The "F" Word

I don’t mean that one.

Or all the other foul ones like…

Fallout

Fistfight

Fatty Food

Frowny Face

Fraud

Faker

Failure

Funeral

…just to name a few.

But the one I’m thinking of is one of the worst, the most debilitating, one that has the power to fracture a life… that word is…

Fear.

Many definitions and connotations bubble up in the brain at the mention of this four-letter filth. One of the better explanations I’ve heard is an acronym:

False

Evidence

Appearing

Real

So I recently returned to literal dry ground after vacationing on a 7-day cruise.

No, this isn’t a post on the fear of water.

Or the fear of small spaces or gigantic gatherings or intoxicated Baby Boomers doing the Macarena.

Admittedly, I’m not a crowd kind of female, but I learn a lot listening and fraternizing with people. And one thing I found out while spending time with so many strangers, which I already knew but it really hit me this time – everyone is afraid of something.

Sometimes they aren’t even aware of it.

Hey… clap me in irons. Guilty.

No matter how many verses I memorize, resolutions I make, sermons I listen to, books I read, worry and fear creep in, blind side me, paralyze and hold my thoughts and feelings captive.

It makes me furious! Why can’t I put up a better fight against this all-too-fatal weapon of the devil? Why can’t I remember that he’s feeding me false information, that I’m being lied to, that I’m listening to the wrong voice. Why? Why? Why?

I think it’s because I’m too concerned with my abilities and faults and not focused enough on God’s flawlessness.

In other words…

God is the “F” word I need to remember and believe…

Faithful.

He isn’t going to be faithful.

He is faithful, right now, no matter what we’re facing.

That’s the hard part.

When we’re going through something that hurts or costs us something or is impossible to comprehend, we have a choice. Too often, I make the wrong one - I “lean on my own understanding” and question God’s faithfulness.

Question God’s faithfulness????

Me? Fallible, Frail, Fickle me?

What am I thinking?

I hope this year my speech and thoughts and actions and reactions will be full of the “F” word.

FAITH.

Not in myself or my ability to exercise faith.

But in God’s FAITHfulness.

Click here for a story about a few guys who really embraced the Truth about God's faithfulness!

(photos by photobucket.com)