Scaredy-Cat
The disciples of Jesus were scaredy-cats. They were scared of storms, afraid of ghosts, afraid of failure, afraid of losing their life, afraid of people who could hurt them, afraid they might go hungry, afraid of the future and even afraid to ask Jesus what he meant when he taught the parables. I can identify with them because I’m a scaredy-cat. I’m afraid no one will show up next week to church, that we won’t meet our financial needs, that the stock market might go down before I can get out of it, that someone didn’t like my sermon, that I might be misunderstood and that my nightlight in the bathroom might go out and leave me in the dark!
It seems that most the people I know are afraid of what’s happening in our country. The changing morality, partisan politics, the culture of entitlement and the uncertain economy can leave us breathless. More and more people believe in some type of scary national conspiracy that will take over our country.
God has heard all of this before! He addresses his own people in Isaiah 8:11-14, “The Lord has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does. He said, “Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do, and don’t live in dread of what frightens them. Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble. He will keep you safe.” That is truly a great word for today. That is something that we need to hear. The followers of Jesus are not frightened at what frightens all other people. The followers of Jesus don’t label everything a conspiracy. The followers of Jesus don’t live in fear because we live in the palm of God’s hand. The followers of Jesus will never be separated from the love of God. The followers of Jesus are not like everyone else.
We may live in disappointment with what we see happening around us but there is no need to live in fear. Fear is heightened with the absence of God but fear withers on the vine in the presence of God. Fear has been described as “False Evidence Appearing Real” but our faith is evidence of the reality of Jesus who has all authority in heaven and on earth given to him. That is for real.
