Whenever I am afraid

Fear!  The realization of the fragile nature of our human existence can bring terrors, can’t it?  It was as if a chill wind blew through that room, 3 years ago, when the physician told Bev and me that she had advanced cancer, needed extensive surgery and chemotherapy. We both literally shook with fear as we stared into the unknown future.  After we left his office, we sat together in our car choking on our tears.  The old enemy Death stood inches from us and we trembled.  In the months that followed, I found my footing and was strong for her, holding her up, encouraging her in faith. But, that fear became a ‘friend’ who visited often, especially in the early predawn hours when I awakened with a start and listened to her as she slept. As her time of death drew near, I found God’s comfort.  When she died, the three months that followed were filled with constant anxiety, broken by moments of sheer panic – “What now, how can I live? I am alone.” 

Are you afraid? Do you dread failure? Do you feel the anxiety so common to humanity? Is the future something that is dark, without hope? You are not alone, nor are you unique! Anxiety, ranging from a mild sense of discomfort to a disorder so profound that a person cannot function, affects millions of Americans. The threats are real- our health fragile, people who fail us, the world full of tension. So, must we simply be afraid? No, Christian friend, we are “more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”  (Romans 8:37)

How do we defeat those fears?

The first thing we must do is to change our thoughts, feeding our mind with the Truth. 
The Psalm teaches us to sing, "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 56:3-4, NIV)  Trusting God is not done passively. There must be an active decision to look up, to commit ourselves to Him. Through the years when I awaken worried about things or feeling overwhelmed, I create a mental image of whatever it is that is troubling, then I take it in my hand and, palms up, offer it to God. Prayer, accompanied by that symbolic act of submission, helps me to reorient my mind around His care.

We can defeat our fears by making a realistic evaluation of our situation.

Much of our anxiety is a kernel of fact surrounded by a lot of speculation! I do not suggest that all fear is baseless. But, to imagine every possible problem, to create scenarios of what could possibly go wrong, is a sure way to live fearfully all the time.  The facts tell me that the most dangerous thing I do every day is driving my car.  About a hundred people will die on our highways today. Thousands more will be injured or experience property damage.  So, should I just stay home? No, exercise appropriate caution, drive defensively, and wear my seatbelt. That allows me to live with the very small but real risk involved with operating an automobile. Instead of letting our fears be magnified, we can reduce them by committing ourselves to the One who knows all our tomorrows.

We find security in a deep respect for the Almighty God!

Have you ‘tamed’ God, making Him small? Have you robbed Him of His majesty?  Consider the wonderful world He has made. Thank Him for the intricacies of that amazing body He gave you.  And as we magnify Him, our fears grow smaller.  "Praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands. …He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes." (Psalm 112:7-8, NIV)

If you are reading this and thinking that I am encouraging you to live in denial or to just ‘think happy thoughts’ I have not communicated clearly. Fear is defeated by knowing the Living God, through Christ, so that the Spirit is active in us and through us. Paul wrote to his young somewhat timid friend, Timothy, reminding him (and us) of God’s real power. "God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." (2 Timothy 1:7, NIV)  WE are strong in His might!

Here is a word from the Word. I have chosen The Message so that a familiar passage can become fresh in our minds. Read it thoughtfully, prayerfully, and go face those fears with faith.

"And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours.

This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet.

Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out." (Ephesians 6:10-18, The Message)

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Stand strong when life changes

Stand strong through the ups and downs

Stand strong for you know that God is in control

The storms of life will push and pull

But we are standing on the Rock that never rolls

The storms of life will push and pull

We will keep standing

God is in control

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Dedicated disciple? Distracted dabbler?

Oswald Chambers taught students and soldiers about living the Christian life. He died at age 43 while serving British soldiers in Egypt as their chaplain. He left a large collection of lessons and sermons which his widow compiled and published as a devotional book that has sold millions of copies. The collection is called My Utmost for His Highest,  a line taken from one of Chambers’ sermons that held out the challenge to a vigorous, engaged, and effective Christian life. Chambers lived what he taught, traveling widely to speak, throwing himself into the work of God.  His desire was to press himself to the limits in the service of the Lord.

Paul showed the same kind of dedication.  He spent his life ‘on the road’ teaching, often rejected, sometimes imprisoned, consumed by  a passion that others would know Christ and focused on an eternal reward.  Note the urgency in this passage. "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12-14, NIV)  The language creates a picture of a runner leaning forward at the finish line with every part of his body wanting the win!

Do you lean into your faith? Are you ‘straining toward what is ahead?’ Keeping Paul’s metaphor in mind, imagine a runner at the end of a race, pausing to look around, to take in the cheers of the crowd with a wave, or just kneeling down to catch his breath.  Ridiculous, isn’t it? Those who would win summon every reserve to finish well.

