FIRST GLIMPSE: "What time I am afraid..."

What do you fear? One beautiful, sunny Saturday found me driving to a nearby city to judge CTS competition. Along the way, I whipped into a fast food restaurant to grab a bite to go. I ordered a breakfast bowl—sausage smothered by scrambled eggs and cheese. In retrospect, it wasn’t so smart to order something that required a fork while driving.

As I tooled along the highway enjoying sausage and sunshine I felt a strange, tickling sensation. Looking down, to my utter horror, I saw a large, hairy spider just disappearing into my shirt. The next thing I remember is standing on the side of the four-lane highway with shirt off and pants around my ankles. I may have traumatized some other drivers, but I got rid of the spider!

After putting myself back together, I opened the car door to find eggs, sausage, and melted cheese smeared from one end of the car to the other. Gross.

By now, I’m sure you’ve guessed that I am terrified of spiders.

Everyone fears something. What do you fear? When you are alone in your car? Or when you lie awake at night? When nobody is around to disturb your thoughts—what makes you afraid? Webster defines fear as the “unpleasant, often strong emotion caused by awareness of danger.” Perhaps you know fear as a hard knot in the pit of your stomach followed by dry mouth, trembling hands, and sweaty palms. You know fear.

But God urges us not to be driven by our fears (2 Timothy 1:7; Proverbs 29:25; Matthew 10:28). It's simple, really. The moment we stop living by faith, we allow fear to rule our lives. And when fear rules, God cannot.

I always chuckle over the story of the angel of the Lord calling Gideon to lead Israel. Where does he find him? Hiding in a winepress. I can almost see him peeking from behind the stones, trying to decide whether to run. You can’t tell me God doesn’t have a sense of humor when the Angel of the Lord describes Gideon as a “mighty man of valor.” But Gideon serves as a good reminder that God does not see what we are. He sees what we can be.

He uses fearful, imperfect people to carry out His perfect will. Gideon, the cowering, questioning farmer led an “army” of only 300. Yet, with God’s help, they faced and defeated a Midianite army described as “the sands of the sea.” The Bible is filled with fearful yet faithful followers who overcame weakness through God’s strength.

I don’t remember much about my Grandfather Hansley, since I wasn't very old when he died. But one moment is fixed into my memory. While staying at their Florida home, a heavy thunderstorm blew in during the night. The flashing lightning and crashing thunder woke me, and I began to cry.

I remember the silhouette of my grandfather sitting on the edge of the bed, repeating two verses: “What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee” (Psalm 56:3) and “I will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on me” (Isaiah 26:3). It was only as an adult that I learned he repeated those verses every night while going to sleep. It was his way of overcoming fear.

Are you afraid? Let me encourage you today: God is bigger than anything you face.


About the Columnist: Eric K. Thomsen is managing editor of ONE Magazine. Email eric@nafwb.org.