Fears – A Letter To A Mother
(Below is a portion of a letter written to a mother that the Lord allowed me to correspond with for a time. I came across it this evening and felt impressed to post it. I pray it will be a blessing and encouragement to someone…)
Please don’t feel bad for admitting your fears to me. The reason you have fears is that you are human…and you are a mother that loves her child so very much. What you are feeling is very natural. I struggle with fears at times. Even the best of Christians have fears from time to time. One example that comes to my mind is the great prophet, Elijah. In 1Kings 18:37-40, we read how Elijah prayed down fire from heaven!
“Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God. And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.”
But, after that HUGE victory, we read in the very next chapter where Elijah is running for his life because of the threats of a wicked woman named Jezebel. He was so discouraged that he even asked God to kill him:
“And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time. And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.” 1Kings 19:1-4
Running for his life because of a woman? Where is Elijah’s faith in God that allowed him to pray down fire just one chapter before?
The story of Elijah is just one of many, many examples we could give of men and women of God who have struggled with fears and doubts from time to time. Satan knows that a discouraged Christian, a doubting Christian, or a Christian gripped with fear is not very effective in the work of the Lord. How important it is that we ask the Lord to help us trust HIM in the midst of trials.
One thing the Lord has taught me is this. When I am in fear, I have taken my eyes off of the Lord and placed them on the situation that is causing my fear. Instead of trusting God, I have begun to look at the problem and every time I do that, I begin to be afraid once again.
You know the story of Peter, when Jesus was walking on the water and Peter began to walk out to him. Peter was fine as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus. But, when Peter took his eyes off of the Lord, he began to be afraid and started to sink. That is how it is with our fear. When we take our eyes off of the Lord and look instead at the problem, we begin to sink in fear.
Isaiah 26:3 says, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” A long time ago, I memorized this verse and it is one that I will immediately begin quoting any time I find myself afraid instead of trusting. When we are trusting Jesus in the midst of our storms, we can have peace within; when we get our eyes off of Jesus and on the storm, we will begin to have turmoil within.
I think I may have shared this with you before but the Lord has helped me realize I have two choices concerning the trials in my life.
1. I can either hang on to them while I worry, fret, and make myself sick.
2. I can give them to the Lord and trust Him to take care of them.
Whether I choose #1 or #2, the trial is still there. But, only by choosing #2 will I have peace within. We serve a TRUSTWORTHY GOD who is FAR more capable of handling ANY problem we may have. We must remember that THE LORD is the One Who has allowed the trial in our life in the first place. And, since we know He has allowed it, we can also know that HE is in control of the entire situation. He just wants us to simply trust Him. It is not always easy…not easy at all. I fail so often! Any time we find ourselves being gripped with fear again, just stop…stop right there and pray. Ask the Lord to help us once again get our eyes off of the trial and on the ONE WHO IS IN CONTROL…GOD!
“…my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.” Psalm 57:1
~ Rachel ~