FEAR
Fear is an evil game that is played in our minds. Now of course the Bible admonishes us to “fear the Lord”, but that fear causes us to revere God’s power and dominion over our lives, recognizing that he is the all-powerful creator, and we are the creation. And because he loves us, this healthy fear of the Lord draws us humbly closer to him. But time and time again in the Bible, we are told NOT to be afraid. This word has the meaning of flight, caused by dread or terror, usually from the intimidation of our perceived adversaries. When we get in difficult, uncontrollable circumstances, our mind often flees to fearful thoughts, thinking the “worst case scenario”. CJ used to call that type of thinking “awful-izing” the situation. The first week or so of our cancer diagnosis, we both fell prey to those thoughts. We thought of all the worst case scenarios and played them over and over in our minds, and this pretty much paralyzed our thought and actions for a while until we began to focus on God and not just our fears.
God does not want us to be afraid and fearful! II Timothy 2:7 says, “For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-control.” So where does fear, anxiety, and doubt come from? The Bible says it comes from Satan, the dark, fallen angel who is the enemy of God and who tries to draw us away from God and his love for us! Ephesians 6:12 reminds us, “For our struggle is not against flesh & blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”. And the Bible warns us to be alert to the devil, who looks to make life miserable for us: I Peter 5:8-9 “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith”. There is the answer to fear and doubt! RESIST, & STAND FIRM IN THE FAITH!
FAITH
Faith is the mental and spiritual exercise God calls us to use every day to trust in him. Just as fear is an evil game Satan plays in our minds, faith is the mental antidote that God has given us to connect with him and his power over fear. Why do we need faith? Think in a bigger cosmic scale from God’s viewpoint for a moment. In the beginning of creation, we were meant to walk with God in a place on the earth called the Garden of Eden. We were sinless and knew no evil, life was wonderful, God was in charge, and there was nothing to fear or be anxious about. But you know the story… our ancestors Adam and Eve made a really stupid decision and fell for Satan’s lie that we really didn’t need God, and rebelled against God. The punishment was banishment from that perfect life in the Garden, and from that point on we live in our sinful world of rebellion and suffer death and all the results of sin, such as disease, discord, hatred, wars, fear, anger, etc.
Because of our sin-induced separation from God, we no longer see him nor walk with him. We have to believe and trust that God loves us and wants the best for us. He sent Jesus to love us, die in our place, and offer us forgiveness through his sacrificial death and resurrection, but we still have to trust that it is all true! That is why faith is defined as “…the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”- Hebrews 11:1.
We all face unknown and unseen circumstances that can harm us, because our sinful world is one of disease, suffering, injustice, and eventual death. Our natural tendency is to be anxious and afraid, but God calls us to focus our minds on him and the promises he has given us. Romans 12:2 tells us “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”. This is not a one-time deal; we have to decide every morning to focus on God and his promises, rather than focus on our difficult circumstances and succumb to fear and anxiety.
Every day, you and I have a choice as to how we think about our life. Think of a word play on the letters of the word FEAR: Forever Expecting Awful Results. Many people take that approach to life, and are filled with fear, anxiety, and no hope. Or we can focus on the letters to the word FAITH: Full Assurance in the Heart! As we trust on God’s promises and faithfulness in the past, we can face our future with peace and hope, knowing that God has our back! And the more you practice faith on a day to day basis, you can redefine FEAR as Face Everything And Rise!
FRIENDS
Even though CJ and I have been Christians for decades and consider ourselves fairly mature in our faith, the daily choice to live by faith and trust instead of fear and anxiety is not always an easy or automatic response! We both have our moments, but we find that reading scripture passages of hope and assurance of God’s help every day make a big difference. For example, one of my favorites has become Isaiah 41:10- “So do not fear for I am with you. Do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand”!
Not only have we been blessed with encouraging scripture, but we have found ourselves overwhelmed with wonderful support from friends from all different places in life! We have received wonderful cards and notes from so many that have brought us to tears. And the many responses on our Facebook pages and the special update page have been amazing! I have been so surprised by the depth of the prayers and thoughts of folks on that page, often by people I hardly know, but are a “friend of a friend” who has chosen to pray for us. I encourage you that no matter what crisis you face in your life today, read some of the great prayers & thoughts on the Facebook update page and apply them to yourself!
Finally, the most interesting source of encouragement has come from what might be called “the fellowship of cancer survivors”. Soon after CJ’s diagnosis, we heard from an old friend who told us she was also going through the same cancer, for a 2nd time, and encouraged CJ that God would be with her and it was going to be OK! And so many others, from a sister-in-law to other cancer surviving friends have just changed our thoughts from fear to faith and hope. And then there was the wonderful woman at the chemo center who told us she has been fighting ovarian cancer on and off for over 18 years! She has lost her hair 5 times, and had a new haircut presently!
So, no matter what crisis you are facing now in your life, or may face in the future, remember this:
– God did not give you a spirit of fear or timidity, but one of love, power, and self-control
– make a conscious mental decision each morning to live by faith, not by fear
– don’t be a “loner Christian”; God designed his people to be a community, because we need each other for encouragement and just having fun doing life together!
– enjoy the day God has given you today, and don’t worry about tomorrow
“Now may the God of all hope fill you with joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”. – Romans 15:13