It’s one thing to know it. As a Christian, I realize sanctification – the lifelong process of God working in us to grow us closer to Him and in His holiness – is just that: a process.
It’s another thing altogether to feel God telling you: you have a long way to go.
I find myself trying to fix my problems. I’m fine, I can do this. Right?
yeah… no.
I’m sure I’m not the only person who feels like I do. I struggle with a lot of fears.
Failure.
Rejection.
Humiliation.
Loss.
Friends marathons on TV.
I’ve had a lot of sleepless nights lately. I’ve been so focused on my stressful situations that I forgot the true Peter Principle. Not the Laurence J. Peters management book, but the Simon Peter Principle.
You’re most likely familiar with the account of Peter walking to Jesus on the stormy sea (Matthew 14:22-33). Peter wants so bad to please Jesus. He loves Him. And everything is going fine, until..
30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” – Matthew 14:30-31 (ESV).
I’m embarrassed to admit it because, over the years, I’ve taught this Scripture more times than I can count. And I still face these fears.
I need to remember to keep my eyes on Jesus, not on the storm. I have to trust God in all things, at all times.
Even when the storm still rages, He has ahold of me.
Even when the stress grows, God is still in control.
Even when the fear compounds, I am safely in His hands.
Today – Easter Sunday – the Lord reminded me of what He did for us.
He reminded me of the Simon Peter Principle: keep my eyes on Jesus, knowing He has me in His grasp, and will never let me go. He’s in control of the storm, and the boat, and the entirety of our circumstances. I may feel like I’m going to drown, but I’m not.
He reminded me He is the only source of good.
He reminded me I don’t need to understand what’s going on in my life. I just need to trust Him.
He reminded me of His miracles – water to wine, providing the coin in the fish’s mouth to pay the tax, knowing the woman at the well having never met her, healing after healing, sight to the blind, strength to the lame, feeding tens of thousands with one child’s lunch, raising Lazarus from the dead, raising Himself from the dead, ascending into Heaven… He reminded me He can handle my little problems.
He reminded me to let go of my pride.
He reminded me that, even if I can’t feel His presence, He is still with me.
He reminded me my struggles are His way of growing me.
He reminded me to walk by faith, not by sight.
He reminded me His Word is Truth, not the world.
He reminded me He loves me.
And, by the way, the same goes for you. For those of us who love God, He is with us. He is greater than our troubles, our fears, our weaknesses, our pain, our sorrow, our cares…
I try to imagine it, but I can’t. Any one of the events Jesus faced in the 24 hours before His death would have been too much for me. Betrayed. Abandoned. Humiliated. Arrested. Unfairly tried and convicted.
The torture Jesus endured at the hands of the Romans… I won’t recount it here. The fact that Jesus even made it to Golgotha alive is astounding. The brutality of it all is too much to even imagine. The pain Jesus – perfectly Holy Jesus Christ, untouched by sin – went through to take on my sin…
But the worst had to be the feeling of being abandoned by His Father.
Put it all together and you have the reward of sin. Unimaginable pain. Loneliness beyond belief. Humiliation. Sorrow. Death.
But when you look at Jesus taking all of that sin for us.
For me.
For you.
That is the reward of love. We don’t deserve it. But it is a gift. We can’t earn love. But Jesus gave us the gift of love on that cross. It is free, yet far more precious than anything on earth. It is a gift beyond price.
I cannot imagine how Jesus felt on that first Good Friday. But I have to try, so I can understand the great price of His gift. Jesus Christ – God incarnate – gave us Himself. Willingly. Without a second thought. He took on the unimaginable, so we don’t have to. He made a way for us that would be otherwise utterly impossible.
The first Good Friday felt anything but good. But just wait until the third day.
“And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.” – Luke 24:34 (KJV)
Curae quae meum animum divorse trahunt
That is the Latin definition of the word “cares” in Luke 24:34. The phrase translates to “cares that distract my mind”. Cares is just another word for anxiety. And anxious thoughts definitely distract our minds from focusing on God.
The problem is simple: when we worry, we’re saying we don’t trust God. We’re saying, “God, I realize you are sovereign over all. You created everything. You sustain everything. You set the stars and intricately designed all life.
Including mine.
