fear, day 1

Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer:
O Lord our God, help us to live our lives with the faith and courage necessary to live by love and not by fear.  Forgive me when my seeing and my thinking get so distorted that I allow fear to control me and make me its slave—even when I don’t fully realize it.  Seize my heart and soul with your perfect love in such a way that it drives out all fear and gives me the freedom to truly love, rather than manipulate, those in my life and world.  In the name of Jesus.  Amen. (JLB)


Psalm for the Week: Psalm 27

Scripture for the Day: Mark 6:45-52

Reading for Reflection:

The older I get, the more I realize that quite possibly the biggest single enemy of our spiritual lives (other than Satan himself) is fear.  Fear seems to be at the very core of all the things that battle against my heart and soul.  At the core of my busyness is fear.  At the core of my insecurity is fear.  At the core of my anxiety is fear.  At the core of my competitiveness…you guessed it—fear.  Fear of not having what it takes.  Fear of not having any value.  Fear of not being lovable.  The list goes on and on. 

     And maybe the main reason this enemy is so strong and dangerous is that by and large it is a hidden enemy.  We never really look beneath the surface of our more familiar enemies to spot it.  We rarely follow any of these foes down far enough to see what is at their root.  And when we don’t know what we are really fighting, how can we possibly be victorious?  We just keep getting defeated over and over again.  This fear robs us of the intimacy we were created for.  It robs us of the freedom that God longs for us to enjoy.  It robs us of genuinely loving relationships.  It simply controls the way we live our lives.   

     What are we to do?  How can we possibly fight against this?  A first step would seem to be identifying and naming our fears.  Somehow naming our fears takes some of their power away to control us.  Ann Lamott once said, “When you make friends with fear, it can’t rule you.”  Once our enemy is identified it makes it much easier to wage war.

     Secondly, we need to remember that our real enemy (Satan) is the “father of lies.”  He will use his lies to manipulate us into believing whatever he can.  Because of this, it seems that we need to ask ourselves, “What lies are we believing that are simply not true?  How is our seeing or thinking distorted?”  When the disciples were on the sea battling against the storm (Mark 6:45-52) they screamed out in terror because they thought Jesus was a ghost.  Now it wasn’t really a ghost upon the water… they just thought it was.  It was their distorted thinking and seeing that gave power to their fears.  Once they saw things clearly and therefore thought about things more accurately—they were able to put everything in perspective.

     Which brings us to the biggest weapon we have been given to wage war against fear—and that is what John calls “perfect love” (1 John 4:18).  It is perfect love that puts everything in perspective for us.  Once the voice of perfect love calls out to us, “Take courage.  It is I.  Don’t be afraid.”  Then we are reminded that the love of the one who made us, and called us into being, and cares for us more than we can even care for ourselves is in control of all things.  And His heart for us is good—he can be trusted even when circumstances look dire because he loves us so immensely and completely.  When he speaks His words of affection and peace and we hear and truly believe them; then we know that if he is with us—it will be well.  Whatever it is, whatever the seas look like, it will be well.                                                                                      

                                                                                         ~Jim Branch

                                                                                  November 2004

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: Isaiah 43 

     When you pass through the waters, I will be with you

     And the waves shall not overcome you

     Do not fear for I have redeemed you

     I have called you by name, you are mine

     For I am the Lord your God (Ladies repeat)

     I am the Lord your God (Ladies repeat)

     I am the Holy One of Israel—your Savior

            

                    Men                                           Ladies

            I am the Lord                                 Do not fear

            I am the Lord                                 Do not fear

            I am the Lord                                 Do not fear

            I am the Lord                                 Do not fear

 

     When you walk through the fire, you’ll not be burned

     And the flames, they shall not consume you

     Do not fear for I have for I have redeemed you

     I have called you by name, you are mine

Closing Prayer:
Lord Jesus,
     Help me to hear your words, “Take courage!  It is I.  Don’t be afraid.” and to believe them in the deepest places of my heart.   Help me to live my life by those words this day.  For your sake and by your Spirit and in your name.  Amen. (JLB)