“For
God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a
sound mind.”
2
Timothy 1:7
When I was
eleven years old, I took my best friend up on a dare. It was to watch the
classic horror film, “The Exorcist.” Yeah. I immediately regretted that
decision the minute the character of Regan started doing some seriously demonic
a-turning. The character spun her head all the way around, spit pea soup and
levitated off from her bed. Good times. For the next two hours, I tried to save
face in front of my friend, making excuses to leave the room as much as I
could. I got a lot of sodas, popcorn and napkins. The actress Linda Blair was
just too convincing as a demon possessed girl.
And I was
thoroughly convinced, not by the makeup or the special effects, but by my fear.
Fear: yes,
here we go.
This time of
year, with Halloween as the focal point, it’s all about creating and maximizing
the fear. Costumes, makeup, decorations, haunted houses and scary movies
abound. It’s about being frightening.
However,
unfortunately, fear is not restricted to that holiday once a year. We are faced
with the issue on a daily basis. How many of us, driven by fear, trying to
escape fear, turn to our addictions, compulsions and disorders, in an effort to
cope with our own “horror story?” Perhaps the fear of not being good enough, of
living through a painful trauma or simply facing our real selves keep us stuck
believing a convincing lie. We are thoroughly convinced we’re hopeless, doomed
and/or destined to continue a destructive destiny. We play “what if” games as
we play chicken with our fears. Like my less than stellar childhood decision to
watch “The Exorcist,” we can take up the dare to participate in a regrettable
decision, letting curiosity get us into a situation we then try and find an
excuse, any excuse, to flee from.
All why? Is
it because we’re convinced of the scary belief’s power? Do we believe our own
addictions and dysfunctions are more real and powerful than God, Himself in our
lives?
When I was
that eleven year old girl, part of why “The Exorcist” resonated so strongly
with me was because I related too much with the Linda Blair character of Regan.
She was twelve or thirteen years old, close to my age. So, even though I knew
it was an actress playing a character, I still became convinced this demonic
possession could happen to me. I let
my fear dictate the terms. Forget about
God: His love, His protection and His help. Nope. I only believed the worst
case scenario. So, any minute now, I’d be spitting up some pea soup?
There’s a
commonly used acronym to spell out the word fear: “false evidence appearing
real.” What have we determined to be real for ourselves, so real, it’s scary?
Do we see ourselves as only failures?
As only addicted? As people who are
worthless and unloved? As people who are too much or not enough?
In those
insecure questions, where is God in the context of our horror story? If He’s
nonexistent, unloving, disinterested or even hateful, then yes, we have
problems, bigger problems than Linda Blair levitating off the bed.
But God is
extremely passionate and protective in His love for us.
“…‘Yea, I have loved thee with an
everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”
Jeremiah
31:3
“‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,’ says the
Lord, ‘thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.’”
Jeremiah 29:11
What are we
dwelling on? There’s a theory stating what we focus on the most becomes the
most prominent in our lives. So, if we allow that to be our monsters and our fears,
isn’t it inevitable these issues would loom the largest in our circumstances?
“For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that
which I was afraid of is come unto me.”
Job 3:25
Do we have
more faith in God or more faith in our fears coming true? Again, where’s the focus? A significant part of
our recovery is the surrender to a powerful God, Who is able to do what we
cannot.
“Behold, I am the Lord,
the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?”
Jeremiah 32:27
And that
includes our horror stories, whatever they may be.
Nothing will
separate us from God’s love, because of Jesus!
“For I am persuaded
that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor
things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth nor any other created
thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39
When I was a
kid, I made the poor choice to tap into the fear of “The Exorcist;” it became
the dominant truth in my pre-adolescent life. But then, life moved on and
(hopefully), I grew up a bit. Now I see there’s more to life than our thoughts,
fears and conclusions; there is God!
And that need
not be a scary thing, either. Let God be your answer to your every fear! Let
God into your horror story!
Copyright © 2015 by
Sheryle Cruse
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