Freedom From Fear, Introduction:
The Wallaby
He hopped right over to me and let me pet him. He was
soft and cuddly, absolutely adorable. But most importantly, he wasn't
afraid.
The other wallabies in this enclosure at the Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in
Christchurch, New Zealand kept their distance. A sign outside the enclosure
asked all visitors to respect them, as some of them had young babies, so I
was especially surprised when this friendly little guy not only came to me,
but let me pet him for several minutes.
As I was petting him, I couldn't help looking to the other wallabies in the
enclosure with longing in my heart. I didn't necessarily want to pet them
all. I didn't have enough hands for that! But it would have made me happy if
they hadn't been afraid of me, if they had known that I wasn't going to hurt
them, that I only wanted to show them love.
I didn't really blame them, however. A group of young children followed us
into the enclosure and immediately began chasing the wallabies, yelling and
screaming at the top of their lungs. This was obviously the kind of
treatment they were used to, and there was nothing I could do to make them
understand that I wasn't in the same category as those screaming children.
God has a similar, but much more global problem. He wants nothing more than
to hold us in His arms, comfort us, love us, and strengthen us. But so many
in this world hold back.
Just like the mother wallabies were especially interested in protecting
their babies, we feel the need to hold on to things, to try to protect them
ourselves. Our children are a good example, but we tend to hold on to an
entire gamete of problems. But God tells us to lay our burdens at His feet,
to lay our children, as well as ALL of our problems in His hands: "Come
to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."
(Matt 11:28 NIV). He wants us understand His love so thoroughly that we will
come to trust Him with ALL of our burdens!
So what keeps us from this ideal?
In a word, Fear.
Fear of being hurt. Fear of relationships. Fear of trust.
God doesn't blame us for our fear. He understands. We have been hurt so many
times. Human relationships are imperfect and often result in rejection and
pain. These relationships teach us to trust NO ONE but ourselves!
God also knows with sadness that there have been, and continue to be,
horrible atrocities done in the name of religion. He understands that this
has produced an atmosphere of confusion. People have been hurt by false
religions, by the false images of God that they have been given. They have
become afraid of the One who loves them the most. In fact, they don't even
believe He loves them!
When it was time to leave the wallaby enclosure, I couldn't help standing by
the gate and looking back at my wallaby friend. Then my eyes shifted to all
of the other wallabies, and my heart yearned to help them overcome their
fear.
Unlike my inability to make a way for the wallabies to understand I didn't
want to hurt them, God has already made a way: "For God so loved the
world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall
not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16 NIV) God loved us so much
that He sent what was most precious to Him to die for us, that we might
experience His love and be able to return to the loving, trusting
relationship He created us for.
And now, just like the one wallaby came to me, He wants nothing more than
for us to come to Him so that He can heal us, take away our fear, strengthen
us, and guide us: "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand
firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of
slavery." (Gal 5:1 NIV)
God longs for us to have freedom from our fear, for only when we do will we
be free to love, free to live, free to have a personal, close relationship
with Him!
So how can we be free of fear?
This is the topic of the upcoming series, FREEDOM FROM FEAR. Throughout the
next 10 Saturdays, we will be defining fear, identifying its roots, and
providing the God-giving solution to each and every fear that we have in
life. Please join us next week, for FREEDOM FROM FEAR, Part 1: What is Fear,
Anyway?
In His love,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Mother of two teens, Author and Moderator for
The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a
website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems,
www.scripturalnuggets.org,
with Answers2Prayer Ministries,
www.Answers2Prayer.org.