Shivering is a Choice
Posted on February 16th, 2010 in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Scripture
I will make their hearts so fearful in the lands of their enemies that the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight.
Leviticus 26:36
Observation
Moses made a massive list of curses for disobedience, but the strangest one is this: those who refuse to obey God will run at the sound of blowing leaves in an autumn wind. Running from the sound of a leaf scraping on the pavement is the Emmy Award of fear. Even fear of the dark is more respectable than that!
Yet it happens, and it happens even to me. Fear can so grip my heart that I become afraid of the slightest tone of voice, gesture, news story and other leaves blowing in the wind.
When little things cause me anxiety I need to track down the source of my fear. According to Moses, fear is the result of disobeying God. If I will not trust God’s voice in what he commands, then fear will start to fan out into my life like green fungus spreading over white bread. Before long the tendrils of anxiety will reach into every thought about every detail. If I am afraid of little things then surely there must be some big thing in which I have resisted God.
Application
To escape fear, I need to trace my way back to the source of my disobedience. When I find the big thing God has asked me to trust him in, it will be easier to brace myself against the little things. I often think of fear like winter’s cold. Cold is inevitable, but shivering is optional. Shaking in the cold is my choice to surrender to the cold; trembling at the sound of autumn leaves is evidence of a life that buckles to fear. The way out is to obey God bravely in some big thing and let the faith warm every other choice we face.
Prayer
Father, you are to my soul the burning sun of warmth that changes my condition. I chose to come out of the north side, with my back turned toward you, and turn toward the east with the rays of your warmth coming over me. I choose obedience today and so I choose to act as a warmed man in a freezing world. I will not be afraid because obedience is my choice. Amen.
