Verse of the Day - Luke 12:32

[Jesus says,] "Do not be afraid...."
~ Luke 12:23 (NIV)

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Some fears are based on the threat of personal attack. Others are based on the unknown. And some fears are a mystery...why are people afraid of clowns (coulrophobia), those characters that are supposed to make us laugh? Or the fear of books (bibliophobia), words on a page to simply interest or inform us?

Reading a list of phobias will leave you amazed. There is a named fear of almost everything under the sun. Some people are even afraid of specific colors! That may seem silly to some, but if you battle a particular fear, you don't think it's funny at all. It's terrifying and can be debilitating. Can you imagine what it's like to drive down a street in the spring when all the flowers are in bloom, and be afraid of the color purple (porphyrophobia), or yellow (xanthophobia), or white (leukophobia)? How does a person even get dressed in the morning with the fear of clothing (vestiphobia)? How did we as a human race become so afraid?

I don't have an answer for that, but Jesus has an answer that meets everyone with every fear they face...

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. ~ Jesus, in John 14:1 (NIV)

We sing songs like Trust and Obey (there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey...) and You are my Hiding Place (let the weak say I am strong, in the strength of my God, I will trust in You...), and yet we hold back our abandonment to God. We hang onto pieces and parts of our lives that we somehow think He doesn't want to manage, or can't manage as well as we can. That control issue over circumstances is a double-edged sword. We may be able to manipulate circumstances for a while, but soon things become beyond what we can manage. We're in too deep, over our heads, and we become afraid. sometimes, very afraid...

I don't mean to minimize phobias, because I know people who suffer from them, and they are very real to them, causing much trouble for them physically, emotionally and socially. The mind is very complex, and I'm certainly not a psychologist. All I can do is point to Jesus for answers, for help. He is the Creator of this world, yet He knelt down in human form to touch us, to be with us, to know our pain. He overcame the grave and defeated death. He is the Mighty One, the only one who has it all together. If we don't cling to Him, who else can save us? Certainly not ourselves, or even other people, because we're all in this boat together, in shark-infested waters, without any oars, and a storm is approaching. Do we trust God, or do we fear for our lives?

I think for most of us, it's a daily battle to trust the Lord. Even, and maybe especially, when there are no specific fears to battle. When we're able to function without crying out to God in desperation, are we looking to Him to guide us, to manage our affairs? Or are we at the helm, sailing the waters on our own?

I pray that we can abandon ourselves to Jesus every day, in every circumstance...learning what it's like to place all of our weight in His arms. Learning what it's like to wear a blindfold and let Him lead us. Learning what it's like to live outside of our own control without fear...

Love,
Joelene