The
Monsters in the Closet
By Jeannine Sawall
“Do not be anxious
about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
Philippians
4:6 (NIV)
"So
how was your appointment?" I asked, expecting “fine” as his response. This
was a routine appointment my husband had just had. "Well... they found an
unusual mass in my chest they are concerned about," he answered quietly. My
heart stopped for a moment..."a mass in your chest? Do they know what it
is?" "It's unusual...and it wasn't there last time. They are going to
make an appointment for me to come back and see the thoracic team." "When?"
"In the next few weeks."
And
so the monster in the closet came out of hiding and I was afraid. Over the next
few weeks, my mind went to terrible places. If you google "mass in chest,"
all sorts of monsters can be found. If you anticipate worst-case scenarios - -
the monsters of cancers, chemo, financial hardships, sickness and even the
extreme of early widowhood and raising young sons alone - - you can barely
function due to the anxiety and worry that accompanies those thoughts. God says,
not to “be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and
petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." But what did
that mean and how does one do that? Did it mean I had to be fearless in every
situation and THANKFUL?!?
Of
course not! It means we don't have face those fears alone! When God allows a
situation in our life that brings up fears, He knows our hearts and He knows
our thoughts. We could pretend we aren't afraid, but to what good? We wouldn't
be fooling ourselves and we certainly wouldn't be fooling God. However, when that
gut-wrenching, confusion-making torrent of emotion takes over our hearts and
minds from time to time, God calls us to trust Him and believe that He will be
with us, even when there are monsters. He never condemns us for being afraid;
instead, He is telling us to turn to Him and allow Him to give us His peace
which surpasses understanding.
365
times we are told to "fear not" in the Bible: Once for each day. It
is a reminder that He is there for us in the middle of the fear-causing situation.
Remembering He is with us may not remove the situation from our lives or even
permanently remove the fear from our minds; we may have to be talked off the
ledge over and over. But remembering God's promises to us in the midst of fears
allows us to take our eyes off of the monster, even for that moment, and go
forward confidently with the Lord, thankful He is always with us.
GOING
DEEPER:
1.
What fears are you battling today?
2.
Which of God's promises do you need to be reminded of?
FURTHER
READING:
Jeannine
is a wife and busy mother of four boys. She works in property management,
serves in Café and has a heart for those walking through grief.
