Fear

I hate fear. I hate feeling fearful. And the bad part is that I have felt fearful for a lot of my life. For years I would visualize the deacons coming into my office and firing me. I am in one of those fearful places in my life right now. Many times when I have felt this way I didn't know why. This time I do know why. I am fearful that my church is going to miss God. You see, over that last 6-8 months God has been doing some really cool things within His church here in Deming and God really wants to do even more. He wants to Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls. My fear is that we will not let Him. And a greater fear is that it will because I was not obedient to do all that God has told me to do as the pastor of His church. I see every day the enemy, Satan trying to disrupt and getting our focus off of Jesus and on to petty concerns and into conflicts with each other. I also see the enemy messing with the marriages and families in the church.The enmey knows that if he can get us fighting as spouses with each other or children with their parents than he can stop what God wants to do and win the victory. I know I am not alone in feeling fearful. In the the first chapter of the book Joshua God tells Joshua five times to be strong and courageous, not to be afraid. Joshua was about to lead the people of God into a land that God had promised to give them, but they would have to fight to take it. God promises them that He would be with them and give them everything they needed to take the land. They had to trust Him and fight. The reason that God tells Joshua that he can be strong and courageous is because of God not because of Joshua. So as I read that chapter again I was reminded in the midst of my fear not to panic, not to abandon the church, not to run away from God. I am to run to God. I am to trust God and in completely trusting God and not me, I am to fight. I am also to pray that my church will trust God and fight the enemy and allow God to Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls.
Joe