photo by ro_buk

Have you ever thought about a situation you were in, turned to the Bible to make yourself feel better or give you a different, better, more positive outlook on the situation, only to be put pretty much in the same situation you were in before you looked, possibly a tad worse?

I was thinking about me and why I was not quickly pursuing getting my classes scheduled at Liberty University.  I’ve thought about it in the past and during that thought process I questioned my faith in God.  No, not that I had zero faith, but maybe that it wasn’t as strong as I thought it should be.  If I had the faith I thought I should have, then all of the steps through the process should be easy, no-brainer decisions.  Yet, I hesitate.  Why?

So, I turned to God for answers and he led me down a different thought process.  He pretty  much told me to get it together, or else.  Well, maybe not that harsh but it he has put a little pep in my step.

Instead of questioning my faith, I turned to the thought that maybe fear is keeping me in the hold pattern.  Not really wanting to land because I’m not sure the landing will be successful.  Surely fear is a better excuse and less damaging to what I consider to be a wonderful relationship with God.

Well, it didn’t work out that way for me, sort of.  I retrieved my trusty concordance from the bookshelf, searched for fear, and was swallowed up by the number of entries relating to fear.  Now, where to start?

I started out in 1 John.

18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. -1 John 4:18

Well, that didn’t help.  I know I’m not perfect, but that was a little to negative for what I was looking for.  That conversation made me think that not only did I lack the faith I should have, but I also lack the love for God like I should because of my fear. 

I think I’ll look somewhere else.

14 In righteousness you will be established:
Tyranny will be far from you;
you will have nothing to fear.
Terror will be far removed;
it will not come near you.-Isaiah 54:14

Great!  Now he’s telling me that because of fear, I’m not established in righteousness.  Now I’m starting to think of everything else I’ve been afraid of. 

Is it really not OK to have fear?  Well, maybe OK isn’t the correct term.  I mean, I don’t think fear is one of those Heaven or Hell issues.  But, there I go thinking.

So I turned our talk toward determining what we are “allowed” to fear and what we aren’t supposed to fear.

Don’t Fear

• Man – Proverbs 29:25; Matthew 10:28 (those who kill the body)
• Our Faith – John 12:42-50 Good example here of some Jews who were afraid to confess their faith because they might be put out of the synagogue, which to my understanding would pretty much be the end of the world for them.  Jesus in the verses following pretty much said that it will be the end of their world if they don’t confess their faith.
• The Lord – Lamentations 3:57

Fear

• Our Salvation – or how our salvation is working. Philippians 2:12
• Authorities– Romans 13:1-7  Probably more of a fear the consequences of not doing what they tell us to do, because doing so is the same as rebelling against God.
• The Lord – Way to many verses to put here.  I did a search for fear of the Lord in Proverbs alone.  You can see the results here.

Side Story

It’s 5AM the morning after I had written all of what is above.  As luck would have it  As it seems to have been planned, a storm with vivid lightning, crashing thunder that moves the house, and torrential rain, has moved into the area.  I’m sitting in the dark (because I want to, not because the lights are out) and I remember the days of my youth and how fearful I was of storms.  In fact, just the wind itself might have been my biggest fear when I was growing up.

A particular day when I was 13 are in my thoughts. I remember being the only one at home on this day and a fierce storm raced through the area.  Dad and Mom were both at work, each several minutes away.  Mom may have been 20 minutes or more away, I just can’t remember.  They each might as well had been a million miles away.

The wind picked up, the lightning flashed, the trees were bending over to where I sure thought the tops were touching the ground.  Not sure if there was a tornado in the area that day or not. 

I remember standing with the front door open, like you do during a horrible storm.  I was crying, quite possibly screaming.  Not sure about that.  I may have just wanted to scream.

It was a very moving experience.   I’m surprised that things of the wet nature didn’t move into my shorts from my bladder.

But I got over that fear.  At some point I fell in love with storms and would get so excited at the sound of thunder, the sight of lightning, and wind became a friend of mine.

Continue

Flash forward to February 2007. 

My faith in God and my fear of God were non-existent. 

A tornado ravaged the community where I live.  It came so close to my home where I was again, alone, drunk.  But, in the hopes that God was still around somewhere, I managed to pray, beg, live.  I was spared.

Not long after the tornado, I tired of dealing with my alcoholism and sought help.  While on the quest of becoming sober, he was there.  Always was. 

