Hope in Facing Giants

God told Moses to send some men to go spy in the land of Canaan that God had given the Israelites. Moses always obeyed God, so he sent out twelve men, among whom were Joshua and Caleb. The land was rich and full of produce, and all of the spies reported this to Moses, but ten of the men also stirred up the people by predicting certain defeat at the hand of "giants" that lived in the land. God knew those giants were there, of course, but He wasn't concerned about them. Neither were Joshua or Caleb. Numbers 13 says Caleb silenced the naysayers by saying to Moses,"We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." Numbers 13:30

Are you facing any giants? Are there naysayers predicting your inevitable defeat if you take them on? God knows those giants are there. He isn't concerned.
Most of the time, the real giant we face is the naysayer inside of us, battling for the soul. Don't listen to that Liar, for "the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." 1John 4:4

Hope in Remembering....Jesus Lives!

What an extraordinary beginning to the school year we have experienced here in the Washington area!  It's as if God was getting us ready for the 10th anniversary of 9-11 by reminding us exactly Who has the real power in this world!!  (Hint:  it isn't a bunch of guys from countries far away who don't mind sacrificing their lives to bring death and destruction into ours!)  The first week of the DC school year was shortened because of an earthquake!  So rare are earthquakes in our part of the world that, even though my car was shaking back and forth violently at a stoplight, my husband and I assumed we were about to be in the market for new wheels, not that the earth was moving beneath the old ones!  Then, Hurricane Irene interrupted not only PG county schools, but the power for most of Maryland!  Frustrated Facebook friends posted, I'm assuming on their mobile phones before they lost all power, irate words for the power companies.  And then, who would have thought that Virginia schools would have been interrupted by flood waters rushing in, all over the area, from Tropical storm Lee?  Tragedy befell each one of those natural disasters in the form of falling trees, car accidents and, this past Friday a twelve year old boy was swept from his own backyard and drowned in the flood.

Our family has had such an eventful year that I'm not sure we even have a status quo at the moment, but, if we did, it was certainly disturbed this month by the events I described; however,  none of those match last Friday's diagnosis of  lymphoma received by my best friend, Lisa.  I don't believe in accidents, and I'm a writer, so I analyze to death ironic plot twists in fiction both in movies and in books.  I could not have imagined that an earthquake, a hurricane, a flood and even the terror threats and memories of 9-11 would be eclipsed in my life by the threat of cancer, the diagnoses, and the impending treatment of someone so dear to me.  I'm sure that the parents of the 12 year old boy lost in the flood would not have predicted such a horrible loss a week ago either, just as, 10 years ago, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, parents, children, and grandparents could not have predicted that they would never again see the faces of those lost in 9-11, as they left for work or boarded planes that beautiful fall morning.

How can we find hope in the midst of such uncertainty?  Well, our hope cannot be in this life.  Tonight, as Lisa and I  stood talking in the rain....I know, she's sick, and we were outside talking in the rain....anyway, we were, and Lisa said to me, "I'm so ready to take this journey!"  I looked her in the eyes.  She meant it.  Every word.  I could almost hear an echo, "Let's roll!"  Lisa is not a glutton for punishment, and she probably would never consider herself a hero.  But she does have the courage of faith....because she knows Who it is who has the real power in this life. She has told me many times, in many situations, both hers and mine....."I don't know how it's going to happen, but I serve a God who is able...."   There is great hope in remembering that truth!

Lisa (R) and our friend, Hazel, at my house

God  spoke, and the universe came into existence.  He formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed life into his lungs.  He formed a nation from the union of a century old couple.  He allowed His only Son to die for  our sins, and He raised Him from the dead.  A few weeks ago, there was an earthquake, but God was not in the earthquake.  There was a hurricane, but God was not in the hurricane.  There was a flood, but God was not in the flood.

Ten years ago, man did unspeakable evil to man, but God was not in the evil.  My friend has cancer, but God is not in the cancer.  God is in the still small voice that speaks to my friend...and us all....that says, "Jesus lives."

Hope in Fear--Part 1

My greatest enemy is fear, and I know that some fear comes directly from the enemy!  But there is a good kind of fear that is sanctioned by God and brings us closer to Him.  Psalm 111 is a Psalm of praise and acknowledgement of God's goodness, power and authority.  It begins with a promise to praise God in the "council of the upright and in the assembly".  It goes on to declare the awesome majesty of God and His works.
Then, the key words are in verse 10:  "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding.  To Him belongs eternal praise."  This verse deserves some study.  If the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, then what is the origin of foolishness?  Could it have something to do with fear as well?  In this post I am going to research the kind of fear that defeats us:

