Part 15 (1/2)
There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror!
-1 JOHN 4:18 But G.o.d shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed one) died for us.
-ROMANS 5:8 Wouldn't everything in life be better if we didn't have to deal with fear? Of course, there are healthy fears that alert us to danger-and these are good because they protect us. There is also the fear of G.o.d, which means to have a holy, reverential awe and respect for Him. But there is a debilitating fear that Satan tries to put on us every day that is intended to keep us from having the power, love, and sound mind that G.o.d wants us to have.
If you have ever struggled as I once did with anxiety, you are familiar with the worry, stress, and feeling of heaviness that comes with it. Many people struggle with fear that has no obvious cause or source. They wonder why they are always afraid and can't change, no matter how hard they try. Others spend every minute worrying about what might happen. ”What if . . .” is their favorite phrase. ”What if I can't pay the bills?” ”What if my child gets hurt?” ”What if my husband loses his job?” The endless list of possible tragedies keeps these unfortunate people bound up and miserable every day of their lives.
There are many serious things going on in the world, and we need to be aware of them and prepare for them. But we also need to learn to resist fear when it rises up against us. The Word tells us, ”G.o.d did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7).
Sometimes we think of fear as an emotion, but we need to realize that fear is actually a spirit. In fact, I believe fear is one of Satan's favorite tools, and he particularly loves to torment Christians with it. At every possible opportunity, he will whisper in your ear, telling you that G.o.d has forgotten you and there is no hope. It makes sense that Satan would try to intimidate us with fear.
But Jesus said, ”All things can be (are possible) to him who believes!” (Mark 9:23). We have to believe that there is nothing worse for the enemy than an on-fire, Bible-believing Christian who is fearless! G.o.d didn't promise us that life would be easy. We all will face problems and challenges. But the outcome depends on whether we trust G.o.d-or give in to fear.
Psalm 23:4 says, ”Yes, though I walk through the [deep, sunless] valley of the shadow of death, I will fear or dread no evil, for You are with me; Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort me.” The psalmist David said he walked through the valley.
When we fear or become afraid, we can be sure that's not G.o.d at work, but one of the sly tricks of our spiritual enemy. If he can make us think that G.o.d hates us or wants to punish us, we'll allow those thoughts to fill our minds, and we'll start losing the battle.
G.o.d is love. We can never say those words enough. The only thing we can add is: and G.o.d loves me. Fear is a spirit that must be confronted head on-it will not leave on its own. We must proclaim the Word of G.o.d and command fear to leave. So the next time fear knocks on your door, send faith to answer!
Lord Jesus, when I read Your Word, I find a.s.surances of Your love for me. There are times, however, when I feel unworthy of Your love, but You never loved me because I'm worthy; You loved me because You are love. In Your name I pray, Lord Jesus, thanking You for Your rea.s.surance that I am truly loved by You, and that therefore I have no reason to fear. Amen.
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Be Thankful-Always Thank [G.o.d] in everything [no matter what the circ.u.mstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of G.o.d for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will].
-1 THESSALONIANS 5:18 Someone once told me there are more exhortations in the Bible to praise G.o.d than there are of any other kind. I don't know if that's true, but it ought to be. When our minds flow with thanksgiving and praise, we develop immunity to the devil's infectious ways.
If we complain or grumble, the opposite is true. The more we complain, the worse life gets, the more victorious the devil becomes, and the more defeated we feel.
If we are going to live in victory, praise has to be one of our major weapons. A wise pastor once told me, ”Praise fills the heaven and the earth with G.o.d's presence and drives away the darkness. So if you want to live in the suns.h.i.+ne, praise the Lord.”
When good things happen to us, most of us turn to praise. It's easy to lift our hands and our voices when G.o.d answers our prayers and delivers us from problems. But it's not always as easy when things go wrong. What do we do when we're sick or lose our jobs or people talk against us? How do we fill our minds with joyful thanksgiving in those situations?
If we read the verse above and add Philippians 4:4: ”Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, gladden yourselves in Him]; again I say, Rejoice!” we have options.
The negative option is to take the att.i.tude of Job's wife, who was so shaken up by the loss of her children and their possessions that she cried out, ”Do you still hold fast your blameless uprightness? Renounce G.o.d and die!” (Job 2:9).
Job answered with great wisdom: ”You speak as one of the impious and foolish women would speak. What? Shall we accept [only] good at the hand of G.o.d and shall we not accept [also] misfortune and what is of a bad nature?” (v. 10). Job understood that a righteous life doesn't mean that everything always runs smoothly and that only blessings will ever fall on top of blessings.
