Paula Wiseman » fear

Hiding From God

Paula — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 11:31:41 +0000

In Genesis 3:9, after Adam and Eve realized their sin and hid, God calls, "Where are you?" The answer…?

Hiding from God.

Knowing I can't fix this myself, in fear and shame, I'm hiding from the only One who can.

I'm consumed by the lies that You can't or You won't love me any more after what I've done.

I'm cutting myself off from healing and peace.

You know all this, but…

You're. Still. Seeking.

Me.

So why am I hiding?

Fear or Power

Paula — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 12:12:44 +0000

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7

Not fear – but a sound mind. Right thinking. Not worrying. Not conjuring up worst-case scenarios

Not fear – love. Others come first.

Not fear – power. Ability. Means. Resources.

Fear paralyzes. Power acts.

God gives power.

Ladybug Fear

Paula — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 12:40:13 +0000

My youngest is terrified of ladybugs. The running-away-screaming kind of terrified. Of ladybugs. No matter what reassurances we offer, she remains committed to that phobia. She won't go down the slide if there's a ladybug. Once, she refused to leave the house because a ladybug was crawling across the threshold. Not bees. Not spiders. Ladybugs.

In Mark 4, he gives his account of Jesus calming a storm on the sea of Galilee. He speaks to the storm with authority, with ownership, the way you might tell your dog to hush. In the calm that followed, Jesus asked His disciples two pointed questions:

Why are you afraid? Not, what are you afraid of, but why? This is a whole different issue.

Do you still have no faith? After all that you've seen Him do …?

In some ways, the disciples' fear made as much sense as Rachel's fear of ladybugs. Jesus knew the storm had no power to harm them, and wouldn't interfere with their mission. It was just something they had to go through. In His grace and compassion, though, He calmed the storm.

Really, all our fears are ladybug fears. The things in this life have no power to do us eternal harm. They can't interfere with our mission unless we let them. They're just something we have to go through.

Verse 41 says the disciples "feared exceedingly" after the miracle. That fear of the storm had been replaced with a new kind of fear, a reverent, God-honoring recognition of His deity and authority.

I want that kind of fear. Not the ladybug kind.

No Fear

Paula — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 14:15:35 +0000

Genesis 26:7 Isaac was afraid. He said, "they might…" or "I might…". Even the Philistine king responded with, "One of us might…"

Fear is about the worst case scenario.

Sometimes, I've experienced the worst case scenario. Like the time we got the phone call that my twenty-six year old brother collapsed. It was his heart. A few days later, he was gone.

Fear is about shadows and imagination.

I have an active imagination. The peace God pours out of His storehouses for exceeds my imagination, my comprehension … and my need. I've experienced that too.

Fear steals my joy and security.

In verses 3-5, God assured Isaac that He would bless him. In another moment, fear made him forget God's presence, God's providence and God's protection.

The new year always begins with great hope and promise. How long before fear creeps back in? Sometimes fear goes by an alias – worry, anxiety, stress, doubt, insecurity …

Fear doesn't come from God. It causes disorder and confusion, neither of which is consistent with His character. Instead He gives power, love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).

A sound mind – confident, right-thinking, not fearful.

2011 – A year of no fear? Why not?

Study Tip: A Long-Running Topical List

Paula — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:44:30 +0000

Not every study can be completed in one sitting, especially if you are doing a topical study rather than a passage study. For example, several years ago, I determined I really didn’t know or understand how the Holy Spirit worked. I started a list in the back of my Bible and every time I came across a verse dealing with the Spirit, I made a note. I wrote down the reference and what the verse taught me about the Holy Spirit. After a year or so, not only did I have my own personal Holy Spirit ‘concordance’ but I had a much better grasp on how He worked.

I have several of these long-running studies in progress. The biggest one is ‘fear of the Lord’. I read a fantastic book called When People Are Big and God Is Small by Edward T. Welch. In it, he described the trouble we run into when we let people’s opinions influence and affect us more than God’s opinion. He cited several Scriptures dealing with the fear of the Lord. I started marking them and keeping track on my own. Here’s one of my entries:

Proverbs 14:26 In the fear of the Lord, there is strong confidence
It produces not only faith in God’s actions and character, but faith in my own course of life. If I am constantly living in fear of the Lord, then I can be sure my choices are the right ones and the things I am doing are within God’s will. It makes me much more attuned to His ways and purposes.

I have a list of benedictions, of verses for my husband that describe men of character (he is one, for sure) My newest one is on the wilderness. A lot of stuff seemed to happen in the wilderness, so I got curious and started a list. I also have a few lists that are more narrow in scope like the names and descriptions of God in the Psalms, and the righteous vs. the wicked in Proverbs.

This is a good, no-pressure way to study something that interests you. The only caution is… don’t lose your list! I lost a chunk of some of my lists in a computer hiccup so I’m ‘restudying’ those topics.

Be Still and Know

Paula — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:52:19 +0000

Just back from Women of Faith. Sheila Walsh used one of my favorite verses in her talk- Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God“. That’s the last verse in a great psalm, but in v. 1-3 we read:

God is our refuge and strength,

A very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear,

Even though the earth be removed,

And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

Though its waters roar and be troubled

Though the mountains shake with its swelling.

I think this psalm is to be taken absolutely literally when it speaks of raging water and mountains crumbling at the sound of His voice. However, when I move to personally applying it, I utilize some symbolism. The wild waters are always a picture of the emotional turmoil I find myself in from time to time. The instability, unpredictability… the way the waters cover over and wash away everything familiar… floodwaters that carry uncleanness. In contrast, the mountains are the constants, the things I depend on. So for me, these verses read:

God is my place of absolute security and safety. He is my confidence. He is abundantly available and reliable.

Therefore I should not be afraid, distressed, depressed.

Even when I have found my own resources to be nonexistent, and everything else I have confidence in- my judgment, my perceptions, my ability to reason things through- is swept into the maelstrom.

Even when it is at its worst…

Be still- stop trying to fix this yourself, stop wearing yourself out…

and know- when you stop, then you will realize at the very core of your being

that I AM – your place of absolute security and safety, your confidence. I AM abundantly available and reliable.