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Prompt Response: Faith is the Answer


A smiling man in a baroque robe stands in a pastoral field with a peaceful smile on his face. He's smiling because he's passing along the “weight of the world” to The Lord, as illustrated by a globe of Earth nestled into a dumbbell on a tray he's handing to two hands reaching out of the clouds. Digital image created by Wombo Dream AI. Text on image reads: FEAR stands for….

“False Evidence Appearing Real”

but FAITH says….

“Forsaking All I Trust Him.”
AI (Wombo) Weight of the World to God by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

How do you handle fear and self-doubt?

I’m not sure where I learned these two acronyms, but I know they weren’t together when I learned them. The idea of the first part is to see fear as nothing to fear. But, in truth, sometimes it really is something that can harm us or those we love, and being in fear is the normal response we need to activate our “fight or flight” response.

Whether it’s a real, worthy of fighting or evasive maneuvers, fear, or the weight of tossing our troubles around in our minds until they harm us whether they come to fruition or not, FAITH is still an answer. Faith may give you the wisdom you need for a proper fight or the direction to run for a good getaway. Or, faith may just tell you to stand your ground and be still because the battle belongs to The Lord. The hardest and easiest part is when faith tells you that nothing will change but that nothing changing also means God is still on His throne taking care of what we can’t control and of our eternity.

On that last part, I can tell you honestly that the idea of losing anyone I love and care for from this Earth is hard. Thinking of my own passage into eternity is hard. And I need statements like the one above to remind me that God’s got it all in His hands.

Still, it’s totally human to fear and doubt. In Psalm 56:3, King David didn’t say he would not fear but rather …

Psalm 56:3 BSB
[3] When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.

https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.56.3.BSB

Though, once he acknowledged that he could be afraid, he strengthened himself in The Lord and went on in verse 4 to say …

Psalm 56:4 BSB
[4] In God, whose word I praise — in God I trust. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.56.4.BSB

When the roots of our fears and doubts are of our own making, they can harm us at least as much as real dangers. Recently, I spent an entire night with my lessons, blog, and sleep all negatively affected because I feared an unknown scenario where I’d received a subpoena. Not being a person who likes to defend myself even when I know I’m innocent, that postal note on a certified letter let my mind wander to many possible scenarios. The next day, I thought of better possibilities (like an old family parcel with water rights finally becoming worth something), but oh how the wandering mind can torture us until we know the truth. And at the end, not one thing I imagined matched the real reason for the letter.

So, did I put those weights of the world on a tray and hand them over to The Lord? Unfortunately, not. And He might have been extending His arms, ready to take over, the whole time. As many times as I’ve written about fear and shared miraculous testimonies, wouldn’t you think I’d know better by now? But alas, I am human and have a lot of experience that has set me up for fear and doubt—probably like everyone who reads this post.

I hope that sharing this helps someone to get through a fearful event or time a little more easily, even if it’s because you now know you’re not alone in being a person who loves and trusts God but still gives in to your fears at times. And I hope creating a visual of someone passing the weight of the world to the waiting hands of God will stay with me (and you) for the next time fear becomes a battle.


I wrote the poem below for my sister in 2015 as we both maneuvered life after losing our mom. You can find it to download in its largest size on my Flickr page at https://flic.kr/p/ybqdqj where I’ve listed a regular copyright but am happy to let people use it for personal and non-commercial purposes. Since I’ve placed it on items for sale at Zazzle, I must protect my copyright to make sure no one comes and says I took it from them, but I’m a big believer in freely I have received, so freely I will give.

”I Trust You” Lyric Poem by Crystal A Murray in light yellow text on an image of a beautiful blue lake with a rusted piling and chain.
“I Trust You” Lyric Poem on Lake Image
(Both the image and words are by Crystal A Murray © 2015)

May 26, 2026 Posted by | AI Image Creations, Bible, by Day One, Christianity, Hard Days & Emotions, Lyrics and Song, Nonfiction, Photo Studio Pro app, Poetry, Prompts, Text on Image, Visual Parables (Images with a Message), Walking With The Lord, Wombo Dream | , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Creativity Day


AI (Wombo) Purple & Gold Cat Pic by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

