Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Fear Of What We Might Miss

“Much, much stress results from your wanting to make things happen before their times have come.  One of the main ways I assert my sovereignty is in the time of events.” Jesus Calling

Romans 8:31, Psalm 46:1-3, Luke 1:37

I can’t tell you how many times that I have prayed for God’s guidance or help in a situation in my life only to go ahead and do what I thought was best all along.  I felt because I had prayed for it, that it was okay to go ahead and do what I wanted to do anyways.  Praying for God’s direction and guidance is only one part of the recipe.  Yes, that is one of the main ingredients, but how good are chocolate chip cookies with flour or chocolate chips?  The same principal is in effect here as well.  Just asking God to help you do something or to help guide you down a path doesn’t mean that we can go ahead and head down whatever path we want to go down. 

I think the main reason that I just jump on the path and start going is because I am insecure of what I might miss if I don’t go ahead and start down that path.  Yes the path that I am headed down may no be the worst path in the world and it may even have some good things on that path, but what am I missing when I don’t let God tell me which path to take.  Sometimes it may be the same path that I was going to take, but other times and probably more so that not, it is a path altogether different than the one that I think would be best.  That is why he is God and I am not.  I believe fear is what drives a lot of our decisions.  Whether it be moving investments out of mutual funds or stocks because one day the market has a down day, whether it be putting in an alarm system because your neighbor’s house got broken in to, whether it be keeping your kids in a bubble because the outside world is a scary place.  All of those decisions are completely normal decisions, but are they driven by fear?  Psalm 46:1-3 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in our trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.” Our God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in our trouble!

How many of you remember the game show “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”?  Remember the “life-line” that the contestant could choose, and how most of the time the person on the other end of the phone knew exactly what the correct answer was to the question?  But do you also remember the few times when that person on the other end of the line had absolutely no clue as to which way was up in regards to the question being asked?  Remember how dejected the contestant felt and how helpless they felt?  Our God is always on the other end of the phone and always has the right answer to our questions.  Our God is never, not going to be there to provide us with help that we couldn’t come up with on our own.  Our God is never going to give us the wrong answer. 

Luke 1:37 talks about how nothing is impossible with God.  That is right before Mary responds to Gabriel and tells the arch angel that she will in fact do as the Lord has said.  Imagine the fear going on inside of her at this time.  A unwed teenage girl is going to be a mother, as if that is not enough reason to be scared, her child is going to be the Savior, but yet Mary in all of her wisdom tells Gabriel that because of who the Lord is in her life that she is going to go down the path that the Lord has shown her. 

I have heard the verse in Romans 8:31 quoted so many times in times of grief or despair.  “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?  But how many times do we allow those words to sink and really hit home?  If the God of the universe who knows how many hairs are on our head from before we were even born is for us, then no power is Hell or on earth is strong enough to overcome us.  My prayer for me and my prayer for you is this, may we lean on the discretion of our Lord and bask in His presence while we wait for the plans of the Lord.   It will not always be easy, but it will always be worth it.  Love God: Love Men.

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