Today as I went to Sonic’s drive-through to pick up Ray, me and Leah some cold drinks during happy hour, I saw a bumper sticker on the car in front of me that was amusing. It read, “I live with FEAR every day…but sometimes she lets me go fishing.” Of course, it’s about a man scared of getting in trouble with his wife.
This reminded me of the time Ray took an out-of-town trip for a work conference for a couple of days. The conference was with police officers, sheriff detectives, SWAT team members, you get the picture. One night the men were all going out on the town to have a “good” time, and they invited Ray who declined to go with them. The gorillas men began making fun of him, saying, “What’s the matter, scared of your wife?”
Ray, who has worked in the emergency field his entire life since he was 18 years old – paramedic, firefighter, fire chief, police officer, police chief, SWAT team member – was a Navy specialty combat medic for over 14 years, and has been a missionary in some of the most dangerous 3rd world countries in the world – said, “Men, I fear no man, no bullet, no fire, no weapon – but my wife – well, she’s a completely different animal.” The men laughed uproariously at this, and then sheepishly said that maybe they shouldn’t go out, either (because they’d have to face their wives when they got home.)
Anyway, this car’s bumper sticker did cause me to pause and reflect a moment. What FEAR do you live with every day? And if not fear, then what? Anger? Unforgiveness? Anxiety? Worry? Doubt? Unbelief? Pride? Stress? Distractions? Too much busyness?
The Bible says that, “No fear exists where His love is. Rather, perfect love gets rid of fear, because fear involves punishment. The person who lives in fear doesn’t have perfect love.” (1 John 4:18, God’s Word Translation)
We don’t have to live with fear every day – or any of these other distractions. Just simply get your focus back on Jesus, and trust Him, allowing His love to wash over you today.
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