A Season to Face Your Fear

Have you ever experienced paralyzing fear? A fear that immobilizes you and keeps you from moving forward oftentimes goes unaddressed. Therese Borchard says, “Fears are like annoying relatives. You can’t avoid them forever, and ignoring them won’t make them go away.” It is just as important to know when it is time to face these fears.

On a recent trip to Chick-fil-a my daughter showed some signs of being afraid of the person dressed up as the cow. Even though she was only one and a half, I thought it would be better to show her that the cow was nothing to be afraid of. Dr. Phil has his own take on facing fears (and I certainly don’t agree with all of it), but he recommends differentiating between rational and irrational fear. Most of our fears are irrational, but there are others that are for survival and are instinctive.

I would never advocate as fear as our guide, rather I believe we should be kept in perfect peace while navigating through discernment. We should discern our season and know if God is leading us to face our fear at this time. Earlier this week I was talking to a volunteer about visiting our kids in Walter P. Taylor Homes. He said, “That’s a scary place, isn’t?” To natural eye, I guess it could be thought as such, but when God has called you who really can be against you. I am not talking about being foolish, presumptuous, or cocky. Rather, through faithfulness and love watching God’s favor grow in a community, and over the past 16 years that is what has happened in Walter P.

Remember, fear fights faith and neglects the love of God. The love of God, however, drives out those fears (deem them rational or irrational). Join me in striving to enter Christ’s rest, keeping our minds on Him in perfect peace, and allowing the love of God to drive our all fear!

Restore to me the Joy . . .

Have you noticed how easy it is to lose your joy? Or maybe it is just me. Circumstances creep in and take your attention off the broader scope, and next thing you know joy eludes you. Just how important is this joy? Nehemiah told the people rebuilding that “The joy of the Lord is your strength (Neh 8:10).”

The joy of our salvation reminds us of the greatness and goodness of God. That joy takes us back to the infant stages of our life in Christ, and attached to that joy is peace unspeakable and full of glory.

Remember what joy did for Jesus? Hebrews 12:2 says, “who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame”. That joy was the reconciliation of mankind. He endured the cross to have fellowship restored between Creator and creation. The joy of realizing that gives me strength.

Let’s not lose the joy of our salvation, but embrace where the broader scope of joy will carry us, albeit a cross or crucible, determine that circumstances will not steal your joy!

Dead Dreams Live Again: The Lord Will Provide

Remember as a kid wanting to be a firefighter, astronaut, ballerina, or even professional athlete or politician. Growing older, ambition replaced these childhood dreams. Driven by direction or passion, even dreams or promises, we plow our future. The patriarch Abraham was no different.

Abraham had been promised a lineage, a nation. When/How was God going to fulfill this promise? Age wasn’t on Abraham’s side. With nothing happening, Abraham and Sarah took matters into their own hands. Don’t we do the same? When promises don’t fulfill themselves, we like to give them a little help.

Instead of a promise fulfilled, we end up with an Ishmael. With Isaac still in the womb of promise, we neglect its unlikely origin—sterile, old Sarah. Keeping the promise and dream is no different than seeing it first fulfilled. Complete dependence on God to fulfill and sustain is pertinent.

With Isaac a youth, the Lord asks Abraham to sacrifice him. You know the story, and not until Abraham raises the knife over his son, the promise fulfilled, does God provide a substitute sacrifice. Isn’t it the same for our own dreams and promises? We have to remain dependent upon God to see them fulfilled, and even after they materialize God tests our dependence on Him. Sacrificing those dreams and promises carries us to the point of death. Then we see God step in with provision. God was revealed to Abraham as provider, and Abraham named that place—The Lord Will Provide (Gen 22:14).

It isn’t until we follow God to the point of death that those promises and dreams are resurrected and God’s provision truly understood.

Emulate Ellie

My 16 month old, Ellie, has been fighting that pesky cold that has been going around. In fact, we as a family shared it with one another. Blah! But she taught me something during this process. I watched her as she would lay her head on our shoulders. She wasn’t overly concerned with how she was going to get better or if this cold was moving toward an ear infection. No, she just felt bad. The worrying was left to us parents who didn’t want to see our little one feel bad any longer or even get worse.

Thinking about this as I drove to Wal-Mart late Sunday night to get her some meds, I compared Ellie to myself in relation to God. Why do I want to wear my grown-up pants and do someone else’s job (which I really can’t do). Someone how I think that my worrying will cause things to work out differently than if I didn’t worry. At least that has to be the way it appears. When all I really need to do is just lay my head on God’s shoulder, and rest and trust in Him because He really does have my best intentions in mind. Easier said than done, sure, but what other options do I have?

So, during this season of our lives let us reflect on how we can trust in Him more and emulate Ellie with total reliance on our Heavenly Father.

Tailor Made

Anyone who has lived a day or two can agree that life is filled with ups and downs. Where we end up has to do with how we handle these events. The roller coaster is inevitable; however, our perspective and having growth as our goal guides us toward a positive outcome regardless of circumstances.

Just last week I found out that my mom has stage 3C ovarian cancer. While we hate to hear the ‘c’ word, I can admit that I was numb to know what this really meant for me or my family. For the first 24 hours all I did was feel. I felt hurt and sadness; I felt all the memories of the past, both great and regretful alike. I felt what I wanted for the future, but knew in my own power I was powerless. Occasionally, I would find a grain of faith. I would ride its waves to believe for complete healing albeit the chemo or miracle, and that is still what I am residing myself to believe. In all honestly, my faith is not fiery. It does not burn away all doubt or fear, nor has it ignored reality or emotion. But I have to submit. Submit to God, and believe for Him to conquer.

Easier said than done, I must say. Hudson Taylor, a missionary to India, said that the cross of Christ is tailor made for each one of us. That means the cross becomes personal, hits home, and HURTS! And at the foundation of embracing this cross is submission. We don’t like this word because it carries with it so many negative connotations. It might emote abuse, one-sidedness, or even bondage.

But when I said ‘Yes’ to Christ, I said ‘No’ to self-interest, retaliation, and justification. The cross-life of Jesus undermined all social orders based on power and self-interest.

So, sit in the seat beside me on this roller coaster ride of life. Let self-denial be the harness that hold us in, and the cross the tracks that lead us. At the end, we’ll buy our portrait showing the screaming, scary fun we had all along the way, knowing that God is faithful and will see us to the end.