Monsters Under the Bed

Monsters under the bed

When I was a little kid, the light coming in the window caused shadows to dance on the bedroom wall.  Sometimes those shadows became 3-D in my mind, came alive, and turned into monsters that seemed very real!  Sheer terror gripped me and I would shrink into the bedcovers, covered with goosebumps, shivering. When I could not take it any longer, a little quavering voice would say, “Mom” and her shadow in the doorway would chase the monsters away.  Her hand straightened the covers, touched my face, and then she prayed for God’s Spirit to watch over us.  Peace reigned and I slept.

David, while a fugitive from the insane King Saul, lived with other outcasts in the wilds. When that life became too much for him, he went to the Philistines, Israel’s historic enemy, to seek a home.  While there, fear found him. He felt threats from every side and wondered if he had a future.  But, he made a choice that each of us can make, by faith. "My slanderers pursue me all day long; many are attacking me in their pride. When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?" (Psalm 56:2-4, NIV)  

“When I am afraid, I will trust in You.”  Faith, my Christian friend, is both a gift and a choice.  As we read and know the Scripture, the Holy Spirit stirs faith in us. In Romans 10, God says that ‘faith comes by hearing the Word.’  However, merely reading the promises of God does not build faith.  The entry of His Truth produces the possibility of faith, the Spirit gives the invitation to  enter into faith, but we choose to live by faith!  David had God’s Word for his future.  Samuel, the prophet, anointed him as king of Israel at the house of Jesse. Yet, fear found him and he trembled.  Then, he trusted! “I will trust,” he said, and he did.

Trust means that we align ourselves to His will, that we stand up to the fear, that we refuse to hide. This is personal for me, for I am living this lesson.  The monsters crawled out from under the bed again after my recent hospitalization. Fears found a way to slip past the guards and into my mind. They whisper about ‘what might be.’  Part of me understands that these monsters are no more real than the ones that visited my bedroom a half century ago. I know that these shadows are largely without substance, but at 2 AM, they can bring on choking terror.  Until – yes, it’s true – I call on my Heavenly Father.  “Abba, come,” I pray, “secure my soul in You, for You are my hope and healer.” 

What fear has found you, friend? Are you cowering, paralyzed by the terrors of the shadows?  Fear is the worst source of motivation in the world. When we are running away from our fears, we are blind, stumbling, aimless, confused.  The better choice is to consciously turn from the fear to the Father. Run to faith, not from fear!  

The word from the Word is this familiar passage.  May the Spirit cause it to become a means of dispelling fear. "What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see." (Hebrews 11:1, NLT)  "So, you see, it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him." (Hebrews 11:6, NLT)

Abba, come with Your Holy Presence

And silence the voices of fear that make us tremble.

Stir faith in us, true hope in You,

That makes the threats that growl from the shadows

Without affect, without power.

“I will trust in You,” for You, Lord, are my

Rock and my Salvation.

Teach me to run after You,

And in that pursuit lead me to the destiny

Planned in Your eternal purposes.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.