Godzilla

I read a story of a young boy who was being terrorized by a dog.  Not a German Shepherd or Pit Bull… but a Chihuahua.  The dog’s name?  Godzilla.

He would run around the house and the dog would follow him.  The boy played and the dog stared.  In this little boy’s mind, Godzilla was stalking him…waiting for his moment to pounce.  While we know the dog just wanted to play… to this boy… the fear was real and unrelenting.  He was convinced that he was being hunted by a beast that wanted to hurt him.  

Guilt is a lot like that dog.  

Something we’ve done, said, or thought is sitting in wait.   But our guilt is no tiny chihuahua... it’s bark is much larger... and more menacing...  It’s pinned us in a corner and made us doubt the size of our God.  It has chased us through counseling, good advice, and numerous readings of scripture.  It torments our dreams and drops in every now and then throughout our day to remind us that we shouldn’t feel good about ourselves. 

You know what you did.

You know who you were.

You can’t overcome it.  You won’t change.  

And just when it seems like we get away... it sniffs us out again.  The chase continues.  

We’re tired of running.  

So how do we handle that overwhelming feeling of guilt?  We invite another big dog into the hunt... worry.  Guilt and worry... both crushing emotions in their own right.  Together they’re simply terrifying.  They’ve been known to cause sleepless nights, hopelessness, and an overwhelming dependence on our own strength.  

So why do we do it?  Why do we allow what we did to define what we’re becoming?  Why is guilt so powerful?  

We don’t believe this verse.

“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.”  Romans 8:1-2 (NLT)

If you are in relationship with Jesus... and He is your Lord and Savior... there is nobody holding your past over your head except you.  Scripture tells us that when we confess our sin... when we tell God what we’ve done... He sends it away forever.  Forgotten and over.  That is so hard for our minds to comprehend... that something that once defined us is now voided?  Something that once paralyzed us with worry and fear was one confession away from the feeling of freedom?

We don’t have to fully understand it for it to be true.  God’s thoughts are different than our own (Isaiah 55:8).  He loves us unconditionally, wholly, and without reservation.  When we ask for freedom from the chains on our thought life, Jesus gives us the keys of confession to unlock them.  Today’s the day to breathe without burden... shed the shackles of the past... and leave the guilt where it belongs... with the old you.    

Those dogs... guilt and worry... they’ll stop chasing you with one simple command.  

“Be still...”

God said it to your heart in Psalm 46:10  “Be still, and know that I am God!”

Today can be the day you stop running and be still.  Guilt-free.  Burden-lifted.  Heart deep in love with God again.

I came across a paragraph by an 85 year old woman that I think sums it up best. She wrote, 

"If you live to be 75 years old you will live over 657,000 hours. Did you know that? That’s almost 2/3rds of a million hours that you’re going to live. That’s too much to be anxious about all the time. So don’t worry.  God, if I had my life to live over, I would relax & ramble around and be sillier than I had been on this trip. I would take fewer things so seriously and I would take more chances. I would take more trips and I would climb more mountains & swim more rivers.

"I would eat more ice cream and less prunes.  I would perhaps have some actual troubles but I’m sure I would have fewer imaginary ones. You see, I’m one of those people who have lived sensibly & safely, hour after hour, day after day.  Oh, I have had my moments. And if I had it all to do over again I would have more of them. Just moments one after another instead of living so many years in a big chair, acting like all those persons who never go anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat, or a parachute.

If I had it to do over again I would worry less. I would laugh more, & I would pick a lot more daisies."

Good insight from a burdened life.   Your life can be different.  The last paragraph of your story doesn’t have to say.... “If I had my life to live over...”   Shedding the guilt and worry, you will have lived it to it’s fullest without the weight of “what if.”

Make today the day that you begin to release your guilt and worry through confession... start enjoying freedom... and live the long and purposeful life you were created to.  I’ll be praying for you as you do.

What is Filing Your Heart?

Speaking to a large audience, D.L. Moody held up a glass and asked, "How can I get the air out of this glass?" One man shouted, "Suck it out with a pump!" Moody replied, "That would create a vacuum and shatter the glass." 

How would you do it?  What would it take to get all the air permanently out of the glass?Vacuum?  Cover the top with your hand?    What if I told you that the air in that glass represents the fear in your life...  How would you get it out?  

If you’re like most people... avoidance.  When something makes them scared...they run.  Tough conversations?  Sharing Jesus?  They can’t.  They’re fearful of rejection.  Get that cough checked out by a doctor?  Not them.  What if it’s something life-threatening?

