Fearless

I’m reading the book Fearless, by Suzanne D. Williams, which has some helpful and encouraging thoughts in regards to fear. She points out that Philippians 3:13 calls us to forget (no longer care for) those things that lie behind. “Allowing the cares of life, in this case the fear, to operate in my mind causes any seed of God’s Word planted in my heart to never do what it was planted to do… It is God’s will that ‘not a trace’ of the memory of this fear remain. Instead, we remember the power of the Lord, which brings our deliverance” (44). She urges readers to lay hold of these verses:

Isaiah 41:12-13 (ESV)- “You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all. For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, ‘Fear not, I am the one who helps you.’”

Isaiah 26:13-14- “O Lord our God, other lords besides You have ruled over us, but Your name alone we bring to remembrance. They are dead, they will not live; they are shades, they will not arise; to that end You have visited them with destruction and wiped out all remembrance of them.”

It’s amazing how fears seem to take on a life of their own—a family member doesn’t call at the designated time, and suddenly they “must be” at death’s doorstep; a boss criticizes you so he “must be” planning to fire you; and so on. If all our fears came true, the world would have exploded long ago.

Why do we let our fallen imaginations have more power over us than God’s Word? The past and the future are not living beings. Whatever we remember and whatever we can imagine have no real power. God dwells with us in His eternal present. As we live in His presence, and because of His power and love, we have nothing to fear. And yet many of us live quite fearfully. We live in a culture of anxiety, and we try to medicate the symptoms without addressing the root problem. At heart, we are not trusting God to be God. We have set ourselves on the throne, desiring to be in control but lacking the ability to control anything.

I’m not trying to point fingers at anyone but myself. I would love to blame physiology, sociology, or psychology, but mostly it is bad theology. My thoughts don’t line up with what I say I believe about God. Either He is in control, or He’s not omnipotent. Either He knows the future better than I do, or He’s not omniscient. Either He’s at work all around me in ways I can’t begin to comprehend, or He’s not omnipresent. Who am I to worry whether He’ll take care of my problems?

“God, did you know that…?” -I know.

“But what about…?” -I’m taking care of it.

“But the deadline is…” -My timing is perfect.

“OK, so what can I do?” -Just rest, child.

“He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand” (Psalm 121:3b-5).

For more on this subject, check out- http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/use-anxiety-to-your-advantage

© 2016 Dawn Rutan. 

Innocent

In How to Really Love God as Your Father, Deborah Newman comments: “Imagine yourself at five years old. What is on your five-year-old mind? Do you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders? ...Unless your childhood included some extenuating circumstances... remembering yourself as a little child should include carefree innocence.” I’ve recently read a couple different books that mentioned the idyllic nature of childhood for many children—freedom from worry and major responsibilities, and having time for fun and enjoying life. Although I would contend that such experiences are more rare than we would like to admit, they do bring to mind some images worth considering.

Jesus said, “Let the children come to Me; and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it” (Mark 10:14-15 ESV). While we can all enjoy the thought of Jesus embracing the little children and blessing them, Jesus’ words were actually for His disciples. His message was for the adults, including us. Yet I doubt that most of us can really grasp what it would mean for us to come to Him like a child. Why is that?

It occurred to me that there are two ways that we use the word “innocent.” One is the innocence of being free from guilt. The other is the childlike trust and naiveté that knows someone else is in control so there is no need for worry. As we grow up (and sometimes before we grow up), we lose both of those types of innocence. We know we are guilty of sin, and we know that the world is a dangerous place where we have to look out for ourselves. I believe that Jesus intends for us to reclaim our lost innocence by coming to Him.

First, He grants us freedom from the guilt of sin as we accept His sacrifice on the cross. “For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). He exchanged His righteousness for our sinfulness so that we could once again be innocent. We can lay aside the guilt and shame we have carried because of our own sin and the sin of others against us. “Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame” (Romans 10:11). The forgiveness found in Christ can remove a lot of the burden that weighs us down as grownups.

Second, God reminds us that He is in control and He is trustworthy. Of all the worries and concerns that darken our days, most will either never come to pass or are outside our control anyway. Like a child worried about what’s in the dark, we need to trust that our Father can see what we can’t and He will take care of us. I think this is perhaps the harder innocence to recover. Once we’ve seen the pain and suffering that this world can bring, it’s hard to trust that God really knows best and will not let us endure anything that He won’t equip us to handle. We would prefer for life to be a lot less difficult and a lot more fun.

Coming to Jesus like a child is a daily choice to accept His forgiveness for our sins and to ask for His provision for our needs. He is our Father who supplies our daily bread, and who forgives those who confess. He is also the Creator of the universe, who is able to supply all our needs according to His riches in glory. He is Abba, who heals the brokenhearted and raises the dead to new life. He is the One who bids us to come to Him in our weakness, neediness, and filth, so that we might see His strength, abundance, and cleansing power.

Jesus invites us, “Let all My children come unto Me in faith to receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

© 2016 Dawn Rutan. 

Called by God

Joseph told his brothers, “So it was not you who sent me here but God...” (Genesis 45:8 ESV). Mordecai told Esther, “Who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). God told Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5).

These few examples from Scripture point to a couple truths. Although some people, such as Jeremiah, receive a clear calling from God for a specific mission, most of us are called to follow God in whatever circumstances we may find ourselves. We tend to think of “calling” as a directive to pursue a career in ministry, but God is calling each of us to be ministers of His love and grace in whatever career we pursue.

For Joseph, Esther, Jeremiah, and many others in Scripture, the calling to do something spectacular was only fulfilled because they were faithfully seeking God in the normal course of life. Service to God was part of life, not a separate, unique vocation. God uses those who are faithful in the small things. We can’t expect to receive a divine word of commissioning if we aren’t committed to doing the tasks that are close at hand. And Scripture is pretty clear about the things we are to be doing day by day: loving others, making disciples, serving the church, worshiping together, praying for others, etc.

In addition, these people were called by God for an important purpose, but they did not fully understand that calling until troubled times hit. Joseph went through slavery and imprisonment before he had the opportunity to save his family and thereby ensure the future of Israel. Esther faced the potential decimation of the Jews before she really knew why she was in the palace. Jeremiah learned his calling up front, but he had the unpleasant job of calling Judah to repentance as captivity was coming. In the process he endured death threats and various other difficulties. God’s calling is not to a life of ease but to a life of purpose. And given the fallen nature of our world, fulfilling God’s purpose requires us to walk through suffering, not away from it. It is human nature to want to seek out comfort and pleasure, but that is not where God is doing most of His work. We seem to be easily deterred from obeying God’s calling whenever it is inconvenient, uncomfortable, or potentially dangerous to our lives, careers, or reputations.

Everybody likes the first half of Romans 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” However, we can’t take that verse out of the context of the rest of the chapter, which talks about setting the mind on the things of the Spirit, putting to death the deeds of the body, suffering with Christ, enduring the corruption of the world, tribulation, distress, persecution, etc. Being called to the purpose of God takes place in the context of the challenges of life in a fallen world. It is through the suffering of this life that we are conformed to the image of Christ “in order that we may also be glorified with Him” (8:17).

We are all called to follow God, but that calling is going to look different for each of us because each life is unique. Whether spectacular or mundane, public or private, upper class or third world, may we be found faithful to Him day by day.

“For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps” (1 Peter 2:21).

© 2016 Dawn Rutan.