shadow

fear

Fearful to Fearless: Don’t Interfere

Posted on: by: Comments: 2 Comments

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Deuteronomy 6:31, NIV

From Genesis to Revelation, God exhorts believers not to be afraid. Join me this week as we venture to be fearless in a world packed with reasons to fear.

 

Don’t Interfere

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” 

Joshua 1:9, NIV

home-page-and-services-er-er-signI’ll never understand the fascination some people have with scary things such as haunted houses, chilling movies, skydiving, and thrill rides. Aren’t there enough things in life capable of scaring us without seeking more? The days in which we live are volatile enough―simply reading the morning headlines can cause us to shake in our shoes.

Yesterday, I shared the events of a morning when an early-morning phone call alerted me that my sister had been rushed to the hospital.

The results of the tests the hospital ran were encouraging. My sister had experienced some arterial fibrillation but had no other signs of heart issues. The hospital released her after several hours and referred her to a cardiologist for a follow-up visit.  Today, she is doing well. Her irregular heartbeat was possibly related to overexertion, exhaustion, and dehydration.

My heart palpitations, on the other hand, were due to limited information, overreaction, and unfounded fear. My response was a common one, but my fear drove me to jump to irrational conclusions and caused me unwarranted stress. The ER nurse wasn’t blocking my path when I tried to get to my sister because there was something he didn’t want me to see—he was simply trying to protect me and keep me from interfering with the testing process.

Last week, I faced some inconclusive test results of my own and was scheduled for a repeat X-ray. As anxiety began to creep into the corners of my mind, God brought back to me the events and emotions I’d experienced regarding my sister. His words to me were, Don’t interfere with the process. I know what I’m doing. Allow me to do my job. Trust me. Don’t enter fear!

When the information we have is limited, entering into fear is easy to do. We overreact to the bits of knowledge we do have and imagine the worst.  As with Joshua in today’s focal verse, God told me not to fear. He assured me of his presence and instructed me to trust him. In the end, my test results turned out well.

Knowing that God is with us in the midst of our trials helps us put things in proper perspective. Perhaps we experience roadblocks that interfere with our peace because there’s something else He wants us to see. Our trial may be part of His testing process. It may be how He chooses to slow us down so we will grow in our faith. Our interference could cause us to miss His point. Ultimately, it could cause us to miss Him.

If you are facing the unknown and struggling with fear, surrender your fears to God. Trust in Him. He knows what He’s doing. Do Not Enter Fear!

Starr

Fearful to Fearless: Roadblocks to Peace

Posted on: by: Comments: 3 Comments

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Deuteronomy 6:31, NIV

From Genesis to Revelation, God exhorts believers not to be afraid. Join me this week as we venture to be fearless in a world packed with reasons to fear.

 

Roadblocks to Peace

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” 

John 16:33, NIV

A telephone ringing at 2:15 in the morning is never a good thing.

Ambulance-Lights-Gavin-HylandClumsily snatching the handset from its cradle, my husband blurted “Hello” while I tried to discern the panic-stricken voice on the other end of the line. It was my niece. My sister was being transported to the hospital by ambulance. There was an issue with her heart.

Fifteen minutes later, I was on the road to the hospital twenty miles away. In a tunnel of darkness illuminated only by my headlights, I was gripped with fear. I begged God to grant me His peace, but my thoughts continued to outrun my high beams, filling my mind with worst-case scenarios. I worked to redirect my thinking, but this Bible study leader, this writer of devotions couldn’t pull up a single verse of Scripture. Desperate to hear God’s voice, I knew I had to make a concerted effort to relax my body and calm my thoughts. I took several deep breaths and talked myself down. Soon, I heard: I will never leave you or forsake you.

“I know that, Lord, but I need more than that. I need to know my sister will be okay.”

I continued to listen for His words. These came: Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths (Proverbs 3:5–6, KJV).

“I’m trying, Lord. I’m trying.”

I wanted to pray for God’s will in the situation, but I was afraid of what that would be. The reality was, I wanted what I wanted.

When I arrived at the emergency room, the receptionist directed me to Room 10. I could see it on the opposite side of the nurse’s station. The door of the room was open, and a nurse stood with her back to me at the foot of the bed. She was blocking my view of my sister.

As I rushed around the desk, a male nurse stepped into the middle of the aisle, keeping me from going any farther. I feared the worst. My heart raced. I looked straight into his eyes, trying to read his expression.

“What’s the matter?” I blurted.

“Everything’s okay. Her vitals are good. The technician is taking an X-ray, and I don’t want you to interfere.”

Sheesh! Be still my heart.

Tomorrow I’ll conclude my story, but first: how do you respond to unwelcome roadblocks that hold you hostage in the darkness?

If you’re struggling now with fear, make a deliberate effort to calm your spirit and listen for God’s voice. He wants to protect us from unwarranted fears. Open His Word and ask Him to speak to you about your situation. Tomorrow, I’ll share God’s words to me regarding this dark night of my soul.

Starr

DISCERNING GOD’S VOICE TO FIND GOD’S VICTORY: I HATE FEAR

Posted on: by: Comments: Leave a comment

“God thunders marvelously with His voice; 

He does great things which we cannot comprehend.”

JOB 37:5

Sometimes the best encouragement comes through a true story, especially one that shows the mighty hand of God to be at work among us. Instead of the usual format, I’d like to encourage you this week with a true story. Each day the Encouragement will continue as the story unfolds. You don’t want to miss a single day!

 

I HATE FEAR

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.”

John 10:10

Story Continued from Monday…

TUESDAYLooking at the black widow spider, fear gripped my heart. Again.

“Tom!” I shouted. Breathing hard, and in a panic, I ran after him on the beach, shouting out words to describe what had just happened.

Instantly on alert, he turned and came toward me. “What’s wrong? What is it?” he shouted back.

Already on edge before getting to the beach, we were both tired and battle weary. We’d just returned from this year’s Nicaragua mission trip (April 7-14, 2015). The spiritual battle over this mission had been intense for a whole year. Though God continued to be mightily at work throughout 2014, so was the enemy.

I remember vividly the words whispered in my ear in February 2014, while we were still on the ground in Managua, when the 2015 mission was but a blur on the horizon. “This is the last time you’ll ever be here, you won’t come back again.” 

Whaaat? A sense of foreboding took root as I whispered, “But Lord, You are doing a mighty work here. You’re allowing us to be a part of it. Why? I don’t want it to end.” As I pondered that message over the next months, I wondered what horrible thing was going to happen to stop the work. Would I die? Would the world fall apart and make travel impossible? Was God through with me? Would I fall into some horrible sin that would bring defeat to the ministry?

Hindsight is 20/20. As the months went by, I pondered these worries. I sat on my sofa, mentally sucking my thumb, wondering at what I’d “heard.” As summer turned to fall, and fall to winter, I prayed and cried out to God to show me His plan. Nothing I read in Scripture lined up to the message whispered in my ear. As January 2015 approached, a faint hope broke through my reverie. “What if the voice I heard wasn’t God’s voice. What if it’s a threat from the enemy?  

“Well then,” I thought, ” if that’s the case, the Lord must have a mighty plan for Nicaragua! And the enemy is afraid for us to go back. Jesus did say the He comes to steal, kill, and destroy, so of course he’d want to stop God’s plan. But how can I be sure?” I mused.  

How could I tell the difference?  So, I began to pray and seek God’s voice and His confirmation. I turned to His Word because I knew the answer was there. And I knew His voice would never contradict His written Word.

Until tomorrow,

Your Traveling Partner,

Brenda