F ully

E mbracing

A nd

 R especting

or

F eeling

E mpty

A nd

R ejected

Too often we are far better acquainted with the fear that leaves us feeling empty and rejected. As circumstances go from bad to worse, as our health, loves, and friends fail, as life is unfair and unmerciful, as the only increase we have is in debt and hurt, we often find ourself alone on the deck of our life facing the storm alone.

With resources depleted, hope gone, no escape,  you have emptied yourself and have nothing more to give to fight the challenge ahead. It is out of your hands. That is a fearful thought.

It wasn't your fault. You did not make this happen. You lived right, did right, and yet.....

Feeling rejected, not good enough, not worthy of His intervention, fear wraps it claws around your heart and soul.

This fear will always come when we focus on the temporal. I know the pain feels like it will last forever. It won't. At the most any of us will live is maybe a hundred years. A blink of the eye in the face of eternity. This fear cannot see beyond the moment.

But there is another fear...the fear of the Lord.

When this fear faces the same thing it fully embraces the Lord. The seed for this blog came at 2:20 A.M. this morning when I got a call from my eight year old son who was spending a night over at his aunt and uncle's house with his cousins. Everybody was asleep and he was afraid. Now the little guy did not have any problem calling home and waking me up. We talked a little, I offered to pray, but he wanted to come home. It took a little while but soon we were on our way home.

I am aware of some of the struggles dear friends are going thru. And have been around long enough to know we all have stuff we are dealing with.

It is not a matter of being spiritual enough to overcome our fears.  But rather knowing our  heavenly Father well enough to call him in our hour of need. Like the disciples when they were in the middle of a lake and a violent storm was about to sink their boat they headed to Jesus who was asleep below deck. They were not even nice about it. "Don't you care we are perishing?!" (Mark 4)

I imagine He tried to speak but they were so busy telling Jesus how bad it was and what was happening and what was about to happen they did not hear a word He spoke to their situation. I imagine they rushed back to their problem to deal with it the best they could. Eventually Jesus steps on the deck of the ship and preachs a three word sermon, "Peace, be still." The winds stopped. The waves calmed. And Jesus smiles as He looks past the disciples and sees a rainbow. The disciples were amazed at how quickly the storm ceased when Jesus spoke.

When my son called with his "personal storm" I gave him good advice and counsel and offered to pray. But He did not need or want words or even prayer. He wanted me. And when He knew I was coming he waited expectantly for me.

Jesus still calms storms today in the lives of those who fully embrace Him and respect Him enough to call on Him in the midst of their storm.

W hen

I 

S eek

D irection

O utside

M yself

When I fully embrace and respect the Lord I will seek direction outside myself. When I don't know what to do I look to the Lord and ask, "Now what are you going to do?"  We tend to get all amazed at how Peter walked on water when he saw Jesus do it. He was doing something that he couldn't do. But we miss that Peter (who knew how to swim) called out to Jesus for help when his walk ended abruptly when he got distracted by his circumstances. Peter's first instinct was to trust the One who had gotten him to where he was.

Oh, they were still in the middle of a lake, they were both wet, but now they were safely in the boat. A happy ending. This day. 

Peter embraced Jesus fully and respected Him. It took a while but eventually Peter did become Cephas (rock). The man whose emotions were as liquid as the lakes he had made his living on became a pillar of strength and steadfast faith. Not by what he did but by what Jesus did in his life.

So the question today... Is fear your ally or your foe? Is your faith as liquid as water or is it firm as stone?  Are you fighting a losing battle trying to stay afloat or are you instinctively calling on the Lord?

If fear has you in its' claw instead of in His hand, be of good cheer. All who call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. That is a promise. His promise.

Oh, sometimes we are saved from, sometimes we are saved thru, sometimes we are saved as we stay where we are and He holds us close to Him.

Emotions change but the fear of the Lord does not. And every one who cleaves (holds on no matter what) unto the Lord their GOD are alive this day.

.....peace.....