Today’s Scripture Reading (May 31,
2015): Genesis 15
I have to admit that sometimes I think that Charlie Brown understands life
better than most of us. How many of us haven’t been Charlie, trying desperately
to kick the football only to have it pulled out before our feet can actually
reach the ball? How many of us can say that we haven’t fallen flat on our back
and been embarrassed in front of our friends? How many of us can honestly say
that we have never gotten up in the morning ready to embrace Charlie’s new
found philosophy – to only dread one day at a time. Sometimes there seems to be
a lot in this life that deserves our dread. While the boogie man may not be
hiding around every corner, doesn’t it at least sometimes seem that he is
hiding around most - scary doctor’s results, disappointing relationships, what
seems to us to be massive personal failure? I am not sure that I know anyone who
is immune to any of these things. They are part of life – to be honest, the
scary part of life.
There has
been a lot of writing over the past few decades about the detrimental effects
of fear. Ulcers, high blood pressure and heart disease are all linked to an
unhealthy level of fear in our lives. Some researchers seem to believe that
even Cancer can be enhanced by a high level of fear. And sometimes all it takes
is just the memory of a scary moment to send our bodies reeling. Fear can also
be debilitating. It is the “deer in the headlights” phenomenon. We know we need
to move, but we can’t. And, sometimes, I wonder if that might be the exact
place where Charlie Brown lives. Dread and fear has overcome him until he can
no longer even move.
But what we
sometimes miss is that fear is not simply a negative emotion that needs to be
excised from our lives. Charlie Brown’s daily dread needs to be dealt with, but
occasional fear has an upside. Fear focusses our attention like nothing else
can. The reason why last minute solutions are often found has a large part to
do with this focussing effect of fear. Fear tells us that there is a hierarchy
of things that need to be dealt with in our lives – and numbers 2 – 10,000 don’t
really matter in this moment. This moment needs to be dedicated to number 1.
Have you
noticed that every time an angel appears in the Bible, the first words out of
his mouth are “Do not be afraid?” Because the natural thing to be when an angel
shows up in your office is afraid. But for that moment you are focussed on whatever
the angel has to say. Abram falls asleep, but he apparently also falls into a “thick
and dreadful darkness.” The first time I read those words, I admit that I found
them a bit strange – what exactly is a “thick and dreadful darkness?” But I
think I know the answer. The darkness is the attention grabbing strategy of
God. It is the “do not be afraid” moment because everything in your body is
telling you that this is the moment to be afraid. It is God saying, “I need you
to listen to me in this moment – to focus on me. If I talk to you on a sunny
afternoon you will be too enamored with the sounds of my creation to listen to
me. But right now it is my voice that you need to hear. And my voice is all you
need to hear.
Maybe the
next time we fall into a “thick and dreadful” darkness, we need to learn to
step back and listen for the voice of God. He might just be choosing that
moment of focus to speak to us.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Genesis
16
No comments:
Post a Comment