There was a time in my life where I talked about how sometimes we might feel we “outgrow” certain things in our experience. I compared this “growth” to having a favorite pair of jeans in high school that you wear all the time, and then when you leave home, you put them away for a while.
Later when you try to put these jeans back on, they just do not “fit”. I had fun telling this story because I thought it was a nice analogy of how I thought my beliefs had “changed” in some arenas so much so that the old beliefs no longer belonged to me or fit.
Since that time I have realized that those same jeans not only still “fit” but that they were tailored for me by the good shepherd, One who not only shepherds the sheep, sheers them, and provides the holy cloth, but who is the only one I would want to design my “genes”.
I am so grateful that I can learn to trust in the design I have been gifted with. I can know it is not only OK, it is actually imperative that I wear my own jeans…knowing that the parents I was given made sure I wore my jeans appropriately, and they will always fit.
There are those who say that we should pray for the world. And there are those who say we should hide behind masks and behind fear. My mother, whom I honor and listen to, says that we should do everything we humanly can do, that is good, and then we should also pray.
When Baby Jesus was born, we are told to “fear not” for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. We are also told that we are not given the spirit of fear but of power and love and of a sound mind.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Humanly we are called upon to demonstrate healing, of fear, and demonstrate power, love and sound mind. How we must behave in the face of adversity is told to us in the bible. We are not sheep being led to slaughter when we listen to the good shepherd. We listen to his words and we must take steps to follow the directions we are given. The servant who was ‘afraid” and hid his one talents, was the one who got nothing.
Just like there is no law of nature that says a person has to experience pain or suffering, there is also no law of nature saying that a person has to experience fear. Both are subjective. There IS a law of nature saying that when an apple falls from a tree, gravity will pull it down. But there is not law saying that when we are faced with challenges we must experience fear or suffering.
Pain and fear are beliefs…Not God ordained. We have God ordained power over them and we must exercise that power and refute the false testimony we are being confronted with daily. Only then are we really wearing our genes well.