1.  Fear stemming from wickedness that leads to paranoia:  "The wicked man flees though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion."  Wherever sin exists and we allow it, we know it is there.  It causes fear, and it should, because we are in opposition to our God.  But that fear can result in paranoia.  A friend of mine from my youth talked badly about other people.  A lot of what she said was speculation, and that was obvious because she drew conclusions that she had no way of proving.  I tried not to let anything she said pass through my "filter" and into my opinion of other people, but somehow that type of thing is like a cancer eating its way into other people's reputations.  I had no choice but to confront my friend.  After that, it was as though she thought I was out to get her!  She berated me behind my back, as I had heard her berating others to me.  It was very upsetting and threatened to derail me.  There is an illustration I have used  when talking about gossip with my Bible classes.  "When you speak ill of another person it is like this:  (I would stand on a chair and rip up a piece of paper into tiny bits of confetti and then release them into the breeze.)  Now go pick up those bits and put that piece of paper back together again.  Oh, you can't?  Well, that is how hard it is to get back something bad you have said about another person.  It does damage forever."  Finally, I decided to choose peace over anxiety with that situation.  After all, had I ever sinned against someone with my tongue?  Have I ever been guilty of judging another?  I let my "friend's" sin serve as a painful reminder of my own.   The enemy quit pursuing me in that situation.

2.  The fear of evil.  This one is tough, because evil is out there.  Raising children in today's climate is enough to make cowards of us all, but the one thing children need is courageous parents.  I applaud the young parents I know.  They are raising their children with thoughtfulness, kindness, care and wisdom.  It is a good thing, because I can't even imagine the world my grandchildren will face.  But this I know, God will be in control.
Good will win in the end of every situation, especially if we give Him control.  In fact, God is the answer to the fear of evil.  Yes, evil happens in a world of free will, but we can all call out to God.  I pray daily for God's care for my children and all children.  Nothing can make me go into fierce Grandma warrior mode more than a big kid looming over my grandson.  But I won't always be with him, and neither will my son and daughter-in-law.  He must learn to prevail over evil, and even when he does, there will always be the "giants" out there.
He must, like David, learn to carry in his pocket the stones and slingshot of faith in the One who created the universe.  In Psalm 23:4, David, the shepherd boy turned king, wrote, "I will fear no evil, for You are with me....your rod and your staff, they comfort me."  Shepherds used the rod to beat off predators and the staff to guide the sheep.  O Lord, My God, please use your rod to beat off the predators in our world, and give us the wisdom to be guided by your staff, and we will live our lives in the comfort of Your protection.

3.  Fear of death.  I grew up surrounded by the pall of the fear of death.  In my grandfather's family, his brother was drowned in a river at a young age.  My grandparents, who raised children during the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma in the Great Depression lost their only son to an infection when he was nine years old.  Their oldest daughter was crippled by juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, my mother almost died from a ruptured appendix like her brother, and their youngest daughter died at childbirth.  My grandmother never got over the losses, and my own mother lived with the fear of losing someone she loved.  It colored my childhood.
I didn't learn to swim until I was twenty years old, and I love swimming!  My own mom still can't swim.  Could that stem from my grandfather's brother drowning?  I think so!  To this day if I call my mom and I'm at the gym or the store in the evening, she worries.  She's always saying to me, "Why don't you stay home?"
I understand.  No one goes out the door at my house without me saying to them, "Wear your seatbelt."  My neighbor scolded me for warning my son like that....my 25 year old son...insisting I must have embarrassed him.  So I asked my son, and he said, "No, why would that embarrass me me, Mom?  I'll be 45 years old, and you will still say to me, 'Wear your seatbelt.'"  So, my sons have grown accustomed to my fear of their death.  But I don't need to fear their death or mine, because it is just a passageway into a life where death and tears do not exist.  The hope of Heaven takes away that fear.  Our fears should motivate us to share our faith with our children, as we admonish them to do things to protect their lives.  Let's leave behind that fear of death and fear only anything that would separate us from our eternity with God in Heaven.

4.  Fear that paralyzes us and makes us ineffective.  This is the fear that plagues me the most!  Some call it the fear of failure.  I think it is what is behind every unmet goal:   the fear of taking action!  I despise this fear in myself and others!  Looking at my youth, I seemed not to possess this fear, but the boldness I had then was my reaction to the fear around me.  I was determined to make All-State band on bass clarinet in Texas, so I practiced for hours every day before doing hours of homework.  We lived in a tiny little house on a farm in West Texas, and I'm pretty sure my mother and brother were grateful for the miles of wide open spaces where they could escape my endless etudes and scales.  It paid off.  I made first chair in All Region and Area bands, but I only always made 1st or 2nd alternate at state, because they only let 2 bass clarinets into All State band!  That meant one or two people had to die...or at least get really really sick...for me to get to go to Houston.  It never happened.  Every year my mother said, "You try too hard.  Don't try so hard and you won't get disappointed."  I hated that advice!  It spurred me on!  But what in the world has happened to that audacious young girl?  She is buried somewhere in all of the weight I am carrying around...and I don't just mean the pounds I am determined to lose.  I am talking about the weight of failure in my life!  I carry my failures around like trophies that I shine up and put on a shelf.  If I don't try so hard, I won't be disappointed.  I reject that fear!  This proverb is so full of wisdom that I am constantly considering it.   Proverbs 22:13 reads: "The sluggard says, 'There is a lion outside! or 'I will be murdered in the streets!'"  So slothfulness can begin with fear...or at least fear can be used as an excuse for lazy inaction!  Let us reject the fear that paralyzes us and get about conquering the lions in our path!