesn't make sense.

Category Archives: Depression and Anxiety