Scarecrows and God's Best

I'm casually reading through Craig Groeschell's book, "Confessions of a Pastor." His chapter entitled "I worry almost all the time," has really spoken to me.

In it he talks about a verse from Jeremiah 10:5&6. God is speaking through the prophet to the people of Israel, telling them not to fear the nations around them. He says that "their idols are like scarecrows in a melon patch."

Scarecrows in a melon patch...think about that. Why does a farmer put a scarecrow in his melon patch? Simple, to scare the birds away in order to keep them from destroying his crop. What if the birds ever wised up and realized that the presence of a scarecrow was actually the tip off that the best of the crop was in the field?

A bird will never wise up, because it doesn't have the mental capacity to learn in these situations, that's why scarecrows still work to this day. However, as men and women who are created in the image of God, we do have the capacity to see the enemy's scare tactics as just that...tactics. The Bible tells us that "God hasn't given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7)

Groeschell writes, "So, isn't it possible that the very fears the enemy tries to plant in your mind are unwitting advertisements for God's good stuff? (Like a "Danger" sign on God's cookie jar.)

Fear will always keep you from God's best for your life, so when you are experiencing fear, ask God to replace it with his love, and boldly walk into His best...it's waiting for you!

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Wonder and Mystery

"Earth is crammed with heaven. Every bush is aflame with the fire of God, but only those who see take off their shoes. The rest just pick the berries." ~Elizabeth Browning~

This is one of my favorite quotes, because it speaks to the fact that wonder and especially the wonder of God is in danger of being lost.

I think too often we are guilty of reducing God down to a set of principles to follow or a formula to enact, and when we do that we become berry pickers, which to me is the height of apathy.

To be honest, I think we reduce God because we want to remain in control and are afraid to truly trust Him with everything. The Bible tells us that the "fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Truly fearing God is leaving the wonder and mystery of Him in tact in our lives.

I want to be a person who allows wonder to have a place in my heart. I don't want to reduce God to a set of principles or formulas because that diminishes who He is and takes away the wonder of His majesty.

Psalms 89:8 says, "O Lord God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O Lord, and your faithfulness surrounds you."

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What Do You Fear?

I have this memory from childhood that has been permanently etched on my brain. It includes a bicycle, a huge dog, and one very scared kid (me).

Here's how it happened...My sister and I were going for a long bike ride around the block (we lived in the country and so our block was about 5 miles long). As we were riding a very big German Shepherd came charging at us.

He was a vicious dog, teeth as long and sharp as framing nails and dog spit flying everywhere when he barked. As you can imagine, I was scared out of my mind.

That dog never bit me or my sister, however he did keep us cornered for what seemed like an hour, although I'm sure it was only 2 or 3 minutes (it's these kind of memories that makes me think God has a slow motion button).

I remember someone telling me that the reason that dog kept us cornered is because he could sense our fear and used it to get the upper hand (or paw for that matter) on us. Now, I'm no dog expert and frankly I'm not sure if this is true, but the theory does lend itself to a great life lesson.

Here's the lesson...what you fear in life will determine how free you are, because fear is what establishes the boundaries of your freedom.

When that big dog had me cornered and I was scared out of my mind, my free space was limited to about 2 square feet.

This is why God doesn't want us to fear anything in life but Him. When we fear God, He, in his love and grace, doesn't control us, but sets us free to really live.

Erwin McManus, in his book "the Barbarian Way" says, "When we fear God and God only, we are no longer bound by all of the other fears that would hold us captive...we discover that perfect love casts out all fear. Not even God will hold us or control us by fear. When we fear Him, we in essence begin to live a life where we are fearless."

What is your deepest fear, and how is it keeping you from the freedom that Christ intends for you?



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