In a previous blog I wrote about being without a phone for
three days and the fears and apprehensions I had to deal with because of that.
Throughout my life I find that what I feared has come upon
me. (Job 3:25 “What I feared has come upon me; what I
dreaded has happened to me.”)
There have been three things in
life I feared - that kind of paralyzing fear: 1) fear of losing my husband to
another women - happened with my first husband (1982); 2) fear of losing one of
my children to death - Byron passed away a year ago; 3) fear of pain - two
broken ankles (2007 and 2013); totally crippled in a three day period and told
I may never walk again (diagnosis – rheumatoid arthritis changed to poly
arthritis once I started walking again (1981); almost lost my eyesight to an
infection (1984); a pain on Mothers Day that was so intense it took me 45
minutes to walk 150 feet to the car from a public restaurant, sometimes laying
down on the ground in the fetal position (diagnosis - twisted tumors which
resulted in a complete hysterectomy 1999); day after Mothers Day was run off
the road in my car which flipped over on its side in an irrigation ditch and
started to fill with water (2004).
Fear stops us from seeing God for who He is. Resulting in fear stopping us from doing what
God wants us to do. Did you know the
command “fear not” is stated in the Bible more times than any other command
such as “love God” or “love others”?
My life verse I adopted shortly after becoming a Christian
is Isaiah 41:10 “Do not fear, for I am with
you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, I will help you; I will
uphold you with my victorious
right hand.” To be honest, I am not sure
what I was going through and why I chose this verse when I did, but it is a verse
I have clung to over the last 40+ years.
There were times I was just clinging to these words by the tips of my
finger nails but I held on – because once I had tasted God’s goodness, I had
nothing else to cling to.