NOTHING TO FEAR

 

Look at that worried little face.  Sad, isn’t it?  Don’t you just wanna cuddle him and say “don’t worry baby, everything will be alright”?

Have you ever heard the story about a guy who was terrified of monsters under his bed?  He spent many years and many dollars being treated by a psychologist, but it was no good.  He was still afraid of monsters.  One day, he went into a bar and told his fearful woes to the bartender who promptly told him, “well, just cut the legs off the bed!”

Problem solved!  I wonder … can all fears be dissolved that easily?  Well, one way is to consider that not all fears will necessarily materialize.  As a wise old fortune cookie once said, “fear is interest paid on a debt you may not owe.”

But seriously, how does one “cut the legs” off of fear?  Especially in today’s world, with many national leaders sporting dubious hairdos and formidable rhetoric, and volcanoes, and freakish activities on airplanes, and asteroids with murder on their minds, and people’s “identity” du’jours, and the threats of becoming cashless, not to mention no more cursive writing, oh my, I can feel my nerves tightening up and my gut dancing an evil jig and …..

Okay, hold it right there, knock it off.  What’s needed here is not a contemptible collage of catastrophes, but rather a superlative soliloquy of Sovereignty.  In other words, the Big Picture.  I love to sit and ponder Daniel’s perspective.  He wasn’t freaked out by who was the king (Daniel 2:20-22).  He understood potential terror, because he stood in the middle of it (Daniel 3:13-27).  Through everything, he proclaimed God’s sovereignty. The apostle Paul certainly endured circumstances that will (probably) never be ours (2 Corinthians 11:23-29).  But to the end, he proclaimed the Kingdom of God (Acts 28:23).

Jesus repeatedly told His disciples to “fear not, it is I (literally, “I Am”).  He is all that’s needed for the Big Picture.

My gracious, loving, and omnipotent Father, thank You for giving me the proper perspective:  don’t look under the bed, but look up, towards You.  Rejoice and don’t be anxious, why?  Because my Jesus is near and so is Your peace! (Philippians 4:4-7).  I’ve read the end of Your Book, and You win, and it’s permanent, for all eternity.  As I walk through this life and trip myself up on circumstances, please help my unbelief, instead fixing my hope on You.  How dinky and unimportant things on this earth appear when I lean into Your secure arms and believe Your promises. 

 

FORGIVE ME

One of our previous dogs, Sophie Mae, reached adult behavior by 6 months of age. If she wanted to chew on something like a chair leg, I’d just give her a chew toy instead and say, “Sophie’s toy.” She’d look at me with a face that said, “well, alright, do you think I’m stupid?” When I told her “good girl, all is forgiven,” she’d say, “oh goodie, let’s play ball!”  The problem never presented itself again, as she took correction as instruction, learned from it, and went happily on her way. 

Lily Rose, on the other hand, was such a sensitive little soul. She was so aware of everything she had ever done that she lived in fear of being murdered by me, which is silly, ’cause I never murdered her, not even once. Not when she chewed furniture or shoes. Not when she visited the kitty box looking for a midnight buffet. Not when she shredded toilet paper all over the house.

Lily’s way of dealing with anxieties, after destroying something, was to hurl herself on her back and go into leg-kicking spasms of guilt while shrieking, “forgive me, don’t kill me!” Even though I was far from happy about her escapades, we kept working on the anxieties and after a couple of years, the destructive tendencies subsided. But through her life, she absorbed and held onto everything that she, or Sophie, or every dog in the world, has done wrong, living in a constant state of self-imposed guilt and unforgiveness, spasming on the floor at the least little thing, sometimes for hours, laying there on her back, internally screaming “I'm horrible, don't look at me!” She never truly believed she was forgiven, even as I’m saying, “let’s play ball.” She’s saying, “no, I can’t play! I can’t forgive myself!.”

Which has led me to think about stuff in my own life that I’ve thought I couldn’t forgive myself for. Imagine my surprise the day I realized that God never says anything about that. Because it’s not my job to forgive me. It’s already accomplished! If I insist on wallowing in my sin, I can’t commune with other believers, and I can’t fellowship with God. Because of what Christ has done on the cross, all my sins have been permanently forgiven (Luke 5:20; 1 John 2:12) and I'm reconciled to God. If I selfishly insist on wallowing in my already-forgiven sin, I’m telling Him that what He did isn’t good enough, that instead I still have to fix things for myself. I'm ignoring the obvious -- that “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

Thank You, my Jesus, that because of Your perfect work on the cross, I can move on in joyful communion with You. If all I do is concentrate on my past sins, or how I might sin tomorrow, I’m fixing my eyes on myself, when I should be focusing on You (Hebrews 12:2).  I do still sin, but upon repentance and asking for Your forgiveness, I truly believe that I'm forgiven because You said so (1 John 1:9), not based upon my own flawed feelings. Because of that, I can experience daily freedom, joy, and the peace that only You can give (John 14:27).

STOP, DROP, AND ROLL

Recently, as I walked through a parking lot, I was entranced by someone else’s unusual display of disobedience. A car pulled into a parking space with a large sign specifically designating that this space was for the convenience of pregnant women. And when the car doors opened, 4 teenage boys emerged. I must say, I’m quite proud of myself for not chasing them down to ask when their “due date” was. I also wondered if they perpetually ignored signs on the roadways. Scary, scary thought.

It has been many decades (5 exactly) since I first learned the rules of the road in high school Driver’s Ed. As every one of us knows, there are certain behaviors expected by those who bestow driver’s licenses upon us. Mostly, the directional signs are not that difficult to comprehend. “YIELD” means slow down and watch out. A picture of a BICYCLE means do not run over the helmet-headed bicycler. And “STOP” means ... stop! There are 2-way stops, 4-ways stops, stop-then-proceed, but there’s no getting around it, it means stop.

The most intense sign I observed recently demands: STOP, WRONG WAY, DO NOT ENTER. And instantly, it occurred to me -- Scripture is loaded to the brim with the Lord’s loving warnings, to beware, watch out, don’t indulge in “deeds of the flesh” (Galatians 5:19-21). Don’t go there! Why? Not to ruin all my fun, but because ignoring His “signs” can trip me up in my walk with Him, because it causes me to be a bad ambassador, because it doesn’t glorify Him.

More often than not, Christ’s big warning against anxiety (Matthew 6:25-34) is often the biggest problem for me. It is so incredibly easy to dwell on the past, which is anxiety in reverse. It’s easy to fixate on possible trauma in the future. And yet, He says, if you’re about to worry, don’t start. If you’re already worrying, STOP. Just knock it off, don't go there!

I work well with visuals. So this particular STOP sign in my mind’s eye has proven to be very effective. But I’ve learned to take it a couple of steps further. Thankfully, I’ve never found myself on fire. But we’ve all heard of the infamous “Stop, Drop, and Roll” maneuver to extinguish flames. STOP running, DROP to the ground, and ROLL around, thus quenching the flames.

So now, when I find myself in danger of being “on fire” with anxiety, envy, anger, whatever my flesh decides is fun, I STOP. Then I DROP to my knees in prayer, confession, repentance, and praise to my Lord and Savior Who took these very sins upon Himself. And finally, I ROLL ... in His grace, mercy, love, forgiveness, and yes, even His necessary discipline.

My loving and compassionate Father, “You are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head” (Psalm 3:3). I thank You for the permanent gift of the Holy Spirit causing me to want to be obedient to Your warning signs. And I am daily thankful for Your Word as my “instruction manual” to drive through my life in a way that is pleasing and glorifying to You.