Tuesday June 28, 2011

Weekend Speaker:  Ben Sigman

Theme:   SPF 50 – Week 1 – Living Beyond Fear

Read: John 16:29-33 (The Message); Matthew 6:28-34 (The Message); Matthew 10:18-20 (NIV); Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)

Think: I felt pretty fortunate to be at church over the weekend.  Pastor Ben, spoke about Living Beyond Fear.  Fittingly the sermon was delivered at the new Issaquah campus.

We all have fears, and some are quite ordinary and even useful.  I am probably safely in the majority on this one , but I am pretty thankful that I am fearful of hungry lions, brown bears waking up from their winter slumber,  snakes that rattle, and thin ice on a lake.  What makes these fears tolerable and manageable,  is that I can generally take logical steps to protect and guard myself against undesired consequences.  But that’s not true of all fears,  and it may very well be that these are the ones that can potentially cause us the most pain and suffering in our life. 

The fears Ben was referring to are those that paralyze us.  The ones that keep us from being all that God intended us to be.   Jesus knew full well the troubles we would face in this life,  because He too experienced them first hand.  As we read in John 16:29-33, Jesus knows and understands that His trusted Disciples will turn tail and run, but He also gives them a solution, to Trust Him! He assures that He will not abandom them even though He will no longer be physically present with them. Can we choose to trust, rather than fear?  Can we choose faith over fear in these circumstances?  Can we choose to accept and believe God’s promise for our life, even when the current circumstances  look grim, look dire, look hopeless?  Absolutely!!!  Thankfully many have chosen this course,  and God has been glorified because of it.  The Disciples inspire us because they experienced life beyond their fears. 

Ben asked us to write down our fears (worries) and I will share mine with you.  Each one of these falls in the category of fears that can paralyze us:

• Job (will I lose my job?)

• Money (will I be able to support my family?)

• Sharing my faith (what if someone doesn’t like me?)

Ok so you may have already determined from some of my fears that I am from the male specie! Seriously though my fear of sharing my faith keeps me from experiencing what God has truly in store for me.  Safe yes...fulfilling...not really.   Imagine if the Disciples could not live beyond this fear!   Not surprisingly Jesus also understands such fears and gives us the answers in Matthew 6:28-34 and  Matthew 10:18-20.  God will supply us with what we need.   His plans, His desires , are much greater for me than allowing my fears to keep me standing in place.  His word and His truth can be trusted. 

Pray:  Father God, today I choose to step out in faith, to trust your promise and your word; that you will not abandon me, that you will provide a way for me in my current troubles, that you desire a future for me full of hope.  Today I place my hope in you as my Saviour and my Friend.  I can be assured that You have overcome the world and I place my trust in you.  In Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen.

The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.