I grew up in Mississippi.
I have not found the documentation yet but I firmly believe the old joke
about the last words of a redneck originated in my home state. Surely you don’t have to Google it…”What are the last words of a redneck? Hey Y’all, watch this!” While that joke/statement is not always funny
or followed by a funeral it is usually followed by a silly stunt that has not
been well thought out…if thought out at all.
My first experience with this tradition of yelling that famous phrase to
a group of friends before throwing caution and common sense to the wind was
concluded with a mad dash to the emergency room and a large cast on my broken
left arm. I was almost certain that although
I had never tried it, I could perform that Olympic Gold medal gymnastic somersault
on the swing set in the yard. It looked
fun and easy on TV. I was 8 years
old.
As I grew older I learned, perhaps a little slowly but remember
I am from Mississippi, that there is often a fine line between being courageous
and being just plain stupid. For
example, trying to do a flip on water-skies just moments after being upright on
them for the first time is not courageous.
Some of us take longer to learn the difference between bravery and stupidity. I was a teenager then and at least I had
learned that the water would break my fall better than the ground broke my arm
as an 8 year old.
Eventually I did grow older, more careful and hopefully wiser
however; I still never wanted to live a life in fear. I may not have been a Rhodes Scholar but I
had learned that fear and anxiety can choke the joy out of life. Many years after surviving those foolish days
of my youth I was in a conference with my wife.
The speaker was addressing an auditorium filled with ministers and their
wives on ways to overcome fear and anxiety in the ministry and life. He asked us to use the pad that was provided
and take a few moments to list all the things that cause anxiety and fear in
our lives. Everyone in the room began writing
furiously making their list. After a few
moments my wife noticed that I was not writing.
I was finished…after listing only
one item that caused me to have fear and anxiety; “I am afraid I will miss
something!” She rolled her eyes…not
the first time for that reaction but this time I was really not trying to be
macho or funny. That was my honest
answer.
I have always
wanted to live life to the fullest and experience the most that God has for me
each day. My first sermon text, John
10:10, was very intentional. It has been
my guide in life ever since I was that young blonde kid growing up learning
about life, fear and faith. Jesus was
contrasting the destructive work of Satan with His way of abundant and full life. “The
thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come
that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Fear and anxiety cannot exist in the
same realm as an abundant full life.
Thankfully, although I did my share of stupid things growing
up, I did eventually learn that while it is never wise or spiritually
mature to live or act in a foolish manner, it is always wise and
spiritually mature to trust God and live without fear or anxiety. It may not be the easy pathway but when we
trust our lives to God and are content with His direction and outcome we can
always find peace which leads to an abundant and full life.
God never does anything on impulse and is never caught off
guard by anything that happens. I have
searched the scriptures far and wide and consulted with religious leaders from
different faiths in different parts of the world and have never found God
saying; “Wow! I didn’t see that coming!”
I have discovered that all that happens
in our lives is not caused by God. The
source of many, if not most, of the problems we encounter in life can be found
in the mirror. However, if we will seek
to trust and follow God’s will and wisdom through and in all things that happen
we can find His peace and comfort.
God is always sending us messages to calm anxiety and give
us peace. Why do you think He created angels? The Greek word άγγελος or ángelos; from which
we get our word, angel literally means "a messenger" (from the word
angello, "to deliver a message").
So an angel is literally a direct messenger from God with a message for
the moment straight from God. I used to
say an angel is like a telegram from God. Wow, does that show my age? Now I would say an angel is like a text
directly from God.
Again, it is not by accident that the first words of an
angel are always; “Fear not!” I think
there is a two-fold reason for this initial consistent angelic proclamation. First, I think it was initially uttered as calming
statement. An unexpected angelic
encounter could be quite startling. Can
you imagine that group of shepherds watching their sheep one night, thinking it
was only the sheep and them alone in the field when the quiet night was
suddenly interrupted by a choir of angels singing “Glory to God in the highest”? Of course, the primary message of the angels was
the birth announcement of a savior being born that evening in Bethlehem but
they also brought the timeless message from God…”Fear not!” God never wants us to
live in fear or anxiety.
We live in a world that has been inhabited by sin which
means that life can be difficult, scary and uncertain at times. However, God continues to tell us that we don’t
have to live under those circumstances. Fear
and faith cannot occupy the same space. That
is the message of John 10:10. While
there is a destructive and evil force in this world there is also a savior who
was sent to give us an abundant and full life.
God gives us countless communications to move from fear and anxiety to
trust and abundance in everyday life. I
would encourage you to find a favorite message and memorize it. One of my favorites is found in Philippians 4:6-7. I like the way the Contemporary English
Version states it; “Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful
hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. 7 Then, because you belong to
Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely
understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.”
If something simpler would be helpful, remember I am a
product of the Mississippi public school system. Simple is always good! Here is something I learned from a young
child. EVIL is actually LIVE spelled
backwards. So when the difficulties of
life in this sin-scarred and often evil world seem to be coming in every
direction causing fear and anxiety that are choking out the joy of living a
full and abundant life remember that God has always been in the business of
turning EVIL around so we can LIVE!