But – and, yes, the big “but” often leads us to the problem – you don’t understand what I’m going through. You know everything, but my limited knowledge tells me to be afraid. You’re all powerful, but my issues are beyond your abilities. You’re everywhere all the time, and your Holy Spirit lives inside me, but I’m facing life all alone.
If you stop and think about it, anxiety is very irrational. We choose to believe in what we see and perceive because we don’t trust in God’s love, grace, wisdom, strength… We see life our way, not His. We believe what we see as rational.
We become “overcharged” with worry. When you were a kid, did you ever rub your feet on the carpet to build up static electricity, then touch someone else for the sheer joy of shocking someone else with your finger? Anxiety and worry are like that: a buildup of fear that needs to be discharged from our minds.
The collection of anxious thoughts creates brain fog. We have a difficult time seeing through the thick haze of fear. We can’t see the Truth for the troubles we perceive.
Luke warns us to “take heed” – to not allow the cares of this life to overtake our thoughts. We have to choose who we’re going to trust. Are we going to believe our limited understanding of our circumstances when those beliefs run counter to what God says? Or are we going to trust the Lord wholeheartedly and take him at His Word.
I find I frequently have to fall back on my old standby passage of Scripture when I’m facing anxiety: Philippians 4:4-9 (ESV)
4 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” Always – ALWAYS – be filled with joy in The LORD. Not circumstances. Not the things of the world. But in God because He has us. He is sovereign over everything, including me and my life. If I can’t feel prescence, it dioesn’t meean He isn’t with me. If I perceive impending trouble, I need to embrace God and His Word and put my focus on our Father and His Word and His promises, not my limited understanding.
5 “Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; “Let the world see your gentleness – which is reasonable for Christians, for Our God is with us always. The Lord is near!
6 “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Always rejoice. Never fear. Don’t worry about anything. Instead take everything to God in prayer, choosing to trust in Him and thanking Him for His care and concern, knowing your problems are now in God’s more-than-capable hands. Cast your cares on God, for He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).
7 “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” We don’t have to understand what we fear. We shouldn’t be wasting time and energy twisting and turning in our doubts and fears. When we believe God and take Him at His Word, we can have His peace. We don’t need to react to our circumstances. We need to trust in God. Just trust in God.
8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” This is where our minds need to be. Not distracted and bothered and throttled by our fears, but focused on God in faith, knowing He will see us through any and every circumstance we face.
Pietro Lorenzetti (1280–1348), Untitled, known as Christ’s entry into Jerusalem. From the collection of La Basilica di San Francesco d’Assisi, Assissi, Italy.
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” 4 And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. 5 And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. 7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8 And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”
11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. – Mark 11:1-11 [ESV]
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” – Matthew 21:1-11 [ESV]
28 And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” 32 So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. 33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35 And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. 37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out. – Luke 19:28-40 [ESV]
12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” 14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,
15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
16 His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. 17 The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. 18 The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.” – John 12:12-19 [ESV]
The Jews were expecting a military overthrow of their oppressors. They didn’t realize Jesus had come to overthrow our real oppressor: sin.
He came to bring freedom, but not like the people expected.
He came to make a way back to our Father. He came to save us.
By the end of the week, there would be violence. But not from a coup.
Today was a day of misunderstood celebration. They missed that Jesus was riding on a humble donkey, not a noble steed. The palm fronds beneath the colt’s feet – a sign of victory – were being trod on by humility.
Jesus is indeed King. But what He gives His people is so much more, so much grander, som much more valuable, that anything we can imagine.
We misunderstand sometimes, too. That’s why we to seek Him first and foremost, in all things, and trust in His will and direction, not our own.
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My brother and I never saw him, but we knew he was there. We heard him through the vents. We saw what appeared to be claw marks in the wood stairs. We even smelled the faint aroma of must and decaying banana peels wafting up from the beneath the floorboards.
He was there alright. Lurking. Waiting. Scheming. Planning for the day one of us would wrangle up the courage to dare go downstairs.
We had a monkey living – thriving – in the dark, dank basement of our childhood home. He lived on bananas and the flesh of small children. This is why, when I was five, my parents had to sell the old house. I’m sure Mom or Dad went downstairs to grab a can of green beans only to hear the monkey’s raspy whisper: “Get out of the house.”