We have two positive options open to us, and most of us can practice the first, but not all of us can accept the second. The first is to praise G.o.d in spite of what's going on in our lives. Or another way to say that is in the midst of our troubles and hards.h.i.+ps, we can rejoice over the things that are not wrong in our lives. It may take effort, but if we can turn our eyes away from the immediate problems, we can see that everything in life isn't bad. We also can rejoice because G.o.d has faithfully taken us through the turmoil of the past, and we can rejoice and know that He'll do the same thing again.
The second option is to ask, ”G.o.d, what can I learn from this? What do You want to teach me through this so that I may be closer to You and rejoice more fully in Your goodness?” That's not an easy question, and the answers are often even harder.
Sometimes we only grasp the important lessons in our lives when we fall flat on our faces. It's as if we're running as fast as we can and G.o.d trips us. The psalmist says: ”Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now Your word do I keep [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying it]” (Psalm 119:67). It's not that G.o.d is out to hurt us, but G.o.d loves us enough to stop us, to give us the opportunity to change our ways, and to follow Him.
Throughout my many years in ministry, I've heard stories from people who had wonderful jobs or great ministries or made a great deal of money-and then their lives fell apart. One man-someone who had once been a millionaire-came to our meetings after he had spent three years in prison. The first words that came out of his mouth were, ”I'm glad I was convicted and sent to prison. I had run from G.o.d for a long time. The Lord finally got my attention when someone gave me a copy of Joyce Meyer's book Healing the Brokenhearted.”
Not everyone can rejoice and give thanks for their suffering, but we can all give thanks in the midst of it.
G.o.d, I'm thankful for Your love and Your presence. Forgive me for grumbling when things go wrong, and remind me of how many things go right in my life. Enable me to rejoice in You always. Amen.
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Tips for Being Thankful I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. . . . Many evils confront the [consistently] righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
-PSALM 34:1, 19 All of us know we need to be thankful. G.o.d tells us to do so, and we also know from our own experience that once we seriously start praising G.o.d, our burdens and our troubles seem to weigh less heavily on our shoulders.
That's part of the power of being thankful. As we pause to give thanks to G.o.d for what's good in our lives, we also appreciate what we have. I believe G.o.d wants us to be grateful people-people who are filled with grat.i.tude not only toward G.o.d, but also toward other people. That's my first tip: When someone does anything nice for you, let that person know you appreciate it.
One day I was going into an office building, and a man standing nearby opened the door for me. I thanked him and smiled.
”You're the fifth person I've held the door for,” he said, ”and you're the first one to smile and the second to thank me.”
I thanked him a second time. Afterward, I thought how much we take others for granted, even when they do such simple things as open a door for a stranger.
Instead of accepting that that's the way things are, we can develop a thankful mind. Did your bus arrive on time today? If so, did you thank the driver? When you ate at the restaurant, did you thank the waiter for filling your coffee cup a second time without being asked? I could go on and on, but that's the point I want to make: Develop an att.i.tude of grat.i.tude toward the people in your life.
Here's another tip: Appreciate your family members, especially the person to whom you're married. I appreciate Dave, and even though we've been married a long time, I still tell him that I appreciate him. He's patient with me and thoughtful. Just those few words of thanks are a great way to develop a thankful mind and heart.
Try this: When you express appreciation, it's good for the other person to hear the words, but also remember that it releases joy in you. You enrich both your life and another person's life, even in small ways.
Another thing you can do is meditate daily on things for which you can be thankful. I have a friend who won't get out of bed in the morning until he has thanked G.o.d for at least ten things. He counts them on his fingers, and they're small things really, such as having a reliable car to drive, being a member of an exciting Sunday school cla.s.s, or just being thankful that he's healthy.
He says that at night he goes to sleep by focusing on at least three things that went well that day. He relives those three positive things. For him, it can be as simple as his supervisor telling him what a good job he did on a project, or an affirming e-mail from a friend.
Here's another tip: Be thankful for the honesty in other people. No one likes to hear negative things, but sometimes you need to hear them. Of course, they may momentarily hurt your feelings, but you still can learn and grow from the experience.
I have a friend who says, ”Only two people will tell you the truth about yourself: someone who's angry at you and someone who loves you very much.” G.o.d uses both types of people in our lives.
So be thankful for people who tell you the truth about yourself, even if it's not what you want to hear. When you hear the truth-especially something of which you're not aware, you can change. And after you've changed, isn't that just one more thing for which you can be thankful?
G.o.d, thank You for all the good things You send into my life. Thank You for all the terrible things You don't send into my life. Thank You for the people in my life who help me grow closer to You and become a more thankful person. I pray this through Jesus the Savior. Amen.