No longer a slave

“So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”- Galatians 4:7 (ESV)

“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.  You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror.  I can take the next thing that comes along.” “- Eleanor Roosevelt

Rising 264 feet above the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, George Washington Gale Ferris’ wheel was the “landmark of the fair.”  Ferris, a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Pittsburgh bridge builder, designed his wheel to rotate on a 71-ton, 45.5 foot axle supported by two 140-foot steel towers.  The wheel had 36 ‘boxes’, each the size of train cars.  Each car had 40 revolving chairs and a capacity of 60.  As many as 38,000 passengers a day paid 50 cents to ride the first Ferris wheel.  A Chicago Daily Tribune article from June 22, 1893 described the experience:

“In thirty minutes two revolutions of the wheel had been completed and the first carloads were ready to step out again on the ‘too, too solid earth.’ ”

Even though the towers supporting the Ferris Wheel were anchored in thirty feet of concrete, passengers remained apprehensive because control was in the hands of the wheel operator.  Perhaps they clutched a revolving chair armrest or a standing rider for stability.  Max Lucado points out that, at its core, fear is a perceived loss of control.  When life spins aimlessly or uncontrollably, we desperately cling to a component of life we can manage.  Max describes a specific form of spiritual amnesia:

“Destructive anxiety subtracts God from the future, faces uncertainties with no faith, tallies up the challenges of the day without entering God into the equation.  Worry is the darkroom where negatives become glossy prints.”

You’ve been knocked down by your vocation loss.  But you are a survivor!  Like Joseph during his imprisonment in Egypt, your anchor is a deep-seated, stabilizing belief in the sovereignty of God.  You can bounce back with God’s help.  Let go of what has been and embrace the new thing God offers.  God is present in your crisis.  Keep calm and carry on.  You’re no longer a slave to fear; you are a child of God.  Max Lucado offers this faith-sustaining insight:

“You re embedded with the presence of God.  Don’t measure your life by your ability; measure it by God’s.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxkNj5hcy5E

 

 

 

 

No longer a slave

Fear of change

“Fear of change can be highly motivating- and ultimately limiting.”- Kyle Idleman

Kyle Idleman continues Chapter 6 of The End of Me as he discusses two reasons people lay down “roots in a place of quiet desperation and low expectations” rather than accept help.

1.  Fear of change.  The man at the Bethesda Pool had been crippled for almost four decades.  His mat was his home, the pool his community.  He was who he was.  As Pastor Idleman notes, it’s amazing what people can learn to endure in the face of positive alternatives:

“We accept a lot of things we know could be better. . . . We decide God must want us to be here, because if he didn’t, he’d make something else happen.  In other words, we blame God. . . . After a while we get used to things, and a limited life is less frightening than the thought of change.  Resignation is better than disappointment.”

If we believe God is at fault for the situation we find ourselves in, why would we ask God for help?

2.  Denial of reality.  The man at the pool no longer had any concept of what a healthy life should be like.  As Kyle notes, his environment was compressed to the boundary of Bethesda’s five colonnades.  The man was around hurting people 24/7.  His view of reality as skewed- unhealthy had become the new normal.  The reality was he needed help.  Jesus was this man’s only hope, just as He is ours.

Today’s question: How has fear of change limited you on your desert, transitional journey?  Please share.

Coming Monday: the Christmas Short Meditation- “Arise, shine!”

Tomorrow’s blog: “A landscape of joy”

Fear of change

False advertising

In Chapter 4 (“Authentic to Be Accepted”) of The End of Me, Kyle Idleman observes that no one like it when someone advertises one thing and delivers something entirely different- whether that is a business or an individual.  Businesses with false advertising claims are one thing, but when we apply this standard to ourselves, however, it’s another story.  Taking a look in the mirror and asking ourselves if we show our true selves to the world is much more difficult.

It’s hard to risk showing our true selves to the world, even considering the possibility people might be more drawn to us if they know some of our failings and struggles.  As Kyle notes, “fear is the enemy of transparency.”  Yet, it is when our inside and our outside match up that we’re pure in heart and where God wants us to be.

Pastor Idleman states the word purity was a buzz word in Jesus’ day.  Purity captured what religion was all about.  The problem was the Pharisees defined purity almost exclusively in terms of outward acts.  But Jesus put a new spin on the word- what Kyle refers to as “purity of heart over purity of decoration.”

A pure heart is unmixed (no bad ingredients) and sincere.  “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”- Matthew 5:8

Today’s question: What Bible verses help you establish “purity of heart over purity of decoration?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “The audience you choose”

False advertising

Face fear head- on

“One ought never to turn one’s back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it.  If you do that, you will double the danger.  But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half.”- Winston Churchill

“We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”- 2 Corinthians 10:5

In today’s blog, Bill Hybels presents the third step that helps us partner with God to conquer fear.

