Fear is....waking up at 3:45 am and wondering where your child is. Fear is....test after test without a diagnosis. Fear is....hearing a siren outside your neighborhood at exactly the time you are expecting loved ones home. Fear is....one more mistake and your fired. Fear is....seeing the man on the side of the street with a sign "homeless" and knowing you are one check ahead of that circumstance. Fear is....wondering if anyone will ever love you again after the man who lived with you for 20 years chooses not to anymore. Fear is...feeling the call to get out of boat and walk on the water and being paralyzed. All of these I have felt, lived with or through. I know Peter walked on water while his eyes were lifted to Jesus. Bold, headstrong, eager Peter, climbs out of that boat and onto the waves of the storm to reach his Lord & Savior. Still Peter is human, a simple fisherman, and when the wind howls and waves crash, his focus shifts from Jesus to the storm. Is Jesus more powerful than the storm? Yes! Has Peter seen Jesus perform miracles? Yes! Yet even Peter felt fear. My point is that I should not judge myself too harshly, nor you judge yourselves too harshly when the fear overwhelms us.
The cure of course in this particular story is to keep our eyes on Jesus. Repeat what we know to be true. Does God love my child more than even I do? Yes. Does God use trials to teach us lessons, draw us closer to Him? Yes! Does God know you and I need our jobs to make ends meet? Of course. Does God love me, just as I am, weak yet writing these words in obedience. Yes, yes, yes. Does He love you? Again yes, yes, yes. Whatever your particular fear He knows it and He will provide the courage to overcome. It takes practice to walk on water. Reading His promises. Seeing them in our lives. Taking the next step though the fog is thick and all we can see is the next step. Let us journey together.
"Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong." 1 Corinthians 16:13 NIV
No comments:
Post a Comment