Hi,<\/p>\n
Our church is doing a Lenten series based on the Psalms. I was invited to write a few Lenten devotionals for our church website. In case you are looking for something devotional, I offer this:<\/p>\n
Fear is a huge motivator that affects our behavior and emotions. In our community group curriculum we read, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Fear is also at the root of our self-protection mechanisms (defensiveness, contempt, criticism, shame, stonewalling, etc.). As eroding as these things are, the worst thing about fear is that it keeps us from love. . .\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
In thinking about \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Fear\u00e2\u20ac\u009d today, I want to take a look at Psalm 3. In the NIV we read, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153O LORD, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! Many are saying of me, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153God will not deliver him.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (v.1-2)<\/p>\n
I often get a kick out of how Eugene Peterson paraphrases scripture in The Message, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153God! Look! Enemies past counting! Enemies sprouting like mushrooms, mobs of them all around me, roaring their mockery: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hah! No help for him from God!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (v.1-2)<\/p>\n
There are different kinds of fear that affect all of us. At times, we, too, may feel surrounded by insurmountable fears! Some might include going to the dentist, being rejected by a close friend, not doing well on a test, not living up to expectations of your boss, etc. Some fear we anticipate, like the test or dentist appointment. Other fears can come upon us when we least anticipate it.<\/p>\n
Last year, after twenty-nine years of employment, I was laid-off. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say it was totally unexpected, but I was still surprised. For months afterwards, I experienced a new kind of fear. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve not experienced before: fear of what might happen in the future, specifically, financial failure.<\/p>\n
This is not a fear that I think about during my waking hours. God is providing in marvelous ways! Instead, this is a fear that can haunt me at night. It wakes me up with crazy thoughts!!<\/p>\n
Pastor Matt said the first thing we need to do when we are afraid is to face our fear. I find that when I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m awakened in the middle of the night, the best thing I can do is get-up to journal, read the Bible, and cry-out to God, as David did. I find spending time in these activities to be so much better than wrestling in bed, trying to sleep, with crazy thoughts spinning in my mind.<\/p>\n
Fear of what we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re facing can sometimes cause us to doubt that God is really present in our situation. At the Mt. Helix Community Group this week, we had an ice-breaker activity of writing acronyms for the word, DOUBT. I want to share two from our group. Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the first one:
\nD \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Disbelief
\nO \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Often
\nU \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Unwittingly
\nB \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Brews
\nT\u00e2\u20ac\u201dTorment<\/p>\n
I like this one because when I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t face my fear, I do feel tormented! In addition to the activities named above that help, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a part of a great small group of guys with whom I can share anything. Having this kind of support is invaluable in so many ways!<\/p>\n
The second acronym is this:
\nD \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Devoting
\nO \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Ourselves
\nU \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Until
\nB \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Belief
\nT \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Transpires<\/p>\n
Sometimes, in spite of what we are feeling, we need to move forward in our faith walk. This may even mean leaning on others to help us trust God in facing our fears. Moving forward can help us find a better place to be with God, to see and experience God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s blessings.<\/p>\n
In verses 4 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 5, David writes, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153To the LORD I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
In his crying aloud to God, a wonderful transformation takes place! Peace comes to David so that he can sleep. The next day he awakes and feels the Lord\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s strength and power to sustain him.<\/p>\n
How do you experience God in the midst of your worst fear? How do you find strength and help from God? What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s your story?<\/p>\n
Jeff Glass<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hi, Our church is doing a Lenten series based on the Psalms. I was invited to write a few Lenten devotionals for our church website. In case you are looking for something devotional, I offer this: Fear is a huge motivator that affects our behavior and emotions. In our community group curriculum we read, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Fear […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-change","category-spiritual-formation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emergentbrethren.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emergentbrethren.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emergentbrethren.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emergentbrethren.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emergentbrethren.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=237"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/emergentbrethren.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emergentbrethren.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emergentbrethren.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emergentbrethren.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}