Proverbs | His Glory My Joy, a blog of Author Luana Ehrlich

Get A Grip

March 4, 2026 6 comments

I thought of the expression,“get a grip,” the other day when I had to face the reality of a serious medical condition that I’ve been dealing with for the past several months, a medical condition that’s going to require surgery to fix it—brain surgery.

The medical condition I’ve been having is Trigeminal Neuralgia, and the neurosurgeon at OU Medical Center told me that he would perform a Microvascular Decompression on my brain to correct it.

However, when I thought of the phrase, “get a grip,” I wasn’t thinking in terms of its usual usage, that is, I wasn’t telling myself to control my emotions so I wouldn’t have a breakdown when I heard what the surgeon said he needed to do.

This surgery requires him to remove a portion of my skull near my ear and separate the superior cerebellar artery in my brain from the trigeminal nerve that controls the feeling in my face. (This artery sits so close to the trigeminal nerve that it has worn it down on the right side of my brain, which is why it’s continually sending painful electrical shocks to the right side of my face, and unfortunately, I’m allergic to the medicines that are usually able to control this condition.)

When I heard what the surgeon said he needed to do, instead of thinking about the usual meaning of “get a grip,” I thought about all the Scriptures that assure me that God will give me strength and uphold me during the difficult times I face in my life—a promise He’s given to all believers.

Isaiah 41:10 is one of those verses: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Not only does God uphold me—that is, He grips me tight—He also tells me to hold onto Him—yes, He’s told me to get a grip on Him.

A verse that says this very thing is Proverbs 4:13: “Take hold of my instructions; don’t let them go. Guard them, for they are the key to life.”

As I undergo this procedure and the recovery period that follows—which could be several weeks—I’m going to “get a grip”by holding on to everything God has promised me in His Word, all those verses that assure me that whatever He allows to come into my life has first passed through His hands and will ultimately bring Him glory and be for my good and benefit.

These are the same promises you can lean on to “get a grip” during the trials you’re facing. I’ve listed a few of those promises below, but there are many more in His Word.

Joshua 1:9—“Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

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

Philippians 4:13—“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

Categories: Anxiety, Believe, Bible, Comfort, Devotionals, Faith, Fear, Get a Grip, Glorifying God, God's Word, Personal, Proverbs, Psalms, Thankfulness, Worry Tags: Believe, Bible, Faith, Fear, Holding on, Personal, Trust God

Fear The Lord!

March 24, 2016 2 comments

Fear God 1 The notion of being afraid of God seems foreign to those of us who view God as the Lover of our Soul, who sing of His blessings, and who trust Him with our eternal soul.

Yet, one can’t read the Bible without encountering the oft-repeated admonition to “fear the Lord.” Throughout the Old Testament, there are numerous examples of God’s children receiving a blessing because they fear God. Also, because of fearing God, they do what He commands them to do. (Genesis 42:18; Exodus 1:17; Exodus 18:21)

Fear of God is not just an Old Testament concept, though. Jesus said in Matthew 10:28, “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Nevertheless, there are times in my life when I’ve struggled with the concept of what it means to fear God. That’s why, when I recently came across a definition of fearing God in Drew Dyck’s book, Yawning At Tigers: You Can’t Tame God, So Stop Trying, I spent time meditating on it.

Dyck says, “To fear the Lord is to be grounded in reality, to have an accurate view of God’s holy nature and his awesome power.”

Fearing God doesn’t mean we cower in His presence—like a dog who knows he’s displeased his master—nor does it mean we run and hide instead of joyfully approaching Him. Instead, we embrace the fear of God because we recognize His to-be-feared characteristics, such as His all-powerful wrath toward sin, His unending sovereignty, and His unapproachable holiness, are an accurate understanding of who God really is.

The fearfulness of God is a reality, even if we don’t like it very much.

Having a true picture of God is the beginning of wisdom. Proverbs 9:10: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”

I live in Norman, Oklahoma. That means I know what’s it’s like to watch a mile-wide tornado approaching my city. It’s a fearful thing. However, if I’m hunkered down inside an indestructible storm shelter, I’m able to be in awe of the storm’s fierceness without fearing for my life.

We should fear God. We should be in awe of His wrath and His judgment. Yet, at the same time, we should have peace, knowing He is shielding us from wrath, sheltering us in His arms forever.

Categories: Devotionals, Glorifying God, God's Control, God's Love, God's Presence, Proverbs, Theology Tags: Faith, Fear, Fearing God, Worry, Wrath God Fear

Some Sorta Funny Stuff

November 2, 2015 Leave a comment

It’s not often I burst out laughing when reading the Bible, but in my daily Bible study the other morning I did.

I was reading through the book of Job, where three of Job’s “friends” had just finished telling him the reason he’d lost his family, his belongings, and his health was because he’d sinned against God. Their speeches had been lofty, couched in flowery, poetic language and, evidently, Job had been patiently listening to them for hours, even though he knew he was innocent of any wrongdoing.

He said this to them in Job 12:2: “No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you.”

After thinking about Job’s use of sarcasm, I wrote down some of the Bible’s funnier lines.

Proverbs 27:14— I can relate to this one.
“If a man loudly blesses his neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse.”

2 Kings 9:20—King David hears this about one of his chariot drivers.
“The lookout reported, “He has reached them, but he isn’t coming back either. The driving is like that of Jehu son of Nimshi–he drives like a madman.”

2 Kings 2:23—We can assume the prophet Elisha didn’t have a full head of hair.
“He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!”

Numbers 22:28-30—Here’s the story about a talking donkey and the man who talked back to him!
“Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you.” And the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?” And he said, “No.”

And one last one from Proverbs.

Proverbs 21:9—No comment necessary.
“It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.”