But when she started to work exclusively from home, she started getting nervous about being outside. She dismissed my worries as overreacting. Until recently, my sister did not share these same fears. Maybe you’ve even experienced it for yourself. No one reading this article in 2021 would wonder about my newfound agoraphobia. I had been in those subways well over a thousand times. I kept searching, for the mask I KNEW I had while frantically trying to find an exit. No one, including myself was wearing a mask. More like crowd-surfing with thousands of your closest friends. As typical, people were so tightly packed on either side that walking isn’t the right word. The station is one of the busiest in China, so as you can imagine, it is one of the busiest in the world. Yet whether your current path is smooth or rocky, God’s promise still stands strong: He is your Good Shepherd who ALWAYS cares for you.Just seeing this crowd makes me nervous right now!īack in April, I dreamt I was trying to get on a subway in Shanghai at People’s Square station during rush hour. We all go through rough seasons in life, and sometimes it can even feel like God doesn’t care. ![]() Even in your darkest valley, you can say, “I will fear no evil,” because He is with you. The Lord, your Good Shepherd, cares deeply for you and wants to set you free from fear. I had no reason to believe them any longer.Ĭould it have sprung from a “snakeskin” incident or a thought that simply got blown way out of proportion? I suddenly realized all of those thoughts I was grappling with were just shadows blown out of proportion in my mind. Then a question came to my anxious heart-and I’m sure it was God asking me: “Have you ever been bitten by a snakeskin?” I woke up in a cold sweat and began to pray. I looked down and saw that the wind was blowing rattlesnake skins at me. Then something else hit my skin and I recoiled. ![]() Then one night, I had a nightmarish dream that I was in a dark desert. It plagued my mind and became a real problem for me. Soon after Cottonwood Church began, I was overwhelmed by thoughts that my preaching wasn’t having any impact. I’ve certainly experienced that in my own life. Many of our anxieties spring from inaccurate thoughts that have built a stronghold in our minds.Įven though our thoughts may be irrational, they can still seem so real. Ninety percent of the things we fear are really only shadows. Have you ever been bitten by the shadow of a dog or cut by the shadow of a knife? It represents a place of testing and trial.īut you know what? The valley of the shadow of death is not the valley of death. That represents a place where you have opportunity to be afraid-a place where death in some form is close enough to cast its shadow over some area of your life. We see here that the path you take in life will eventually cross through the valley of the shadow of death. ![]() “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me….” Mark Twain is said to have quipped, “I have known a great many troubles in my life, most of which never happened.” Now ask yourself honestly: How likely are those fears to come true? I’d like to ask you something important today: What are you most afraid of?
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