Hebrews 13:6
So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”
My first summer as a military policeman on a small isolated base, was quite memorable.
It was late night, and as fate would have it, I was the only MP on duty. My dispatcher radioed to investigate an intrusion alarm that had just been set off. The building in question was a multi-function establishnent and was located outside the base's secured area. It was easily accessable by anyone including local civilians.
When I arrived my adrenaline rose quickly. The door was indeed open and troubling was the fact that I had found that same door locked when I had physically checked it earlier that evening. Someone had recently opened the door. My heart was pounding, this is a legitimate call. I really did not want to go in. I was trying to find a 1001 reasons not to step inside. I was about 20 years old at the time and I was thinking to myself, why did my senior partner chose this very night to go on holidays? I took a deep breath and slowly entered a dark meeting room. There were two shut doors at the far end, along with one door leading into a corridor. It was easy to conclude that someone was hiding behind one of the two doors. My heart began racing. I was scared and I softly crossed the room and aporoached the first door. With a bit of self-coaxing, I managed to yank the door open. Nothing! I then proceeded to the next door, understanding that the odds were now greater that the person was behind the second door, ready to pounce on me. My fear escalated and my breathing was quick and short. I was a mess of stress. I took a deep breath and tried gaining some composure. I swung the door right open. Oh my God! He stood motionless percing right at me with his cold evil eyes. What? No way! Someone had strategically placed a wolf-pole (fake wolf head on a pole use by cub scouts) guarding the closet. The wolf head and I were eye to eye, inside the dimly lit room. Lol! I began laughing uncontrollably. All my fear had been alleviated and I continued the inspection without any incident. Can you imagine if I had drew my weapon out in the state that I was in? We were forbidden to draw our weapons unless we were in a life threatening situation. That's a good thing. Some would have unleashed a volley of bullets upon the cub's mascot until it became severed from the pole. Thank God for smart rules.
Fear is so powerful and often enough, completely unwarranted. It truly destroys faith. Just think about what happened when I shook my fear away through laughter. I was able to completely regain my composure and continued on with the building inspection. Through a level headed investigation, I was able to determined that the door could not properly lock into place. There were no break and enter and no bad guys lurking in the dark. In fact, it may have been my earlier inspection of this building that initiated the event. During my first round of door checks, I may have pulled the door open and not realised it. My fear had been running amok. If I had just remain calm in the first place, I would not have needed to worry.
How many times do we fear the worst possible outcome? We don't give faith a chance. I have personally caught myself not only thinking but planning for the worst case scenario. Fear obstructs faith and without faith you cannot please God.
Fear = False Evidence Appearing Real;
Faith = Foward All Impossibilities To Heaven.
My mess of stress was a blessed test.
So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”
My first summer as a military policeman on a small isolated base, was quite memorable.
It was late night, and as fate would have it, I was the only MP on duty. My dispatcher radioed to investigate an intrusion alarm that had just been set off. The building in question was a multi-function establishnent and was located outside the base's secured area. It was easily accessable by anyone including local civilians.
When I arrived my adrenaline rose quickly. The door was indeed open and troubling was the fact that I had found that same door locked when I had physically checked it earlier that evening. Someone had recently opened the door. My heart was pounding, this is a legitimate call. I really did not want to go in. I was trying to find a 1001 reasons not to step inside. I was about 20 years old at the time and I was thinking to myself, why did my senior partner chose this very night to go on holidays? I took a deep breath and slowly entered a dark meeting room. There were two shut doors at the far end, along with one door leading into a corridor. It was easy to conclude that someone was hiding behind one of the two doors. My heart began racing. I was scared and I softly crossed the room and aporoached the first door. With a bit of self-coaxing, I managed to yank the door open. Nothing! I then proceeded to the next door, understanding that the odds were now greater that the person was behind the second door, ready to pounce on me. My fear escalated and my breathing was quick and short. I was a mess of stress. I took a deep breath and tried gaining some composure. I swung the door right open. Oh my God! He stood motionless percing right at me with his cold evil eyes. What? No way! Someone had strategically placed a wolf-pole (fake wolf head on a pole use by cub scouts) guarding the closet. The wolf head and I were eye to eye, inside the dimly lit room. Lol! I began laughing uncontrollably. All my fear had been alleviated and I continued the inspection without any incident. Can you imagine if I had drew my weapon out in the state that I was in? We were forbidden to draw our weapons unless we were in a life threatening situation. That's a good thing. Some would have unleashed a volley of bullets upon the cub's mascot until it became severed from the pole. Thank God for smart rules.
2 Timothy 1:7
For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.Fear is so powerful and often enough, completely unwarranted. It truly destroys faith. Just think about what happened when I shook my fear away through laughter. I was able to completely regain my composure and continued on with the building inspection. Through a level headed investigation, I was able to determined that the door could not properly lock into place. There were no break and enter and no bad guys lurking in the dark. In fact, it may have been my earlier inspection of this building that initiated the event. During my first round of door checks, I may have pulled the door open and not realised it. My fear had been running amok. If I had just remain calm in the first place, I would not have needed to worry.
How many times do we fear the worst possible outcome? We don't give faith a chance. I have personally caught myself not only thinking but planning for the worst case scenario. Fear obstructs faith and without faith you cannot please God.
Fear = False Evidence Appearing Real;
Faith = Foward All Impossibilities To Heaven.
My mess of stress was a blessed test.
