The Gift of Fear

Is it even possible that God would give a 'gift of fear?'  

Isaiah 45:7 says:
"I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things."

Earlier in the same chapter in verse four, the Lord says: "I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places. That you may know that I the Lord, who call you by your name, am the God of Israel."

I have been in my own darkness and felt fear in my life many times over. I would like to say I have always overcome but that just isn't the case. Often, I have tucked tail and run like a deer to safety. But that does not change the truth that His presence was and always is, able to cast out the fear and give me the courage to go forward. The times I have listened to Him and allowed that courage to rise up have been wonderful.

Not long ago I heard a sermon about being courageous and how you cannot be courageous unless you first have fear. I pondered that for a while then let it go. Then, one day this week I was talking aloud to God about my personal battle with fear when I heard a strange word in my spirit - 'your fear is my gift to you.'

The  Lord instructs us to 'be courageous.' Being courageous means doing something even though you are afraid. If I am fearless, then walking into a situation is routine - just another day at the mill. But, if I have fear and yet choose to trust God and walk into that situation anyway, then I am an overcomer. The very fear that hinders me is also an instrument to making me courageous.

Perfect love casts out fear. If I had a dime for every time some "mature" believer quoted that one to me, I would be rich. I may be too simple, but if I understand that passage correctly, John's subject is love. The love of Jesus who died for us leaving no room for fear of judgement.

So, today I  suggest that perhaps, just perhaps, your fear is a gift from God. An obstacle to be overcome with and through His perfect love. And when you have overcome you will have created one more place of worship to God the Father. The glory of His presence in that place where fear once reigned will create a deeper worship of Him. It is one more way of creating an atmosphere of worship.

The sin is not in the fearing, the sin is in letting the fear control you.

No fear, no courage.  Either I am His or I am not His. And if I am His, then I am fully His. He ordains my steps and allows the obstacles I need to become courageous in Him. Not in my own strength but in His. He only allows trials where he has already made provision for winning and He never sets me up for failure. The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty!

We Are Alive and Well in Newnan, GA!

July 4th has come and gone once again and America is another year older. It reminds me of the old Tennessee Ernie Ford song:

 another day older and deeper in debt. St Peter don't you call me, 'cause I can't go. I owe my soul to the company store.

 Deeper in debt and fewer jobs to pay the debt; that is our reality in America. As unsettling as that is, my post today is about the other side of the story.

Saturday was Market Day on the square in Newnan and if you were strolling through the vendor's tents with the rest of us, you were surely encouraged by the atmosphere, the buying and selling and the trading going on all around us. Spirits were high, the weather was beautiful and free enterprise was thriving! Ahhhh.... we Americans do love a good deal.

Days like that remind me that in all our progress and struggles, Americans are still pretty much the same as always. Kids still run ahead or tug on Mom's arm; dogs bark excitedly when they see a friend; the food smells are mouth watering and people talk to strangers like they were closest of friends. There are the sophisticated in their finer and the teens in their finest unfinery. We are who we are and all in all we haven't changed much over the years.

Don't you love the pink hair on this little girl? How wonderful the freedom to be who we are!









The pickers were on every corner.

One of the merchants we talked with was a young man probably in his early 60's, selling homemade salsa. Very good homemade salsa I might add. He explained it has a green pepper base rather than the traditional tomato base. He assured me I would like it, which I did and had to have a jar. I asked if he made it himself and of course he did. He cooks it in small batches and brings it down to sell. I wondered how he got into making salsa to sell. Turns out, he lost his job and had to find another source of income. I immediately wanted to buy more salsa - just because. Well, just because he refused to lay down and quit.
Next was an elderly gentleman who looked like he should be selling fried chicken but instead he was comfortably sitting in the shade while folks poured over his beautiful handmade pottery. 

Then there was the huge grill filled with the best smelling bar-b-que chicken in the entire universe! No joking - I wanted to pick a piece up right off the grill and let the sauce drip while I ate. Unfortunately, we missed his stand on our way out, so I didn't get their story, but he and his wife ran the stand by themselves and from the looks of things, they were having a very profitable day. 

The chicken smelled so good, I had to post it twice!
So, OK, that was actually a mistake but what the heck - it did look yummy.






There appears to be no end to the things we come up with to pay our way in this world - everything from potato bags to baby dresses to blankets and of course fresh from the garden veggies. All in all, if you were walking through Newnan, GA, on Saturday morning you were aware that God's blessings are raining down on His people.  

It's hard to pass up a good bag of pig skins!

In our economy, our spirituality, our finances, our family relationships, Americans are struggling. But days like Saturday remind me that we are still afloat in the best country in the world. Our values at the grassroots are strong and our determination is intact. We have battles, but we are looking to the One True God who holds us in the palm of His hand.

The last guy we saw summed it all up very nicely.

Lovin' the season and making the memories!