do not be afraid
I've been told by someone I trust that there are about 365 occurrences of the phrase, "Do not be afraid!" or
some variation of it in the Bible. I always lose count, but I think of that significant number each time it comes up. The angels always say it because they have to, so that whomever they are visiting will listen to what they have to say instead of needing a change of clothes. The repetition of the phrase points to the reality that an encounter with God can be a terrifying experience. I remember one time in particular when I really wanted a sign from God: I was working at a camp one summer, up late after all the rest of the staff had gone to bed. I sat on the back steps and asked God for a sign, because I couldn't get a grip on what I believed or if I believed anything. Just after I prayed to the God I wasn't sure I believed in, I quickly said, "Never-mind," and went to bed. I had this immediate fear of a giant angel rising over the pine trees in front of me. Later that week, I did experience a sign, but that's for another time.
My point is that the consensus of the writers of the Bible seems to be that encounters with God can be frightening. Stripping back the thin veil between heaven and earth tends to rattle humans to their core. Which is important, because we seem to need to be rattled from time to time. Especially if God is going to nudge us along to grow into the good people we've been created to become.
"Do not be afraid!" Do not be afraid of the change that is surely coming in your life (no matter what age you may be.) In fact, why not take courage and go looking for what change is coming! Along with working at that camp, I grew up attending it, and the experiences I had there taught me a lot about living, being in community, and learning to overcome fear to live in a place of trust. I remember the first summer we were allowed to do the "Challenger Course" or "Ropes Course." We had the opportunity to do a trust fall from a three foot tall tree stump into the waiting arms of our cabin-mates. I was hooked after the thrill of that first fall. It was still scary, but the mantra "do not be afraid" won. After the short fall, my mates caught me, and couldn't wait to do it again.
The experiences of my life have led me to trust, even if have had to learn the wisdom of discernment along the way. Trusting God does not mean that everything will always go the way we expect it to go; in fact, sometimes the unexpected path can be the most life-giving. In all of our life-decisions, though, fear should be labeled only as a temporary warning system that we can overcome in order to grow. Overcoming our fears to do new and challenging things also means we will fail from time to time. So be it! When we fail, or don't succeed in the way we expected to, we will discover that life goes on. We survive to try again: fear still doesn't win out.
My work in the church has taken me into places I never expected to go: Honduras to build homes for the homeless, the Townships of South Africa's Eastern Cape to see the lingering effects of Apartheid, to mud-filled homes across the Gulf Coast to lend a hand in hurricane-smacked communities, and into hospital rooms to read Psalms as a stranger died. In those challenging situations, I try to remember to my fear: "Thank you for the warning, but this is where I need to be." And in each of those potentially scary places, I've met God.
In case you haven't read it for yourself lately, here you go: "Do not be afraid." This good life we've been given is not one to brace ourselves against and try to sneak by without anyone noticing. It is a wonderful, if sometimes scary, opportunity to be rattled and changed so that we can grow and become the good, whole people God has made us to be.
some variation of it in the Bible. I always lose count, but I think of that significant number each time it comes up. The angels always say it because they have to, so that whomever they are visiting will listen to what they have to say instead of needing a change of clothes. The repetition of the phrase points to the reality that an encounter with God can be a terrifying experience. I remember one time in particular when I really wanted a sign from God: I was working at a camp one summer, up late after all the rest of the staff had gone to bed. I sat on the back steps and asked God for a sign, because I couldn't get a grip on what I believed or if I believed anything. Just after I prayed to the God I wasn't sure I believed in, I quickly said, "Never-mind," and went to bed. I had this immediate fear of a giant angel rising over the pine trees in front of me. Later that week, I did experience a sign, but that's for another time.My point is that the consensus of the writers of the Bible seems to be that encounters with God can be frightening. Stripping back the thin veil between heaven and earth tends to rattle humans to their core. Which is important, because we seem to need to be rattled from time to time. Especially if God is going to nudge us along to grow into the good people we've been created to become.
"Do not be afraid!" Do not be afraid of the change that is surely coming in your life (no matter what age you may be.) In fact, why not take courage and go looking for what change is coming! Along with working at that camp, I grew up attending it, and the experiences I had there taught me a lot about living, being in community, and learning to overcome fear to live in a place of trust. I remember the first summer we were allowed to do the "Challenger Course" or "Ropes Course." We had the opportunity to do a trust fall from a three foot tall tree stump into the waiting arms of our cabin-mates. I was hooked after the thrill of that first fall. It was still scary, but the mantra "do not be afraid" won. After the short fall, my mates caught me, and couldn't wait to do it again.
The experiences of my life have led me to trust, even if have had to learn the wisdom of discernment along the way. Trusting God does not mean that everything will always go the way we expect it to go; in fact, sometimes the unexpected path can be the most life-giving. In all of our life-decisions, though, fear should be labeled only as a temporary warning system that we can overcome in order to grow. Overcoming our fears to do new and challenging things also means we will fail from time to time. So be it! When we fail, or don't succeed in the way we expected to, we will discover that life goes on. We survive to try again: fear still doesn't win out.
My work in the church has taken me into places I never expected to go: Honduras to build homes for the homeless, the Townships of South Africa's Eastern Cape to see the lingering effects of Apartheid, to mud-filled homes across the Gulf Coast to lend a hand in hurricane-smacked communities, and into hospital rooms to read Psalms as a stranger died. In those challenging situations, I try to remember to my fear: "Thank you for the warning, but this is where I need to be." And in each of those potentially scary places, I've met God.
In case you haven't read it for yourself lately, here you go: "Do not be afraid." This good life we've been given is not one to brace ourselves against and try to sneak by without anyone noticing. It is a wonderful, if sometimes scary, opportunity to be rattled and changed so that we can grow and become the good, whole people God has made us to be.
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