Remember the Name
Hi everyone! Marie here. Just as I promised, here's a sequel to last week's post: "Secrets My Father Told Me."
Have you ever been afraid? Some people are afraid of heights. Some fear creepy crawly insects! When I was younger, I was super afraid of the dark…that is until, I heard a secret my Father told me. Click here to find out the first secret : >
Imagine a sleepy, little girl going down the second floor staircase, headed towards the kitchen. Now imagine her older, teenage brother, crouched in the dark, and silently hiding behind the stairs.
I was thirsty, and making my way down the shadowy steps to get a glass of water when all of a sudden, a white, clammy hand grabbed my ankle from behind. I let out a blood-curdling scream, only to realize I've been pranked again by my crazy brother. Yes, my one and only dear brother who knew that I was scared of monsters and dark places.
I thought I would naturally outgrow my fear of the dark. But fear knows no rhyme or reason. How else could grown up me try to explain to my perplexed, new husband, Joey, that, "Yes, I like to sleep with a light on please!" Even as a new mom, whenever I heard my baby boy moving in his crib, I would get up from bed, swing my legs to the floor, and still think, "Hurry, before a hand grabs your foot from under the bed!"
Do you have fears too?
Fear paralyzes people, Even great men. The Bible gives several examples:
Fear immobilized a whole army of men facing one Goliath.
Fear made Moses want to turn down his Egypt assignment.
It made Elijah run away from Jezebel.
It almost made Peter drown on one occasion, and it caused him later on to disown Jesus and leave him.
No wonder the constantly repeated message of the Bible seems to be,“Do not be afraid!”
Even today, fear can strike a person with one word. Words such as:
Terrorists. Cancer. Cockroaches. Failure. Bills. Blood. Tsunami. Earthquake. Hopelessness.
Does your fear have a name?
Then let me share with you the first secret. This helped me with my fear of the dark.
Secret # 1: Remember the name “Immanuel”.
Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL," which translated means, "GOD WITH US." (Matthew 1:22-23)
God is fully present even when your fears seem very real. Other people may not realize the depth of your fear, but God can see it. God also didn’t disappear when my fear appeared; He is still “Immanuel”—God with me. So the more I became conscious of God being fully present with me 24/7, the less conscious I became of my fears. When Jesus comes into your life, he is with you in your fear and he will see you through it.
The darkness of your situation is no match for the Light of the World.
If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night," Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You. (Psalm 139: 11-12)
Psalm 139 became my favorite verse for a long time. When I would wake up in the middle of the night and fear would try to creep in, I would remember Jesus as fully present. My Immanuel. I would pray, “God, thank You that You are with me, as I sleep. This dark room is not dark to You. You see everything, like it was daytime, and I know You will remove every unclean spirit from this room.” Then I would close my eyes and sleep like a baby.
Do you have fears you keep wrestling with? Problems that seem to have no solution in sight? It’s time to remember that Jesus came to be your Immanuel, God with you. Not a distant, uninvolved God in the clouds. But a Savior fully present, willing and mighty to save you.
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