It took God putting the fear back into me that allowed me to see the errors of my way.  While at Cumberland Heights, my faith increased a thousand fold, a million fold, and a relationship was born…re-born.

So what does all of this mean, God? Sum it up for me.  What are you telling me? What does this have to do with classes and fear and faith? 

13 For I am the Lord, your God,
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you. –Isaiah 41:13  

Oh.  Okay then.  Don’t fear and my faith will increase?  What do you think?  I’m struggling to put the period on this post.  Maybe you can finish it for me….

Because of HIM

SC

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I’m still hanging on.  I’m still getting through this mess with my back.  I’ve got an appointment on Wednesday (May, 13th (which is also my son’s birthday)) to see a pain management Doctor.  It’s an exciting time, I think that’s the right term to use.  It’s also a bit frustrating because this sounds like putting a band aid on a broken arm.  It might cover it up, put it’s still broke.  I keep telling myself though that anything that can be done to keep me from taking this pain medicine will be a relief in and of itself.

Even through it all, how have I managed to keep my sanity about me?  Some may say, “Well, Scott, that’s debatable.” and I would tend to agree with you.  Maybe I’ve never had my sanity about me?  Maybe sanity is not the appropriate word, maybe the appropriate word is keep my Christianity about me.  My answer you already have determined, I’m sure, but just entertain me for a bit will ya?

Persevere

– to persist in anything undertaken; maintain a purpose in spite of difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement; continue steadfastly

It’s a word that I’ve heard so many times throughout my life, but haven’t really understood it to it’s fullest.  Also, over the last bit it’s been one of those hot topics that everyone that I’m around seems to be talking about.  You know how that is.  You hear a word one day then the next everyone is using it.  It’s been etched in my brain and I guess that’s part of the reason that I’m still on the right track through this.

I have been thinking of some examples that I can compare myself with. Compare, to see how they persevered through their rough times. Persevering is not just about getting over a painful situation though, which is what usually comes to mind when I hear that word. I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know though.

A lot of times when I think of a person in the Bible who was a great example of perseverance, I think of Job.  Poor guy was just enjoying a meal with some family one day.  Then, with God’s permission, Satan started tearing Job’s world apart.  Just reading the first chapter of Job can usually make me feel better about what I’ve got.  But God knew the faith of Job and just as planned Job didn’t let him down.

Throughout the book Job deals with death, sickness, and friends trying to “talk some sense into him”, or so they thought.  But good ol’ Job persevered through it all and in the end, He was blessed with twice as much as he had before (Job 42:7-16). I invite you to read the entire book.  He really is a great example of perseverance.

The book of James, one of my favorite authors in the bible, tells us a lot about why one should persevere. Instead of repeating it, just go read it for yourself. I think it is a very inspirational book on perseverance.

Obviously the greatest example of perseverance is Jesus. He is the example that I hope I am being. I’m sure I’m failing a lot, but I’m trying.

Karen emailed this to me this week and I’ve just got to share it with you.

The Faith to Persevere

“Because you have kept My command to persevere ” (Revelation 3:10).

Perseverance means more than endurance—more than simply holding on until the end. A saint’s life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, but our Lord continues to stretch and strain, and every once in a while the saint says, “I can’t take any more.” Yet God pays no attention; He goes on stretching until His purpose is in sight, and then He lets the arrow fly. Entrust yourself to God’s hands. Is there something in your life for which you need perseverance right now? Maintain your intimate relationship with Jesus Christ through the perseverance of faith. Proclaim as Job did, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15).
–My Utmost for His Highest – Oswald Chambers

High Fives

I’m going to brag on someone here.  I’m going to give this person a pat on the back.  That person is myself.  Through the pain I can’t remember a time when I said “I can’t take any more.” I can’t recall a time when I’ve said “Why God? Why the pain?” I’ve never given up the ONE who will see me through this. I’ve persevered through just by hanging on to Him and all of my brothers and sisters. There have been times in my life where the complete opposite would be happening right now.  I see God working through each of my friends and it really is a blessing.

So now, I give you a pat on the back.  I’m going to brag on you.  If it wasn’t for you guys and gals helping me stay focused I really don’t know that I could have made it this far.

I know, don’t count your chickens before they hatch.  I’m still fighting the pain and it does appear to be getting worse.  But I’m persevering and I will persevere because “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him”

You too can persevere.  “Every successful person has to start somewhere” is a quote that I read sometime over the last week.  Every successful person has had to persevere. In what ways have you persevered?

Because of HIM

SC