Some Christians seem more to dabble in the faith than to be dedicated. Theirs is a distracted kind of interest, a little, spurred occasionally by a surge of emotion, but mostly shaped by convenience and/or self-interest. All kinds of good things crowd out the one best thing. The concept of a life shaped around giving their utmost for His highest is foreign to them, to the point of regarding those who do throw themselves into the service of Christ Jesus as fanatics.

The Message rephrases Paul’s declaration in a compelling way.  Can you identify with his passionate pursuit of the Savior? "Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn’t want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God’s righteousness. I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself." (Philippians 3:8-10, The Message)

I am inviting the Spirit to do a performance review in my life.  Will you?  Listen to His counsel, not from some place of guilt or comparison, but with a desire to do the best, to be the best, to use the gifts given to you – for the highest and best in life: for God’s honor and glory alone.

Our word from the Word today is a Psalm. Lord, let Your Word live in us. Amen

"Praise the Lord! How joyful are those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying his commands.
Their children will be successful everywhere; an entire generation of godly people will be blessed.
They themselves will be wealthy, and their good deeds will last forever

. Light shines in the darkness for the godly. They are generous, compassionate, and righteous.
Good comes to those who lend money generously and conduct their business fairly.

Such people will not be overcome by evil.

Those who are righteous will be long remembered.

They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them.

They are confident and fearless and can face their foes triumphantly.

They share freely and give generously to those in need.

Their good deeds will be remembered forever. They will have influence and honor.

The wicked will see this and be infuriated.

They will grind their teeth in anger; they will slink away,

their hopes thwarted." (Psalm 112:1-10, NLT)

Protect the family name!

A familiar line I heard often as I headed out the door for school was – “You’re a Scott, live like one!” It was Dad’s way of reminding me that I had family name that was honorable and it was up to me to take care of that legacy. Too many times to count when I was tempted to do something wrong or to just get by in life without a first rate effort I heard his challenge echo in my ears. It was not guilt that motivated me, but a sense of joy that I had a good name and a rich legacy of godliness. All these years later, I still feel that responsibility but to my Heavenly Father first.  He has invested life and spiritual gifts in me. He has given me a heritage.  

When I awakened this morning I heard the Spirit say,  “How are you going to live this week, Jerry?” I knew that He was reminding me of that choice that is mine to make each day: to live as a natural man, fighting to survive, focused only on making it through the day; or, to live as a child of God, richly resourced for life, honoring Him today. No matter where you come from, no matter your family legacy or your past, in Christ you are  given a high calling. We are adopted into the family of God, given His Name, written into His will with an eternal heritance, and sent out as ambassadors of His Kingdom.  Come on, do not just read that with a yawn. That is a wow, stunning truth, or at least it ought to be. Naturally, we are creatures of time, destined to die, fighting to carve out a short and often desperate life. In Christ, we are God’s own family.  Now, will we live like it?

Honoring my family and my God sometimes weighs on me. How can I do this well? What if I mess up? Am I worthy?  Perhaps you feel that way about your high calling, too.  Those questions are misdirected because they put all the pressure on me and I know too well my tendencies and frailties. The line from the hymn describes me. “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; prone to leave the God I love.”  The next line is my security – “Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above.”

We are not left on our own to wander and struggle.  Here is the promise. "By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires." (2 Peter 1:3-4, NLT)  The Holy Spirit comes to live in us, changing us from the inside out. Yes, we have a choice to live in faith and accept His grace. But, we are empowered to make it by One greater than the World, the Flesh, and the Devil.

My Dad’s challenge to live honorably was accompanied by an example, by training, and by reward. I watched him love God and his family. I saw him work hard and give himself sacrificially. I saw the “blessings” that followed.  Yes, as I got older, I realized that there was humanness stirred into the mix, too.  Which helped me to understand that I was not trying for some impossible standard of perfection.

You are God’s chosen, His anointed child. Live like it! Here is a word from the Word. Our Father is saying, “You’re a Christian, live like it.”  "So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.” You call out to God for help and he helps—he’s a good Father that way. But don’t forget, he’s also a responsible Father, and won’t let you get by with sloppy living." (1 Peter 1:13-17, The Message)

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Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing

Come Thou fount of ev'ry blessing

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace

Streams of mercy never ceasing

Call for songs of loudest praise

Teach me some melodious sonnet

Sung by flaming tongues above

Praise the mount I'm fixed upon it

Mount of Thy redeeming love

Here I raise mine Ebenezer (a memorial to faithfulness)

Hither by Thy help I'm come

And I hope by Thy good pleasure

Safely to arrive at home

Jesus sought me when a stranger

Wand'ring from the fold of God

He to rescue me from danger

Interposed His precious blood

O to grace how great a debtor

Daily I'm constrained to be

Let Thy grace Lord like a fetter

Bind my wand'ring heart to Thee

Prone to wander Lord I feel it

Prone to leave the God I love

Here's my heart Lord take and seal it

Seal it for Thy courts above

John Wyeth | Robert Robinson

© Words: Public Domain