dear fellow fear-er … stay close to home

Dear fellow fear-er,

I heard the news about the Lafayette gunman late last night. Will walked in while I was reading in bed to let me know about it. He hates to share that kind of news because he knows the capacity it has to push me in a hole. If you’ve read Unafraid ~ you know why too.

I sighed audibly and deeply when he told me. And I pulled the covers up over my body. All I kept thinking was, “Not again…”

And then I prayed earnestly for the families of the people who died. And I prayed for the mothers whose babies were in that theater, no matter if their babies were sixteen or sixty. I prayed for all the mamas.

After I prayed, I reminded myself that I only have two choices:
1. Cave to the Fear.
2. Surrender to God.

Fear-er friend … the enemy wants you to cave to fear. He wants you to think there are ‘safe places’ and ‘unsafe places.’ He wants to make you personalize every tragedy and apply it thick and heavy to your life. And then he wants you to set up a gajillion safety rules like:

DON’T GO TO MOVIE THEATERS!
DON’T GO TO CHURCH!
BAD THINGS HAPPEN THERE!

After that, he’ll entice you to enforce those safety rules on all your people. And there will be a great tension because not every one is a fear-er like you. When people you love don’t follow your rules, you’ll feel frantic and freaked out. And this in turn, will negatively impact relationships. This is what fear does.

Fear tricks you into thinking that control is the best option. That’s a lie. Faith is the best option. Faith is belief in what you cannot see.

There are a lot of little wrens that live by my house. They’re all over my backyard. I read recently that wrens can’t see in the dark. It’s reasonable to assume since they can’t see in the dark, they hunker down in their little nests and stay home til morning light.

Friend … GOD IS HOME. That’s what is says in Psalm 90:1 >> go read it yourself. GOD IS HOME.

When the darkness of this world is overwhelming ~ when things look desperate and bleak ~ stick close to home. Hand your scared feelings, your need for control, your freaked out notions to GOD.

STAY CLOSE TO HOME and wait for the LIGHT.

Don’t watch the news loop. That will feed your fear. You don’t have to know all the horrible, awful details. Don’t stare at the dark.

Find your nest. Stay there. Wait for light.

And while you’re there, tucked in safe and sound, please pray for the mamas. Pray for the babies. Pray for the people Lafayette and Charleston.

Pray, pray, pray.

Okay?

I love you. I’m with you. I’m a former fear-er by His grace.