If avoidance doesn’t work for fear....there’s always denial.  People ask them how things are going...  They’ll just tell them the obligatory “fine”.  Scared to go home because of the verbal abuse from an angry spouse?  They’ll just tell the world “I brought it on myself... I deserve it”

If the first two don’t remove the fear... the last resort... worry.  Fretting, sweating, crying, pleading, and begging.  Surely one of these will make them fear less... right?  If they just keep chewing on it and losing sleep... God will notice and make things different won’t He? 

Let’s find out how D.L. Moody removed the air from the glass...

After numerous other suggestions Moody smiled, picked up a pitcher of water, and filled the glass. "There," he said, "all the air is now removed."   He knew it wasn’t what needed to come out... but what needed to be put in.  

If you are scared today... it isn’t about avoiding, denying, or worrying.   Removing the bad in your life isn’t the plan.  Promising not to sin... making deals with God... running and hiding in the darkness... avoiding the uncomfortable... All ineffective tactics.  None of these get the air out.  No matter how hard you try, there will be things in your life that will scare you.  Fear happens.

Remember, it’s not what needs to come out of your life.  It’s what needs to be put in.

For the next couple of minutes I want you to try something.   Think about your heart like the glass in the story above... full of worry, doubt, and especially... fear. 

I’ve copied some of my favorite verses about how God sees and deals with fear below.  Read each of them... several times if you want to...  and as you do, allow God to fill your heart with their meaning.  Visualize the fear leaving and these promises taking their place...

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”  Joshua 1:9

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”  1 John 4:18

“So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”  Hebrews 13:6

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”  Psalm 23:4

“Of David. The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”  Psalm 27:1

“It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”  Deuteronomy 31:8

These verses were written for you.  Claim them.

Stop trying to run from or remove what scares you.  Instead, stand boldly on these verses and allow Him to replace paralyzing fear with His comforting presence.  I’ll be praying for you as you do.

Live

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

I found this story and I want to share it with you today... I’m praying it inspires you as it did me...

“A friend of mine opened his wife’s bedside drawer and picked up a silk paper wrapped package: ‘This,’ - he said - ‘isn’t any ordinary package.’  He unwrapped the box and stared at both the silk paper and the box. 

‘She got this the first time we went to New York, 8 or 9 years ago. She has never put it on. Was saving it for a special occasion.  Well, I guess this is it.’  He got near the bed and placed the gift box next to the other clothing he was taking to the funeral home.  His wife had just passed away.  He turned to me and said: ‘Never save something for a special occasion. Every day in your life is a special occasion’. 

I still think those words changed my life. 

Now I read more and clean less.  I sit on the porch without worrying about anything. 

I spend more time with my family, and less at work. I understood that life should be a source of experience to be lived up to, not survived through. I no longer keep anything. I use crystal glasses every day. I’ll wear new clothes to go to the supermarket, if I feel like it.  I don’t save my special perfume for special occasions, I use it whenever I want to. 

And, on each morning, I say to myself that this could be a special day. 

Each day, each hour, each minute, is special.

Some people live life wondering and some people live life wonderfully.   

The wonderers can’t decide what to do.  Should they use it or store it away for later?  Have the conversation or pretend something never happened?  

They wonder what could have been.

They wonder if it ever will be.

They worry while they’re wondering about things that are out of their control.

Wonderers spend their entire lives counting on a tomorrow that they aren’t guaranteed...borrowing trouble from a future that’s hasn’t come yet...waiting on life to be perfect before they start living it.  

There’s no need to wonder what God’s plan is for us...

Luke 9:62 - “Jesus said, ‘No procrastination. No backward looks. You can’t put God’s kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day.’”  

Get after it!  Live a wonderful life!   When life puts puddles in your path... don’t let them drown you... splash in them!  You are part of God’s family!  The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords paid the highest price, His own life, for you to live in freedom!

God’s word tells us to not hesitate... to not look back... to go after life with a renewed sense of passion and focus.   We should be so busy getting the maximum out of today that we don’t have time to even think about what may happen tomorrow!  We aren’t guaranteed another sunrise... but we do have this one.. this breath.. this chance.. this time.. and this day to make a difference.  

Waiting for the clouds in your life to part before going back outside?  Don’t.  The world is a beautiful place... and you are a beautiful part of it.   If you stay inside too long, you’ll miss the rainbow that’s coming.

Live wonderfully... joyfully... expectantly... 

Hold nothing back for tomorrow.

Today is a special occasion.  

Your heart is still beating.

Get out there and live.