WATCHWORD:
The Lord is my light and my salvation; he protects me from danger—whom shall I fear? Psalm 27:1
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Psalm 46:1-3
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7
Meditation:
No Grounds for Fear?
We worry, we fret, our minds are so filled with fearful things that we can’t sleep. We avoid conflict, so conflict never gets resolved, and that stays on our minds and becomes something else to worry about.
I read somewhere about the two meanings of fear: F-E-A-R – “Forget Everything and Run” or “Face Everything and Rise”. One is “Save Yourselves, Run!” while the other, is “Put your trust in the Lord and deal with it.”
As children, we relied more upon the first meaning, and we ran from our fears. We cried out to our parents to save and comfort us. As we got older, and learned ways of coping with our fears, we found the courage to deal with our nervousness and our fears. Maybe we screwed-up our courage and resolved to face fear and defeat it. And we found that it worked, in most cases.
Overcoming our fears is something that we have learned in fits and starts along the way. As we mature, we begin to realize that some of our fears have absolutely no substance. At some point in our Christian walk we began to realize that there is real strength in knowing that Jesus is our Lord and Savior and indeed is that ever-present help in times of trouble. And as that became a real part of who we are in Christ, we began to have faith in that fact.
Fear is not real. The only place that fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future, or what might happen. It is a product of our imagination, causing us to fear things that do not exist at present and may never exist. To dwell on those is getting pretty close to craziness!
Do not misunderstand me, there is danger all around us and fear often triggers common sense action. You are driving on icy, winter roads, and you slow down for FEAR of losing control. You get a hot-pad to pick up the skillet for FEAR of being burned. Get the point. Fear has its place in reasoned, life situations.
Fear and worry and fretting and anxiety and all their related cousins are all peace-thieves. This is precisely why Jesus was constantly reminding his disciples and us to not be afraid, to not worry, to trust in him. It’s not always easy but our Lord and Savior is always there. In all innocence, when we fear, are we communicating that we don’t trust our Lord? I hope not! But, that is something to think about. Leave your fears and anxieties at the foot of the Cross, and Go in Peace, God’s Peace. Amen.
Wisdom:
“It is better to make a thousand failures than to be too cowardly to ever undertake anything.” — Clovis G. Chappell
Bulletin Board:
Where the heck did October go! Anyone see it? It was here just a minute ago!
Closing Prayer:
Dear Lord, You know that we live in a crazy and chaotic world. You also know my struggles in my daily life. When life gets to be too much, please help me come to you. Calm my thoughts and emotions and open my heart to your peace, comfort, and wisdom. Help me not to live in fear. Please reduce the feelings of fear and anxiety that plague me. Help me rest in You and trust You as I navigate through this broken world. In Your name I pray, Jesus. Amen.
