The Sweatshirt on the Floor

     At the retreat, the Saturday morning session was about Fear.  One of the Bible readings was when the men dug through the roof so their friend could be healed.  Can you imagine being there and watching a man being lowered through a roof?  That takes commitment.  Our speaker said, "We don't have to act like we have it all together.  When we act like we have it all together, we miss the healing."  If that guy or his friends had acted like the guy was alright, they wouldn't have taken him to Jesus to be healed. 
     It sounds so easy doesn't it?  Just be honest.  We all know that no one has it together, but it is so hard to really put yourself out there.  To really say, "Yep, I have had a rough day."  Or "I made a horrible choice."  Or "I have absolutely no clue what I am really doing in this situation."  The joy comes though, when we can say that to each other.  When we can really be our true selves to those around us.  But we don't open up.  Why?  Because we are afraid.  Fear has us.  We are afraid of what people think.  Or of ruining the image we have going. 
     The speaker talked about how the enemy wants us to be comfortable with fear- to be used to it, not notice it hanging around.  She compared fear to a sweatshirt that is laying on the floor.  You walk by it the first time and think, "Someone should pick that up."  And then you walk right past it.  (Which made us all crack up.)  Don't we do that do?  Walk by the sweatshirt once, twice, three times...an hour.  And we keep thinking that some one should do something about it.  By the third day, you stop thinking about how someone should do something and now the sweatshirt is just part of the floor.  :-)  How many things in life do we do this with?  I know that I do it with things around the house.  (When I got home from the retreat, I went around picking up a lot of things that had just started blending into the landscape.) 
     But, I know that I can do it with fear too.  I get so used to thinking that I can't do something, I stop trying.  I don't want to do that.  I don't want to "trade abundant life for a mundane one" as the speaker said.  I want to be all that God wants me to be, not just what I think I can be.  I want to be ready for God's best for me.  One of my favorite verses right now is Ephesians 3:20, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us..."  God can do IMMEASURABLY MORE then WE can ASK or IMAGINE.  Isn't that great?!?!
     When that fear comes back, I want to tell it to go away.  I want to have the abundant life that God has for me.  Is there anywhere that fear has become part of the landscape of your life?  Are you walking in the abundant life that God has for you in every area of your life?  What can you do to team up with God to grab a hold of all He has for you?  Thanks for reading.  :-)