I had been wanting to watch the movie, “After Earth” with
actor Will Smith and his son. It finally came on cable. There are many story lines in the movie I
liked. It’s about how the earth was
abandoned because everything on earth became hostile to man.
His father tells him that fear is imaginary, that danger is
real but fear is a choice. It’s what
makes him invisible to his alien enemy.
It reminds me of this saying, “Fear knocked on the door, faith answered
and no one was there.”
The top commandment or theme of the Bible is not what one might expect. Over and over we are told not to fear. Jesus said the same thing many times. He said that they put their faith and trust in God, put it in him.
"Don't let your hearts be
troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. John 14:1
I talk to many women who have anxiety. They have anxiety over a relationship. What a man does or does not do (their performance). Anxiety over teen or adult kids (their performance). If it’s dating, it’s when do they introduce
them to their children and family. I
find a job interview has a certain amount of anxiety. Anxiety over paying the bills.
Same
with dating, at times it's become unnatural even for me when I had date
night every Friday night which was going out for dinner with my late
spouse. It’s one reason that some people try meetup
or single social groups to meet people. I met my spouse through a printed single’s ad
– I already screened 24 people before I met him.
Now, when I get hit with those anxiety attacks which seem to
be every date, I just remind myself that I’m only dating this man, that
does not mean I’m marrying him.
Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." Galatians 4:6
I’ve had anxiety attacks through the years when I got up to
lead worship or performed solos in school. Doing it over and over (practice) help relieve
those butterflies in the stomach.
“There is nothing to fear but fear itself?” Not all fear is bad, it’s a warning to tell us that there is
a presence of evil.
When
Elijah came to the widow she was fully expecting to eat the last
portion of food, and then both her son and her were going to die from
famine.
She was at the bottom of the barrel so
to speak, her lowest point and expecting the worse before it happened. What
encourages me, is even though this woman was so negative, God sent her
the best (Elijah) to meet her need and alleviate her fear. First Elijah
spoke to her and than God spoke to her.
But she said, "As the Lord your God lives, I have no bread, only a
handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I
am gathering a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my
son, that we may eat it and die."Then
Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a
little bread cake from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward
you may make one for yourself and for your son.
"For
thus says the Lord God of Israel, 'The bowl of flour shall not be
exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the
Lord sends rain on the face of the earth.'"…1 Kings 17:12-14
The boy in the movie raced across a hostile world to
activate a homing beacon that was in the tail of their aircraft that crashed
landed from space. It reminds me a lot
of this current world as far as it can be a hostile environment to man.
Like in Australia there are killer spiders, killer
jellyfish, the great white sharks, killer snakes, mountain lions, Than we are
dealing with evil people at times.
There are some people that remind me of predators and then
some people who remind of parasites.
Parasites live off of other people.
I don’t like to live off of people.
I like to be independent as possible and it’s hard for me to ask people
for help. The only thing we are to owe
anyone is love.
In one scene the boy is captured by a giant bird, and he
tries to help the mother save her babies, but wild animals kill the
babies. Later in turn when the boy is
freezing at night, the bird covers him with her feathers so he will stay
warm. Its reminds me of Psalms and how
at times I’ve asked God to “cover me with his wings of protection.”
He will cover you with his
feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be
your shield and rampart. Psalm 91:4
It makes me think how my security as a single woman has been
threatened at times. I know the enemy’s
strategy. My two former roommates told
me they moved in my house because it was safer than being a single woman for
them on the Westside of town than in the apartments. Right when my roommate moved from her
apartment some teenagers stole her suitcases out of her car on Halloween, but I
prayed and she did got everything back.
After the fall of man, many things have become hostile to
us. Sickness, disease and death broke
out on this planet, Cain killed Abel although God told Cain that evil was
trying to get a hold of him, he would not listen to God.
Even the animal kingdom is under a curse and dies. Its says the whole creation groans until the
unveiling of God’s sons. Even we groan
at times in these limited physical bodies.
Jesus appeared right through a wall after his resurrection so his body
apparently can travel at the speed of light.
that the creation itself also will
be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the
children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans
and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only
this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we
ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the
redemption of our body. Romans 8:32
I liked the part where his wife tells the character played
by Will Smith that his son needs a father, not a commander and chief. I see the same thing in life where I need God
as my heavenly Father, not as my commander and chief.
God may be God to the unbeliever, but it says he has
sent his spirit into our heart where we cry, “Daddy, Father.” Jesus referred to God as Abba---Heavenly
Father.
The Spirit you received does not
make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received
brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba,
Father." Romans 8:15
Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." Galatians 4:6
My daughter was looking through some old photo albums and
family pictures and she was saying, “Mom it’s like the relatives have dropped
like flies.” I did not have to deal with
so much loss like my daughters have had to deal with. I’ve seen a change in
climate. It’s sort of like this harsh
winter, only our society is getting very harsh.
As a young believer, I heard we are to live like Jesus is
coming back today, but plan on that he is not coming back. I believe that is good advice as far as how
we conduct our lives. It talks about
being sober.
Casting all your anxiety on Him, because
He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your
adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to
devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same
experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the
world 1 Peter 5:8-9
Everything
on the planet was trying to kill the boy. We are told that Satan knows
his time is short so he is like a prowling lion seeking who he may
destroy but Jesus "is" the lion of the tribe of Judah.
I
asked the Lord if there was anything I need to change about my life and
I heard in my spirit, "I want you to be bolder." I believe He means
that I need to be bolder
to confess his word. That in times past I was on automatic pilot, but I
need to be bolder in my faith and claim his word, say his word.
No comments:
Post a Comment