That monkey is the reason I could never read the Curious George books. It’s why, as a teenager, I would shudder with a cold spinal shiver every time “Shock the Monkey” came on the radio. To this day, I can’t go in the primate house at Como Zoo without great trepidation.
Poltergeist had nothing on this terrorizing, child eating primate.
In our minds, he was real.
Rare picture of the monkey and some of his nefarious friends in the basement of the house on Billtown Road.2
As I grew up, that dread of fear never really left me. We moved away from the monkey, but the monkey never moved away from me. I was afraid of everything. I remember when I was about eight – three years after we moved into our new, basementless house – feeling extremely anxious one night because I had inadvertently brought home a library book.
A reference library book.
You know, from the school library shelves of books that should never, ever leave the library, on pain of whacks.
I had broken the rules. Yes, I signed my name to the card inside the front cover and put it on the librarian’s desk. But I was sure that would not prove my good intentions to return the book on time and in the same shape I found it. Instead, it would serve as my signed confession of guilt. My death warrant. Death by paddle. A big, twenty-pound wooden paddle, with holes drilled in it to deliver the pain with stealth aerodynamics and grooves in the handle to provide extra grip for the school executioner. I was sure the last sound I would ever hear would be the whistle of the wind blowing through the holes in that oak instrument of torture as it sped toward my backside.
The next morning I went straight to the school library and, after carefully wiping down the book to remove any fingerprints, placed it on the return cart.
Not a word was ever said. The summons to the principal’s office never came.
The crack and sting of the paddle was not for my bottom to bear.
As an adult, the monkey continued to harass me. I feared so much in life. Eventually the monkey wore me down. There was no sense in trying anything. Every failure served only to prove the monkey was stronger than me.
Fear had a stranglehold on my life. It felt like everything I tried ended in failure. I tried so hard to overcome my anxieties. Yet I lived in fear of failure, fear of people (authority figures, folks I thought were above my station, you name it)…
Much later in life, I began to realize the depth of faith in God. I started to figure out that these awful things I felt, thought, believed about myself and my life were wrong. They were rooted in lies. They were founded on trying to do everything myself (after all, I had to prove my worth to everyone).
Here is the truth I’m finally getting into my thick skull: God is sovereign. Good is faithful. God is good. God is love. I can – must – trust God, no matter the circumstances. My knowledge is limited. God is omniscient. My strength wains. God is omnipotent. I spread myself too thin too often, trying to take on so much to prove my worth to myself and others (and even God!). God is omnipresent.
The only fear we ought to have is the fear – the reverential, awe-filled respect and recognition – of God, revealed to us through Jesus Christ and His Word. If I fear anything – or anyone – else, I’m telling the all-mighty God of the Universe, the Creator and Sustainer of All, that I don’t trust Him with my life. That He is incapable of taking care of me. That His Way is trumped by my own thoughts and feelings.
How arrogant of me.
It;s a matter of trust. Will I trust the lies of fear, rooted in untruth, unreal and inaccurate thoughts and feelings? Or will I trust the Lord, the Author of Truth? Today, I choose God. I repent of ever allowing that monkey to dig his claws into my back. I strive to seek the Lord above all things.
Do I fail? Every day.
Do I keep going back to Jesus? Every day.
Does He renew things in my life and continue to strengthen and guide me – even when the monkey comes back for a visit?
Every day.
I’ve stopped buying the Monkey Chow. You should, too.
Read the below Psalm. Then read it again. Let the words sink into your soul.
1I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. 3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. 5 They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed. 6 This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them.
8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! 9 Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. 10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
11 Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 12 Who is the man who desires life, And loves many days, that he may see good? 13 Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit. 14 Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry. 16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, To [c]cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. 18 The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all. 20 He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken. 21 Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned. 22 The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.
The picture of monkeys is actually a painting by Gabriel von Max: Affen als Kunstkritiker, 1889 Öl auf Leinwand, 85 x 107 cm – Neue Pinakothek, München {{Category:Gabriel von Max}} {{PD-art}} First uploaded to de.wikipedia 9 May 2005 by de:Benutzer:Luestling. Category:Primates in art↩︎
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