Sunday, May 29, 2011

Snares Along the Way

"The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe."
Proverbs 29:25

I have to admit that my nature is to be a fearful person. I guess the funniest story of my fearfulness goes back to when I was a young bride. My husband was in pilot's school with the air force in Selma, Alabama. We had just married, and I have to admit that I had never spent a night alone previous to our marriage. His schedule included his having to be at work in the wee hours of the morning, long before daylight.

Our bedroom faced the street, and one morning after he left, I looked at the wall opposite the street, and the street lights cast the shadow of a man walking past. I was [almost] paralyzed with fear! I jumped up, found the gun and put it under my pillow, and then proceeded to look for something to secure the windows with. I pounded golf tees--yes, golf tees--into the window sill and put all my husband's sports trophies in the windows so that when someone tried to get in, they would fall and waken me. As though I would go back to sleep! I'm surprised that I didn't shoot myself by accident!

Some people have arachnophobia (a fear of spiders), or Francophobia (a fear of France--not me!), or geliophobia (a fear of laughter--I'm kidding, right?) If you think you have a phobia, or are just curious as to how many are named, look at http://www.phobia-fear-release.com/phobia-list-definitions.html. It's alarming!

Well, I think that I had a touch of androphobia--the fear of man. I had laid a snare for myself. It kept me from peaceful rest and from living life to the fullest. I feared what might happen in the future to myself or others I loved. How many of our irrational fears ever come about, and how much did fearing ever solve a perceived problem?

When we lived in Taiwan I was alone much of the time. It was during the Vietnam war, and my husband flew into Vietnam, Cambodia, and various other places for weeks at a time. My favorite verse, one that I memorized and quoted over and over, was

"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
Isaiah 21:10

I must say with the Psalmist,
"The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?
Psalm 118:6

Oh, I know that man can do much harm to man. But Jesus said,
"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.
Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell."
Matthew 10:28

There is One we are to fear in such a way that it draws us to Him--the God who will bring us to salvation if we give our lives to Him. I can't say that I never fear, but I can say that I know my Living Redeemer and the One who holds me in His righteous right hand. Praise God!

What are your fears? There is an answer in God's Word. Seek Him daily!

Fearing that you'll laugh at me (Just kidding! Sort of!),
Gloria

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