LIVING WITHOUT FEAR
Viviendo Sin Miedo
by
Mary Hunt Webb
Posted Friday, July 31, 2020
Why worry when you can pray? [Photographer: Victoria Borodinova. Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com.]
During every widespread crisis that my husband and I have lived through, we have learned some things. One thing is that it is a waste of time to worry about a situation over which we have no control. Yes, people are dying. Yes, survivors have lasting consequences as a result of having had COVID-19. Yes, there have been losses, but are those problems anything that we can do something about?
All we can manage are those things around us such as our food intake, our shopping habits, the use of our time at home, our possessions, our cleaning habits, our home environment, and our behavior toward those around us.
Since it does no good to worry about those things that are beyond my control, I have decided to follow the admonishment given in James 4:7, which advises, "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (NIV) Submitting to God means praying to Him about my concerns. Worry is empty effort while prayer is powerful and effective.
A Bible verse that I have quoted often in previous postings is 2 Timothy 1:7, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (KJV) Put succinctly, fear and worry are not from God. They are from the devil.
If it's any consolation, even David, the shepherd-turned-warrior, had moments when he felt fearful. After David fled from King Saul and pretended to be insane in order to seek refuge in Gath, he understood that he had given into fear. He thought better of it when he declared in Psalm 34:4, "I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears." (NIV)
It is because David learned from his experiences and wrote about them that we have so many of his Psalms. Likewise, we can learn from our experiences, too.
To start with, this enforced time at home means that I have been forced to slow down. That involves breathing slower and taking in more oxygen. This provides the opportunity to reflect on many things and consider them thoughtfully. That is easier when the television and other electronic devices are off or disabled.
As a result, I have looked at my environment in a way that I didn't have time to do before. For example, when I looked up, I wondered, "Is that a spider web up there?"
When I looked down, I tried to remember, "When was the last time I changed the soil in that houseplant? Has it been three years? Four?" Those considerations led me to get busy and take care of those things.
That poor plant! I think it's been a few years since I gave it fresh soil. [Photographer: Mary Hunt Webb.*]
When I looked in my cupboards, I saw the mincemeat mix I had bought at Thanksgiving to make a pie for a guest. Since the weather prevented our guest from coming, I still had that package in my cupboard. Consequently, I stirred the mincemeat into the batter for some muffins. The result was delicious!
In addition to using up the mincemeat, I also used up the decorative paper liners that had been in my cupboard for a couple of years. [Photographer: Mary Hunt Webb.*].
As a result, I have not had time on my hands because I have used it to cook, clean, and read.
Concentrating on what I can gain from the enforced time at home means that I am not focusing on those items that are beyond my control. And that means that fear won't control me.
BIBLE VERSES USED IN THIS POSTING
James 4:7 — "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (NIV)
Santiago 4:7 — "Someteos, pues, a Dios: resisted al diablo; y huirá de vosotros." (Reina-Valera 1960)
2 Timothy 1:7 — "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (KJV)
2 Timoteo 1:7 — "Porque no nos ha dado Dios espíritu de cobardía, sino de poder, de amor y de dominio propio." (Reina-Valera 1960)
Psalm 34:4, — "I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears." (NIV)
Salmos 34:4 —"Busqué a Jehová, y él me oyó. Y me libró de todos mis temores." (Reina-Valera 1960)
John 14:27 — "Peace I leave with you; my peace; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be trouble and do not be afraid." (NIV)
Juan 14:27 — "La pax os dejo, mi paz os doy; yo no os la doy como el mundo la da. No se turbe vuestro corazón, ni tenga miedo." (Reina-Valera 1960)
Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be trouble and do not be afraid." (NIV) [Artist: Prawny. Image courtesy of Pixabay.com.]
* Please do not use our original photos without our permission. These include photos by Mary Hunt Webb, Morris Webb, Jr., Morris Webb, Sr., and C.B. Hunt. Thank you.
