Friday, June 5, 2009

Are you Afraid ?

Life is not always a friendly place.... we are confronted on a daily basis with things that are out of our control.

Does your life look like an uphill climb of twists and turns ??



Do you see a bend in the road up ahead and you can't see around the corner ?



Does everything look beautiful today, but you are afraid of what the tomorrow you can't see, might bring?



Do you see signs of the times, read the dismal news reports? see the smoke and fear the fire?

Do you feel you are living in an "under-construction" zone and you are too tired to climb up through it ?

I think we all identify with the above anxieties and have felt the emotions. We have all struggled through such times, sometimes better and sometimes worse for wear.
Finally we breath a sigh of relief that we have survived a crisis, but we've barely exhaled before the next one looms on our horizon.
How do we cope? How do we live joyously when our world is crumbling ??
On the same day that I snapped the above photos (randomly, not knowing that they would fit into a pattern of life) I also snapped the photo below that gives us God's answer for living in difficult times.
This little bird is sitting on a perch high above the world.
Gravity could dash him to the ground but he is unafraid, because he has no fear of falling.... his wings will bear him up!
What a beautiful picture God put into His creation to show us His care for us, His children.
Look back to the time of the Israelites living in Egypt.
They were oppressed, living under harsh conditions, forced to work long hours under a blazing sun. Their precious, beautiful baby boys were brutally killed to prevent a future rebellion.
They had prayed for 400 years for God to deliver them.
Was God deaf to their cries?
Oh no..... He was listening and waiting for the perfect time. The perfect time to send them a deliverer to take them out of Egypt and into the Promised Land.
Look what He said to them when it was over....

"You have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself." (Ex.19:4)

He carried them on eagles wings .... out of a horrible situation.... to bring them close to Himself.
That is God's promise to us today too. We can trust Him to carry us through every situation, every difficulty, every trial. He will carry us on His wings - unto Himself.
In hindsight, aren't we faced with the realization that the trial that caused us such pain and agony, in the end brought us closer to God? And looking back we see that God was there with us all along, bearing us up on His wings.
Let's keep the picture of the little fearless bird in our minds...and remember the same God that gave it its confidence, has promised to spread His wings under us and carry us - up out of our troubles and pain - closer to Him where we are safe!
Our trust in Him will never be in vain!

Psa 91:4 "He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler."
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5 comments:

Thoughts on Life and Millinery. said...

Actually I am living in a construction zone. And the only thing that makes it bearable some days is watching the birds on the feeder. Blissful little place that the contractors have not figure out how to mess up!

Judy said...

There's a lot of things that look quite familiar in this post...from those long flights of steps to the valley floor below. And I can also identify with approaching tomorrow with fear...and am often needing the reminder that under His wings, I need not fear.

Anonymous said...

Having just come through something out of my control that tested me daily I can say...God is faithful and He does carry us. Often after we come through a difficult time, and feel somewhat 'free'...satan loves nothing better to to sneak in and destroy. It is now that I find myself having to stay much closer to the Lord. It is good to have to push on....climb the stairs one at a time...I know He is my strength. Loved the pictures....I kind of felt that I had walked the path and turned the corner...now I have begun to climb the staircase. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Kathy

Lovella ♥ said...

Julie . ..this is perhaps one of my favorite posts that you have done. . .it even has pictures. . .and you know how much I like pictures. . .I'm like a little kid with a book. . but fortunately I have a little more "zet fleisch". ..
Thank you for the wonderful reminder of God's care for us even when the fearful times come.

Vicki said...

Thank you for this, Julie, and for sharing your gifts of wisdom, words, and analogies.

After an especially emotional and worrisome weekend for our family, I am so thankful that we were able to trust in God for the strength we needed to get through this trial.