Jesus said to his followers, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” [Mark 4:40 (NCV)]
So don’t worry, because I am with you. Don’t be afraid, because I am your God. I will make you strong and will help you; I will support you with my right hand that saves you. [Isaiah 41:10 (NCV)]
Yesterday, I wrote about unfounded fears. Although I’m a bit of a nervous flyer, I’d rather travel than stay home, so I pray and fly. While I’m a little nervous about heights, I’d rather ride than hike up the mountain, so I pray and ride the lifts. Since my little Ziggy-like guy can easily capture my irrational fears, they rarely plague me. It’s not fear of external things like plane crashes or gondola accidents, however, that disturb me. Instead, it’s the fear that happens when I focus on me instead of God. Will I be wounded, bothered, abandoned or tested? What if I don’t succeed, reach my goal, or make a good impression? Will I be welcome? What if I make a mistake?
Recently, during his message, our pastor asked us to call out our fears. People were afraid of being honest, rejected or criticized. They were afraid of apologizing, failing and even of succeeding. They were afraid of taking risks, moving ahead, standing up for themselves, or letting go of old habits. Those are the kinds of fear that damage our daily lives; unfortunately, they are much harder than those big unfounded ones to identify and capture.
Fears like these sneak up on us; instead of being easily spotted like a butterfly, they’re more like those no-see-ums that afflicted me last night on the beach. It was nearly impossible to see those teeny gnats but they surely made their presence known. They sucked my blood the same way those tiny niggling fears can suck the life from us. And, just like the itch from those bites annoys me today, those fears are equally irritating and troublesome. While a little cortisone and Benadryl relieve the itching, faith is the best medicine for fear.
Fear is about us and doubting our abilities; faith is about God and trusting His. Fear holds us back; faith moves us forward. Fear keeps us focused on our inabilities; faith acknowledges those inabilities and puts our focus on God. Fear restricts and faith releases. Fear prevents and becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure. On the other hand, faith enables and empowers us to fulfill God’s purpose for us. Our destiny is shaped by our fears or our faith. Which will it be?
Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears. [Les Brown]
We can feed our faith with the Word, rather than feeding doubt with the devil’s lies. [Joyce Meyer]
Jehovah Rapha, the “Lord who Heals You,” was the name of God proclaimed to the Israelites through Moses at Marah. Indeed, a God who could make the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers clean and raise Lazarus from the dead can heal any physical ailment.
We’d taken my daughter and grand-daughter to a magic show and both my husband and grand had participated in two rather impressive illusions. On the way home, we three adults tried to figure out how each trick had been done. We explored various scenarios that might explain how the $50 bill with my husband’s signature on it ended up in the middle of an uncut orange, in a paper bag, and in a locked box that was in another locked box across the stage. We also tried to figure out how the magician used an elaborate series of mathematical calculations to know the age of our grand’s dog in dog years. (The dog, not there and being 105 in dog years, was most definitely not your average dog.) While we pondered various scenarios, my grand piped up, “Stop trying to figure it out. It was magic!” While it was an entertaining show, we know it wasn’t magic; it was just a carefully orchestrated and well-executed series of tricks. Nevertheless, we continued to want to know how each had been done. There is something about us all that wants to make sense of that which makes no sense. Sometimes, however, that can’t be done.
It’s springtime in the mountains and I’m thrilled to see that it’s snowing. Although I was hoping for at least one more powder day on the mountain, that’s not why I’m pleased. I’m happy because, once again, everything looks pristine and clean. You see, March’s warmer temperatures and sunshine have been busy melting the nearly 300 inches of snow we’ve had this season. As that white stuff gradually disappears, ugliness is uncovered. Hidden under those mounds of snow is four months’ worth of unsightly litter, pollution, exhaust and smoke residue, scoria and gravel. That filthy accumulation is now making its appearance along the roadways. As the snow recedes along the footpaths, it’s not just lost mittens, discarded tissues and cigarette butts that emerge but also the dog dirt and moose and elk pellets from the animals who have ventured onto the trails. As beautiful as springtime in the mountains can be, this ugliness is part of what we call “mud season.” Today’s snow covers it all up again and I can briefly forget the filth hiding beneath it. It’s sort of like sweeping dirt under the carpet or painting over handprints on the wall; although the grime is still there, it doesn’t bother us because it can’t be seen.
I don’t know about you, but I’m about ready to unplug the televisions until after the elections in November. It doesn’t matter which party or which candidate, the conduct and rhetoric has become nearly unbearable. Today’s Bible reading took me to Matthew 5 and the Beatitudes—those declarations of blessedness given by Jesus at the beginning of His Sermon on the Mount. I couldn’t help but contrast His words with the behavior of our politicians, their supporters and the news media. I then remembered A.W. Tozer’s observation that, if we were to take the Beatitudes and turn them inside out, we’d have the “very qualities which distinguish human life and conduct.”
Devotions of the Heart 