But that is something I am trying to change. Since the Dallas, Texas Police officer shootings that happened recently, I have felt the fear a little closer to home. My own grandfather used to be a Dallas Police Officer. The violence has reached a new height and I've discovered my own heart thumping in some panic about what type of world I'm raising my four, precious, innocent children in. How am I supposed to raise them in this world? How do I teach them that the color of people's skin means nothing?
FEAR.
What does it stand for? False Evidence Appearing Real. F. E. A. R. False evidence that appears as something real. Well, obviously we are facing something real, but there is Someone out there that is so much bigger than all this fear that is rampant in the world.
God.
Psalm 91 says, "You who sit down in the High God's presence, spend the night in Shaddia's shadow, say this: "God, you're my refuge. I trust in you and I'm safe!" That's right! He rescues you from hidden traps, shields you from deadly hazards. His huge outstretched arms protect you, under them you're perfectly safe; his arms fend off all harm. Fear nothing, not wild wolves in the night, not flying arrows in the day, not disease that prowls through the darkness, not disaster that erupts at high noon. Even though others succumb all around, --drop like flies right and left, no harm will even graze you. You'll stand untouched, watch it all from a distance, watch the wicked turn into corpses. Yes, because God's you're refuge, the High God your very own home, evil can't get close to you, harm can't get through the door. He ordered his angels to guard you wherever you go. If you stumble, they'll catch you; their job is to keep you from falling. You'll walk unharmed among lions and snakes and kick young lions and serpents from the path. "If you'll hold onto me for dear life," says God, "I'll get you out of any trouble. I'll give you the best of care, if you'll only get to know and trust Me. Call me and I'll answer, be at your side in bad times; I'll rescue you, then throw you a party. I'll give you a long life, give you a long drink of salvation!"(The Message)
Can we all just let that soak in for a few minutes? Maybe read it again? I know I've read this scripture probably 200 times. I love it. It's like my go-to scripture when I'm feeling down, worried, stressed or fearful. It's simply probably one of the most amazing scriptures in the Bible.
The other day I was praying and telling God all my fears and doubts. I was telling Him all the problems of the world...you know, because it just helps me get it off my chest, despite the fact that He knows everything anyways. *Pause* I always get in my head that when I come to His throne room to talk, that He just pulls me up on his knee, settles back and thinks, "Well, this one is going to be here for a while...." I talk way too much. I know. But I love pouring my heart out to Him and you know what? He doesn't mind! He loves listening to me. But you know what is even better? He then whispers comfort to me and reminds me of His Word that I can turn to and draw strength from.
This world is a pretty messed up place. Pulse, in Florida. The Dallas Police Officers. Alton Sterling gone too soon. Philando Castile gone too soon. The Baton Rouge shooting. Nice, France.
I could go on.
It's so easy to get fearful and scared. I'm sending my five (almost six) year old son to school next month. My mind has wandered to the horrors of Sandy Hook that happened back in 2012. I've thought about holding my children at home, to keep them close and safe. But then God began to speak to my heart.
Hebrews 11:6 says, "By an act of faith, Enoch skipped death completely. They looked all over and couldn't find him because God had taken him. We know on the basis of reliable testimony that before he was taken, he pleased God. It's impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that He exists and that He cares enough to respond to those who seek Him." (The Message)
Everyone knows the scripture I quoted above, "without faith, it's impossible to please God." But I love how The Message version puts it. We have to believe He exists and that He cares to respond to us. It shows us that we have to be active in our relationship with God. We have to believe in something that we can't see, and we have to take time to actively seek Him. In the doing of that, we have to be full of faith, and because of that, we please Him. Well, I say "full of faith," but as I type that, I think of the scripture in Matthew 17:20 that says, "Because you're not yet taking God seriously," said Jesus, "The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, a poppy seed, say, you would tell this mountain, 'Move,' and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn't be able to tackle." So, you don't even have to be "full of faith" as the saying says. Just have a tiny, tiny poppy seed size of faith. Have you ever seen a poppy seed? They're so tiny that if it were to just be alone on a white counter top, you really might miss it! How hard must it be to scrounge up some faith that size? It seems it shouldn't be so hard, but to be honest, sometimes it is! Having faith is such a Christian thing to do, but sometimes, I have to take it moment by moment. It's so easy to "have faith in God" when the sun is shiny and all is well in the world. But when troubling times come, sometimes I lose sight of the big, big God that I love and even doubt His kindness. Sometimes it takes a minute by minute effort to speak God's word over my life and situations to keep that tiny seed of faith growing.
Do you know what happens when you water a seed? It grows. But the first thing that happens to a seed is a root. The root goes down into the soil to anchor it, allow it to get nutrients and water. It stabilizes the plant, then, once that has happened, it sprouts. It needs to be the same with our faith. We have to keep watering it. We have to keep making sure that we don't allow our faith to become stale and dry. I've found one way to do that is to remind myself of all that God has done and brought me through before. He's never let me down and I've been through some pretty dark times. In those times, it has seemed like God wasn't there, but then a miracle happens and the sun shines again. I can look back on those times and see how God orchestrated everything so beautifully. So every time I get into a bind in life, I have to chose to remind myself of all those dark times and how beautifully God brought me through.
God is a big, big God and we are loved by Him. We don't need to fear what is to come, because we've got God on our side. If we just keep watering our faith, keep an active, growing relationship with God and trusting in Him, just like Psalm 91 said, He will give us long life and even throw us a party! What a party that will be!!! I can't imagine how Heaven's parties will be, but I'm pretty sure they'll be great!
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