When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.
In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can mere man do to me? Psalms 56:3-4
Doctors agree that emotional stress can
bring actual changes in the organs, glands, and tissues of the body. It’s not so much "what I’m eating"
as "what’s eating me" that’s getting me down.
What
are the responses of people when afraid?
- Frozen
in fear
- Retreat
to a safe place
- Blame
others
- Believe
the worst
There is no doubt that it is our faith and
trust in God which is necessary to save us, but trust requires training.
Training
Means Discipline
Faith is all about training. It is like muscle memory. Wikipedia defines
muscle memory as a form of procedural memory that involves consolidating a
specific motor task into memory through repetition. When a movement is repeated over time, a
long-term muscle memory is created for that task, eventually allowing it to be
performed without conscious effort. Basically it becomes something you just do
automatically without having to think about it.
If we have to stop and think about the situation we are in, most likely
faith will not be our first response.
After all, if I am going to skydive or jump off a cliff, if I stop at the
edge and think about it, I am probably not going to jump. I would just have to
close my eyes and take the leap. Faith requires that we just believe and don’t
stop to think about or second guess.
Just take the leap.
Training implies positive change. Anytime we train something, we are making it
better or stronger. Training our hearts
and heads to trust in God is the requirement for fruitful service to His
kingdom. When we train our entire being to have faith in God, the giants of
this world fade away from our sight because our eyes are fixed on Him. Belief is an act of the mind, trust is an act
of the heart, and obedience is an act of the will and all require training.
We don't often talk about the risk of
faith, but there is risk involved. Faith is a gamble we take because we believe
when we don’t know what the outcome will be, good or bad. If we have faith, then we have to believe
that whatever happens happens because it is part of the plan. That is not always easy to swallow. Jesus talked in terms of losing one's life in
order to save it. That kind of talk is not for timid souls. You and I both know
that there are some people who would never willingly lose their life. They are
always trying to minimize their risks.
Fear,
they say, is False Evidence Appearing Real.
A sad event which was caused by fear occurred at the zoo in
Omaha, Nebraska sometime back. Twenty-three wallabies died after stray dogs got
into the zoo one night. Ironically, the dogs were unable to get inside the
wallaby enclosure. But they didn't have to: the wallabies died from internal
injuries suffered while crashing into the fence and one another. They were
literally scared to death. Twenty-three wallaby carcasses, including fifteen
adults and eight babies, testify to the consuming strength and intensity of
fear.
That is such a sad story. Fear can make us believe things that are not
real. It can consume our thoughts and send us right over the edge. We usually
create a false reality that is so much worse than the truth. It is imperative that we overcome fear before
it overcomes us.
Scripture
to Claim:
Do
not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your
God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you
with My righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 NASB 