October 30, 2026
Good morning from Colorado!
We’re on the last day of October’s 15 Minutes with God: God, Ghosts & Ghouls: What Are We Really Afraid Of?
When I started working on this month’s theme, I knew fear would be part of the conversation. I just didn’t know where the month would take me. As I wrote each day, I kept coming back to the same question in different ways: What are we looking at when life gets difficult? Looking back over everything we’ve written, I think that question has been sitting underneath the entire month.
Before we finish the month, I want to think about ghosts and ghouls in a new way.
The Ghosts Behind Us
Most of us have something behind us that we would rather not revisit.
It might be a mistake we made, something someone said to us, a relationship that didn’t work out, a missed opportunity, a financial decision, a career setback, or simply a season of life that left us wondering what happened.
The event may be over, but sometimes the memory keeps showing up.
That’s what I think spiritual ghosts are.
They are things from the past that are no longer part of our lives, but they still linger in our minds. We remember what happened, replay old conversations, wonder what we could have done differently, and sometimes let yesterday shape how we see today.
We’ve talked about some of those things this month.
We’ve talked about failure, disappointment, the things people have said to us, and the chances we didn’t take. We’ve also talked about what’s left after a hard time, and what happens when we let the past keep holding us back.
There is nothing wrong with remembering.
But it’s different when we let memories become the place where we live.
A ghost from the past can steal our peace if we keep letting yesterday affect today.
At some point, we have to accept that what happened is behind us. We can learn from it, grieve, forgive, and make better choices moving forward.
But we don’t have to keep carrying it as if it’s still happening today.
The Ghouls That Keep Us Stagnant
Then there are the things in front of us.
Sometimes those are people.
Sometimes we trust someone else’s opinion so much that we forget they are human too. We might let someone else’s success make us question our own path. We can even let others decide what we can do, where we belong, or whether our dreams matter.
Sometimes, we trust people who face the same struggles we do.
That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t love, trust, learn from, or accept help from others. God often uses people to encourage, teach, correct, and help us through hard times.
But people are not God.
That’s an important distinction.
Someone can give us advice and still be wrong. They can care about us but still have their own limits. They might mean well but not see what God is doing in our lives.
If we put all our trust in people, we might end up disappointed, confused, or stuck when they can’t give us what only God can.
That’s what I think a ghoul can represent.
It is something ahead of us that scares us, distracts us, or keeps us from moving forward.
Fear can do it.
Comparison can do it.
Doubt can do it.
Waiting for someone else’s approval before we believe we’re ready can do it too.
So, Where Do We Look?
After everything we’ve talked about this month, I think this is where we land: We look up. Not back at the ghosts or around at the ghouls, but toward God.
Psalm 121:1–2 asks the question we’ve been carrying with us: “I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
That answer changes everything. Our help doesn’t come from ignoring the past, letting others decide our future, or having all the answers. Our help comes from the Lord.
And maybe that’s what I needed to understand when we began this month. God is not a ghost. God is not a ghoul. God is God. He is the Creator. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
When we seek God, we’re not looking for something mysterious that might save us if we figure it out. We’re turning to the One who has always been there.
The ghosts might be part of our past, but they don’t have to control our future. The ghouls might stand in our way, but they don’t have to keep us stuck. And the fear we carry doesn’t have to stop us from growing in faith.
As I look back on everything we’ve discussed this month, I keep returning to one question: Where am I looking when I’m afraid? That question feels different to me now than it did at the start of October.
When I look to God, I don’t have to pretend the past never happened. I can remember it without letting it follow me into every new situation. I can miss an opportunity and still try again. I can have an idea that doesn’t turn out as I hoped and still be thankful that God lets me dream. I can ask for help without feeling like a failure, and I can admit I don’t know something without thinking I should have all the answers.
Those things don’t just go away because I have faith. What changes is how I handle them. I don’t have to let the past decide everything for me, and I don’t have to wait for someone else to tell me I can move forward. I can take what I’ve learned, give it to God, and keep moving.
We’ve spent October talking about fear, but as the month ends, I’m thinking about something else: where my help really comes from.
And I know the answer.
My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
That’s where I choose to look.
And perhaps that’s where we should all begin.
I’ll see you in November for another 15 Minutes with God.
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