Get in the car, turn on the ignition, glance at the dash to make sure you've got gas and you see those lovely burnt orange colored words that say "Check Engine". Let's be realistic, this is not a fantastic moment. And for a few reasons. There are 500 independent parts under the hood, which one could it possibly be? There is a great likelihood that the cost of this one inch indicator will not be an amount that is happily spent. And, if you're like me, there is that pang of feeling that triggers insecurity because whatever the mechanic says, I won't know what he's talking about.
This real life example has me thinking. That's what I do...I think. About everything.
What are the warning signs that help me know when there is something wrong in my mind, or my body, or my relationship with God? 2 Timothy says that we have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and sound mind. Is fear the warning sign? I think so. Otherwise, why would God have written the verse in the order that He did?
So what are you fearing? What causes you to say, even if it's just to yourself, "I'm afraid"? For me, it's a the three minute waiting period of logging into my online banking as I look over to the left at the stack of bills. And yet, there is always enough. For me, it's the automatic assumption of getting called into my bosses office when least expected and thinking I must have done something wrong. And yet, that is rarely if ever, the case. For me, it's the wonder if I am as good of a mom as I have always hoped I would be. And yet, I have a very sweet and dear relationship with my daughter.
These triggers of fear, I am aware of them. I have a new awareness though. Power, Love and a Sound Mind, in Jesus name, is declarative. God's Power, God's Love, God's Sound Mind. He is my partner in each of those areas. It only takes but a moment to look at the stack of bills and say, with sound mind I am able to write a well balanced budget for my family. As I walk to my bosses office, it is God's love that gives me the heart and soul to do the job I do and she is likely to want me to share that with her. When I am with my Sally, it's in God's power that I mold her, shape her and raise her and it is also in God's powerful moments that He winks at me as I pour into her life.
There are other warning signs. There are a hundred verses that speak to them. It is my goal to start to identify all of my warnings so that I can let God's grace cover it all.