STEP 3: Face Fear Head- on.  Pastor Hybels notes that studies have shown avoiding fears only causes them to escalate.  On the other hand, when someone takes the time to understand their fear’s origin, expose its lies, and face it head-on, that fear begins to diminish.  The author explains:

“The only way you will conquer your fear is to reach out for the steadying hand of God and face the thing you’re afraid of.  You have to lean into it and walk through it.  There’s just no other way.”

The Holy Spirit will help us discern the origins of our fears and reveal Satan’s lies.  Our part is to acknowledge our fears, identify them for what they are or are not, and take steps to free ourselves from the bondage of destructive fears.

Giving into fear is tempting because it brings temporary relief.  However, there’s a major downside to avoidance.  Avoidance legitimizes and affirms fear.  Surrendering our fears to Jesus brings order and discipline to our thinking.

Today’s question: What is your biggest barrier to being able to face fear head- on?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Speak words of truth”

Face fear head- on

Catastrophizing

“When he [the devil] lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”- Luke 8:44

Today in Chapter 6 of Simplify, Bill Hybels covers the first two steps that help us partner with God to conquer fear.

STEP 1: Understanding Fear’s Origin.  In order to conquer a fear, we first must understand where that fear originates.  Dr. Joseph Wolpe, a twentieth-century South African psychiatrist, discovered a single traumatic childhood event tormented many people their entire life.   Although a casual observer may not view that traumatic event as all that terrifying, it was scary enough to that person to start knocking over dominoes, causing him/her to erect walls of avoidance.

STEP 2: Expose Fear’s Lies.  Pastor Hybels emphasizes that deception is evil’s primary strategy for bringing about our defeat and destruction.  When destructive fear strikes, we manufacture worst-case scenarios.  The technical term for this is catastrophizing.  The author explains:

“The evil one loves to help you spin your worst-case scenarios, because they consume, distract, and derail you.  When fear has you in a stranglehold, it’s easy to take your eyes off of (sic) God’s power and provision.

Pastor Hybels cautions that if we decide to keep silent about the catastrophic lies spinning in our head, we invite a whole new list of troubles our way.  As Bill has stated previously, the truth is our friend.

Today’s question: What Bible verses have helped you overcome any tendency toward catastrophizing?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Face fear head- on”

 

Catastrophizing

Peace busters

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you.  I do not give as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”- John 14:27

“Simplifying our lives means eradicating pockets of fear wherever they lurk.”- Bill Hybels

In Chapter 6 (“From Anxious to Peaceful: Conquering Your Fears”) of Simplify, Bill Hybels observes that while we may have been successful in simplifying significant areas of our lives and look good on the outside, we’re in danger of collapse if fear is running rampant beneath the surface.  Yet, Pastor Hybels states, God desires that His peace would prevail in our lives.  The author reiterates:

“Fear is the fundamental barrier to peace, and it’s a deal-breaker when it comes to leading a simplified life.  Fear is debilitating. . . . No matter how good we look on the outside, we will crumble if fear has seeped beneath the veneer of our lives.”

Peace busters, Pastor Hybels notes, rob us of the peace God desires for each of us.  Common peace busters include financial pressure, relational breakdown, unexpected bad news, moral failure, and impending mortality.  Job loss, whether expected or unexpected, certainly fits in here.

What do you do when peace busters crash into your life?  Do you rationalize that you’re a natural worrier or resign yourself to living with low grade anxiety and fear?  Pastor Hybels encourages that you can live in shalom regardless of the peace busters threatening to undermine your life.

Today’s question: What are the major peace busters in your life right now?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Constructive fear”

 

 

Peace busters

When we"re afraid

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your strength.”- Deuteronomy 6:4-5

“It’s not what’s on the other side of the door that gives me confidence to go through; it’s the one who goes with me.”- John Ortberg

In today’s blog, John Ortberg presents the third reason we’re tempted to give up searching for the door when the wall seems insurmountable (Chapter 10, All the Places to Go).

3.  The world is not safe enough.  Pastor Ortberg notes that we avoid open doors when we’re afraid.  Yet, the most important words in Israel’s life, the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) were door words.  The Israelites were to write the Shema on the doorposts of their houses and on their gates as a reminder that God was watching over them at all times.  John connects this reminder to what is most significant about open doors:

“What we want most is not what lies behind the door.  What we want most is the one who opens it.  Always, when we go through the opened door, we go with him.  He meets human beings at the threshold.  The magic of the open door is not the new circumstances or job or location or accomplishment.  It’s actually being with him that turns where we are into Wonderland.”

As we walk with Jesus through the open door, we are “more than conquerors.”

Today’s question: What are your favorite Bible passages for overcoming fear?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Just enough clarity”

When we"re afraid