I had a bit of a stressful day today, and I have a really busy day planned for tomorrow, so I decided that tonight was a great night to just do some picture playing while my phones charged before sleep. No deep words of wisdom other than to remind you (and myself) that God’s Word promises us that He will work everything for the good for those who love Him and are the called according to His purposes. To be able to work everything to the good means He is with us in those everything moments. So this is me trying to release any and all fears, anxieties, and issues with my battles with low self-esteem (though I know God sees me better than I see myself, so that helps), into His hands. I’m sure my readers have had their hard days and battles as well, so as I pray for those who visit my writings, I’m also grateful for those who take me to the throne when I’m not as strong as I’d like to be. Thank you with my whole heart. 🙏

Romans 8:28 BSB
[28] And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.

https://bible.com/bible/3034/rom.8.28.BSB
Philippians 4:6 BSB
[6] Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

https://bible.com/bible/3034/php.4.6.BSB
Proverbs 19:21 BSB
[21] Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the Lord will prevail.

https://bible.com/bible/3034/pro.19.21.BSB

And now, more pictures…

Good night and Shalom! 🕊️

May 11, 2026 Posted by | AI, AI Image Creations, Bible, Creativity, Hard Days & Emotions, Prayer, Walking With The Lord, Wombo Dream | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

🎵 The Clock on God’s Wall


​AI image created by Google Gemini for use in the public domain: A celestial, panoramic illustration depicting the divine cycle of life and the sovereignty of time. In the upper center, a majestic God figure sits on a throne, His face veiled by a radiant glow and soft clouds. He holds a silver stopwatch in His left hand and points toward a massive, ornate wall clock with His right, signifying divine timing. Surrounding Him, golden-winged angels carry out sacred tasks: on the left, angels gently descend toward Earth carrying newborn infants; on the right, angels assist an elderly man as he rises from a hospital bed, transitioning from frailty to a state of youthful strength and peace as he enters a light-filled heavenly realm. The art style is ethereal and classical, emphasizing comfort and the orderly beauty of life’s beginning and end.
AI (Gemini) God’s Perfect Timing (from prompt by Crystal A Murray) (CC 0)

Anyone who read yesterday’s post to the end where I talk about my stepdad being in ICU without a DNR probably expected a goodbye post to follow soon. And you’re correct. But oh how perfectly God directs the timing even of the hard things. We can trust the clock on God’s wall.

I waited for a bit today to see if I got any phone calls; did my daily Bible study and other routines, made a cup of coffee, etc. I got out my phone to make the call to the hospital ICU for an update, and then realized I should finish the task I was on so it wouldn’t make noise during my call. The wait delayed my call for about 5-10 minutes. When I got the palliative nurse on the line, she gave me the news that his heart had stopped in the past 5-10 minutes.

I don’t consider things like that to be coincidences. I see them as a piece of timing that God orchestrated perfectly and nudged me into. He knew the difference it would make if I were talking to the nurse when the monitors began to signal my dad’s final moments. But by hearing it in the past tense, I was able to feel the jolt of sadness but also the peace of knowing he was in God’s hands already. Bittersweet is a good adjective for that. So, while I mourn a bit on this Earth, I can also rejoice that we have such a loving and personal Lord and Savior to plan for our needs and carry them out in just the right timing.

I tried a bunch of pictures with Wombo, and they just weren’t working, so I asked Gemini to better interpret what I was trying to say. I think the image is amazing, and because I did no personal editing or framing on it, it’s public domain for anyone else who might want to use it. I did not ask for the Scripture, so that was an extra nice touch. Here are those verses from Ecclesiastes 3…

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 BSB
[1] To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: [2] a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, [3] a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build, [4] a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, [5] a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, [6] a time to search and a time to count as lost, a time to keep and a time to discard, [7] a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, [8] a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

https://bible.com/bible/3034/ecc.3.1-8.BSB

And one more verse that seems fitting…

2 Corinthians 1:4 BSB
[4] who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

https://bible.com/bible/3034/2co.1.4.BSB

I’ll close this out with a beautiful and fitting song by Casting Crowns…

Scars in Heaven by Casting Crowns (with lyrics)

May 6, 2026 Posted by | AI, Bible, Christianity, Gemini (by Google), Grace and Mercy (In Scripture and In Life), Hard Days & Emotions, Nonfiction, Slice of Life, testimony | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

   

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