Monster in the closet?

Remember when you were about 5 years of age how real that monster in the closet was in the dark in the middle of the night? When you woke up at midnight, with consciousness came fear. The blankets became your security as you pulled them close. But, still that shadow cast on the wall assumed 3-D proportions and terror swept over you. After a few moments you released it all with a half-scream that barely made it out of your throat – “Mom!” And, oh what relief when she turned on the light and said, “What’s the matter?”  The monster ran off into some dark corner to remain hidden until another mid-night visit.

I’m 56 and there are still some monsters that try to terrorize me. No, they don’t live in the dark of the bedroom closet. They live in the recesses of my mind and whisper their torment into the edge of my consciousness. “You’re a complete failure, incompetent. You should quit now before you fall on your face.” is the hiss I hear from one. Another crawls out to whisper, “That pain in your side, it’s cancer. You’re going to suffer just like your Dad.”  Are they just part of my mind, suppressed thoughts that manage to find a way around the firewalls every now and then? Or, are they whispers from the demon realm, tormenters dispatched by the Devil, that attempt to paralyze me with fear and doubt?  Both! Fear are born in our minds as we process our experiences. And Scripture reveals the schemes of the Enemy who tried to discourage us with fear.

Don’t tell me that good and godly people never experience fear. The Psalm of David, a man who knew the Lord well, wrote of the monstrous fear that stalked him. "Open your ears, God, to my prayer; don’t pretend you don’t hear me knocking. Come close and whisper your answer. I really need you. I shudder at the mean voice, quail before the evil eye, As they pile on the guilt, stockpile angry slander. My insides are turned inside out; specters of death have me down. I shake with fear, I shudder from head to foot. “Who will give me wings,” I ask— “wings like a dove?” Get me out of here on dove wings; I want some peace and quiet. I want a walk in the country." (Psalm 55:1-7, The Message)

Children of God, need not be victimized by the monsters! When they appear, and they will, just like a little child who is secure in his parents’ love will cry out for Mom or Dad, we cry out to our Abba, our Heavenly Father. We find security in His Promise, the monsters are banished by His Presence. "God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6, NIV)

Sometimes we must face our fears, name them, drag them out into the Light, so they are cut down to size and conquered. That’s Paul did on a couple of different occasions. When he was subjected to severe persecution, he wryly says, “What’s the worst that can happen to me? I could die!” Then, he says, "If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord." (Romans 14:8, NIV)  "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21, NIV)  That’s not the sigh of resignation. That is the song of security in Christ.

Are there monstrous fears threatening you this day, disciple?  Here’s a word from the Word. Live in the promise. "My dear friends, don’t believe everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you. Not everyone who talks about God comes from God. There are a lot of lying preachers loose in the world. . . . My dear children, you come from God and belong to God. You have already won a big victory over those false teachers, for the Spirit in you is far stronger than anything in the world.  . . .  There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love." (1 John 4:1,4,18, The Message)

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:27, NIV)  -- Jesus