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"The Lord is My Helper, I Will Not
Be Afraid"
by Karin Paparelli
It is 1:00 in the morning as I write this. I’d like to say that
I am awake because I want to be but the truth is I was awakened from my
sleep by a rapid pulse and a pounding heart. I don’t believe I had
a nightmare. If I did I don’t remember it. The racing pulse just
seemed to get worse and of course that put even more fear in me which
made it race even more. As I lay in bed thinking I was surely about to
depart this earth, I decided instead to get up and read the Word of God.
It is usually a good idea to read the Bible when you feel like you may
be dying. An amazing thing happened, my pulse slowed down, my heart stopped
pounding and I was no longer fearful. All of that from reading the scriptures!
When all of my symptoms subsided I was able to see more clearly that I
was not really in a medical state of emergency, but rather a spiritual
one. One day before a weekend packed with evangelism outreaches and I
wonder why I can’t sleep without interference. The truth is the devil
doesn’t like me much. I’m always getting in his way; stirring
up the people, invading his territory and rescuing his prisoners. So he
tries to rattle my cage every so often. Sometimes it’s a rapid pulse
in the middle of the night, other times it is a sudden illness in one
of my children, or a night terror. Most of what he brings my way is meant
to cause me to fear. Sometimes to my dismay he is successful, for a time.
Fear is a mighty weapon.
Fear can come in many forms, through many vehicles. It may come from an
implanted thought which then is fueled by your imagination. It may be
a dream or nightmare. It may be worry for your safety or the safety of
your loved ones. It may take shape when you feel ill. The one thing that
all kinds of fear share is that fear is a result of not trusting God.
Think about it for a moment. If you truly trust God why should you fear?
Hasn’t God said that he will take care of those who trust in Him?
The Psalms boast of the Lord being our ever present help in times of trouble.
He is our refuge and our strength. He is our shelter and our deliverer.
What can anyone to do harm us? Hasn’t He ordained every day of our
lives? Has He not counted every hair upon our heads. Does He not know
the hour of our struggle? Of our weakness? Yet we fear. Quite honestly
to fear is to be in disbelief. It is to say that we don’t have faith
in the Lord to see us through. Now I believe that to fear is normal and
not to fear at all is hard to imagine. But rather the question is what
to do when we feel fear.
Recently I spent a week in a cabin camping with my family. While we were
away we brought a movie projector and screen with us to show films at
night to our family who had been spending the week with us. Being the
evangelists that we are we decided to show the films in the park pavilion
and invite the whole campground. This having been done we presented a
Veggie Tale and then the new movie Tribulation, an end times thriller.
While the movies were playing we prayer walked the grounds taking the
land for Jesus. Suddenly the oppression was recognizable for the first
time. You see everything was just fine as long as we didn’t preach
the Gospel. If we just minded our own business, even playing Christian
music, that was OK. But as soon as we invited the whole community it was
war! The movie seemed to go over well enough but later that night after
everyone else fell asleep, I lay awake in my bed thinking fearful thoughts.
I had heard there were Satanists on the grounds and suddenly I feared
them breaking in and trying to harm us. I felt vulnerable and afraid.
I prayed for courage and the peace of God and the Lord spoke to my fears.
He asked me who I believed, Him or the devil? Good question! Did I believe
that He ordered my steps? Yes. Did I believe that He was pleased by our
showing those movies and praying for the people? Yes again. So why was
I worried about my physical safety? Surely God is capable of my rescue.
He is able to keep us all in perfect safety, according to His will. Where
do I really want to be? In the center of His perfect will. I realized
that I had to surrender once again to the Lord’s will for my life
whatever the cost. I opened the Word of God and was immediately comforted.
The next morning however I was really concerned about how fearful I had
felt the night before. Hadn’t I already overcome all of that stuff?
Obviously not. Over confidence can be a hindrance if we are not careful.
The Lord allowed me to feel frightened to reveal to me my weaknesses.
It is not a bad thing on the contrary it is a very good thing, lest I
leave a crack in the wall for the enemy to penetrate.
It is Ok to admit we have weaknesses. Actually I believe it is for our
good to admit to our weaknesses and do all we can to strengthen them but
it is also important to remember that when we are weak the Lord is strong
in us. It is when we acknowledge to God that we are lost without Him that
He can come in like a flood. It is when we are vulnerable and defenseless
that He is quick to come to our aid. How difficult is it to help someone
who doesn’t believe they need
help.
The Lord has shown me many things through my weakness, through my moments
of fear; I have learned that fear can cripple you or strengthen you, it
is your choice. That fear is a weapon of the enemy which can also be used
as a tool of the lord to help us recognize our weaknesses. Also that lack
of trust in the Lord will always lead to fear and this lack of trust is
a sin which we must confess as such to be delivered from it. It will always
be a battle and our enemy has been at this for centuries, so don’t
be discouraged when your weakness is revealed just remember my friends,
God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love and a sound
mind! We shall overcome! We shall overcome! May you walk in His grace.
Thy kingdom come
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