"Therefore, we will not fear..." early December 2020

The rain came overnight.

It’s late autumn in Texas so dreary, rainy nights and days are fairly common. 

The thing is, I left the car windows cracked a bit late yesterday to air out the car and then I forgot they were down when we turned in for the night. My youngest realized it this morning when he went out to get in the other car and he rushed back in for towels and my keys. 

A damp, soggy mess.

It’s not the most terrible thing ever; it’s just an unnecessary annoyance due to my forgetfulness.

All that detail leads me to this moment, this evening, sitting in that car, on a towel, to let the heat circulate to try to dry it all out, the seats, carpet and mats. As I’ve been sitting here, I’ve been scrolling through my phone photos and I came across clips I recorded at the Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors show in Dallas in the fall of 2019. I was in the standing-only part of the floor, center stage, second row-ish, 15 feet from Drew himself and about 10 feet from Neighbor Rich, the bass player. That’s all cool enough as it is, but cooler yet is that I was surrounded by, even shoulder to shoulder with, strangers who share a common passion with me. 

We love this band.

We all sing along and chant the words with Drew and the guys. 

Shoulder to shoulder.

Nobody was afraid of anybody else.

In Texas, at this time, unlike in other parts of the U.S., restaurants are open but must give space been patrons. There’s usually an empty table or two and bar stools are blocked off between parties. Wait staff are masked up and everyone does their best to avoid touching each other. 

As if we’re afraid of each other...

Even at church, normally good, faithful, friendly congregants walk widely around each other. Fist bumps and elbow taps are common but so are less eye contact and walking away from where small pockets of fellow believers may be congregating. All of this assuming people even choose to attend in person.

I’ve never been afraid of Don and Winfred and Todd, but lately many seem to be...

I can imagine, even hear the refrain, that we’re just trying to “stay healthy and not hurt each other”. Words like Prudence and Wisdom are rejoined. A few go all the way to the emotional word bank with Kindness and Love. Frankly, I was part of that group early on. But now, I’m seeing IT.

What’s the IT?

Not many seem to admit the obvious reality-word-of-the-moment: Fear.

Actually, I’m giving it a lowercase f: fear.

When we change our habits of loving the people in our lives, beyond the household, for some scary thing unseen...what’s behind that?

When I avoid generosity to the stranger because they might hurt me??, what’s that all about?

And when those who claim a giant faith in an unfailing God choose to hide, avoid and run away...what does a watching world make of that?

Maybe some How-Dare-Yous are rising up. “Joal, you don’t know my story or what I’ve been through or what I’ve lost. How dare you say I’m living in fear.”

These times have been intense for many, no doubt.

I’m going to Pause.

And Breathe.

I have a question. 

The question before us is not what I say or what you say, but especially those who are believers in Jesus, the question is always and only what does HE say in the Scriptures?

Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you...”

Psalm 46:2 “Therefore, we will not fear though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea...” (talk about a description of 2020 with the virus and all)

I John 4:18: “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”

Nouns and pronouns are the Who and Whats. The dilemma is not what are we afraid of; rather, it’s what and Who do we love. And then Who loves us. (The Who needs to be read with both with a capital W and a lowercase w.)

And Verbs matter. 

Even if Mrs Walinski’s 10th grade English Grammar wasn’t your favorite class, you should be able to clearly identify the verbs. 

Like “Do Not Fear”. 

That’s not a wish, hope or prayer. 

That’s a direct command. 

Then there’s “We Will Not Fear”. 

That’s a declaration, not an unanswerable question.

These are things you and I CHOOSE and then CAUSE. We’re not waiting for divine intervention to cause us to not fear; we’re told to do it ourselves! Scripture tells us the love of God has been put into us. The choice to reject fear and choose life is then on each one of us to choose. Author John Eldredge calls this the Divinely given “Dignity of Causation”; we, human actors, CAUSE things to happen-God has given us that dignity and responsibility.

There’s a newly released tune by Lydia Laird entitled “Hallelujah Even Here”.  It begins:

“Right now I feel a little overwhelmed,

Right now I could really use some help,

Right now I don’t feel like it is well with my soul...”

She goes on into the chorus to tell us to sing and praise God and declare the Hallelujah IN the trouble, concluding with:

“Over every worry, every fear, Hallelujah Even Here!”

We Cause, we Do, we Fight, we Choose.

Hallelujah Even Here by Lydia Laird

As 2020 winds down, I’m hearing some folks wish for it to be over, as if a new calendar on the fridge is going to stop their fear. 

Friends, it won’t. 

But you can prayerfully Choose for fear to stop.

We Cause, we Do, we Fight, we Choose.

As for me and mine, we will fight fear today, as we did yesterday and as we will tomorrow. 

We will express Gratitude.

We will look with Hope to that Day when Jesus returns. And out of those places of Gratitude and Hope, we will NOT fear. I’ll let Drew and the boys anthem us out with a snippet of 

Shine Like Lightning by Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors

Peace, friends.

And Come quickly, Lord.