I’m told that when I was a toddler, my mother, just home from the hospital with my newborn sister, heard the blare of a semi’s air-horn out front. When she looked out the front window, she saw me running down Main St. (US 6) in Butler. The semi-tractor was following behind, blaring that air-horn for all he was worth. Mom abandoned her baby and ran to my rescue. Is it any wonder I have phobias in my life?
How has your mother rescued you in a tough spot?
Tags: fear, Mother's Day
Sarah Winchester’s husband had acquired a fortune by manufacturing and selling rifles. After he died of influenza in 1918, she moved to San Jose, California.
Becuase of her grief and long-time interest in spiritism, Sarah sought out a medium to contact her dead husband. The medium told her, “As long as you keep building your home, you will never face death.”
Sarah believed the spiritist, so she bought an unfinished 17-room mansion and started to expand it. The project continued until she died at the age of 85. It cost 5 million dollars at a time when workmen earned 50 cents a day. The mansion had 150 rooms, 13 bathrooms, 2,000 doors, 47 fireplaces, and 10,000 windows. And Mrs. Winchester left enough materials so that they could have continued building for another 80 years.
Today that house stands as an oddity tourist attraction, with stairways leading to no place and doors that open into a literal brick wall. It is a silent witness to the dread of death that holds millions of people in bondage (Hebrews 2:15).
You don’t have to be afraid of dying. If Christ has paid for your sins, only blessings lay ahead. That’s life because of the Resurrection. Do you know someone who is paranoid about dying?
Tags: build, death, fear, spiritism, Winchester
There is a true story about a woman trapped on the top floor of a burning building. Flames and smoke blocked every way of escape. When firefighters arrived, one of the men scrambled up a ladder to the window where the woman was screaming for help, and with outstretched arms he offered to save her. But when she looked down and saw the great distance to the ground below, she panicked and drew back into the room.
The fireman attempting the rescue begged her to trust him for her safety, but his pleas were not heeded. In senseless fear she retreated beyond the fireman’s reach. Finally, being forced to return to the ground, he said to a TV cameraman, with tears in his eyes, “I did everything I could to save her, but she wouldn’t let me!”
Would the Lord one day say to you, “I did everything I could to save them, but they wouldn’t let me!?”
Remember His promise, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
Tags: fear, fire, refusal, salvation
David Roper tells this interesting story:
“Some years ago I placed a squirrel feeder on a fir tree a few yards from our home. It’s a simple device – two boards and a nail on which to impale a corncob. Each morning a squirrel comes to enjoy that day’s meal. She’s a pretty thing – black with a round, gray tummy.
“I sit on our back porch in the morning and watch her eat. She plucks each kernal from the cob, holds it in her paws, turns it around and eats the heart out of the kernel. At the end of the day no kernals remain, only a neat little pile of leftovers under the tree.
“Despite my care for her, the creature is afraid of me. When I approach, she runs away, taking refuge in her tree and chattering at me when I get too close. She doesn’t know that I provide for her.
“Some people are like that with God. They run from Him in fear. They don’t know that He loves them and richly provides them with everything for their enjoyment” (Psalm 65:11).
Tags: blindness, fear, food, provision
Three turtles went on a Sunday afternoon picnic. One carried the basket of food, one carried a jug of turtle-ade, and the third turtle didn’t carry anything. They got everything set up and then felt raindrops. The two turtles agreed that the one who carried nothing should go back and get the umbrella.
The third turtle said, “No, because you’ll eat all the turtle food and drink all the turtle-ade, and I won’t have any.” Finally he agreed to go back for the umbrella. One hour, two hours, three hours went by, and then one day, one week, and two weeks passed. One of rthe turtles said, “Well, I guess we can eat the turtle food and drink the turtle-ade because he’s not coming back.” Then they heard something over in the bushes say, “If you do, I won’t go.”
Some of us are like the third turtle. We’re afraid that if we jump out there and do something, we might miss the picnic. The truth is, we’ll miss the picnic by not trusting God and doing our part.
Tags: fear, patience, picnic, trust
During a severe thunderstorm, a mother tucked her child into bed and turned off the light. Frightened by the tempest, he asked, “Mommy, will you sleep with me?” Hugging him, she replied, “I can’t, dear. I have to sleep with Daddy.” Stepping out of the room, she heard, “That big sissy!”
Fear is real and can be good or bad. To fear rejection when no one is rejecting us can be a bad fear. To fear failure so much that we don’t try is a bad fear.
To have a healthy fear of God is a good fear. I remember fearing my earthly father as a boy. I knew he had the ability to really put the hurt on me if I disobeyed. So I followed his rules partly because I didn’t want to disappoint him, and partly because I feared his reaction.
A respectful fear of the Lord was also what King Jehoshaphat desired for his own people. So he made it a priority that they be taught God’s Word. He knew that if the people were in awe of the Almighty, they would humble themselves and obey Him. Doing what was right would bring prosperity to Judah and respect from neighboring countries.
The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom (Proverbs 15:33)
Tags: fear
Are you careful or fearful? Sometimes they are hard to tell apart. Here are some differences:
1) Careful is thoughtful; fearful is emotional.
2) Careful is fueled by information; fearful is fueled by imagination.
3) Careful calculates risk; fearful avoids risk.
4) Careful wants to achieve success; fearful wants to avoid failure.
5) Careful is concerned about progress; fearful is concerned about protection.
Thinking these differences through can help us to be careful, but not fearful. Remember, “God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).
Tags: courage, fear