The other day I was sitting in our living room reading a book when suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement on the wall above the fireplace. Instinctively, I ducked my head, thinking a bat had gotten in somehow. Bats are right near the top of my “Worst Fears” list.
However, when I looked up, there was nothing there but the silhouette of the arborvitae growing outside the window reflected on the wall. As I watched, the movement happened again! With relief, I realized it was just the shadow of a bird flying into that tree. Aha! There must be a nest in it!
Our fears are often like those shadows—there is no real substance to them. Uncontrollable things that we worry might happen, don’t. Scary scenarios we imagine never occur. Distressing experiences we pray we never have to go through turn out to be far less painful than we anticipated.
We gain nothing by letting our fears and worries overtake us. In fact, when we dwell unnecessarily on thoughts of an uncertain and unknown future, or constantly question but what if, we lose peace of mind in the present and the enjoyment of living the day full of blessings that we are given.
I
know this because I have been there, done that. And I really want to throw that
T-shirt away! I don’t want to duck the shadows anymore!
That’s what God wants, too! The angel in Daniel 10:19 says, “God loves you, so don't let anything worry you or frighten you,” while David warns us not to give in to worry or anger as it only leads to trouble. (Psalm 37:8)
While I don’t usually quote from the Apocrypha, I love this one from Sirach 30:28, “Don't worry all the time. Worry never did anybody any good, and it has destroyed many people.”
Instead of living in fear, Matthew 6:34 encourages us to “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”
Be encouraged! It’s time to stop running from shadows and throw out that T-shirt!
