If you're not scared you're not paying attention

"If you're not scared, you're not paying attention."
What do you think? Agree? Disagree?
I've stolen this quote from Dr Bailey, a character from Grey's Anatomy. She said it during a season finale when everything was going to hell. People were dying, she was stressed out and everything was pretty bleak. This quote resonated with me so much so that I realised that it had to be the opening and semi-focus to this blog post.

We Christians should be scared a lot of the time. Not scared in a hide it out under the bed till the monsters go away kind of scared. More so a 'if i don't do anything about this then the result is going to be pretty damn scary' kinda way.

I can't think of anyone who could disagree with this statement. It doesn't take much to pick up a newspaper, read a news report on the Internet or to turn on one of the many news channels on TV right now. I bet if you stopped reading this right now, went over to the TV and turned to one of the news channels that within 10 minutes, a story would begin which would by the time its over make you feel scared, concerned, worried or angry. Disagree? Go watch the news.

You're back(or never left!). In that case I am assuming that we are agreed then that the world is not exactly at its best right now. Fortunately, for both you and for me, I am not going to present my 5 point plan to fix the world. I could try, but I would fail miserably. Thankfully someone far greater, far wiser and far braver than I could ever dream to be has got that in hand and sooner or later, He's going to be back to fix the mess we have made.

defensiveVSoffensive
I think that we harness the fear that the world heaps on us in two different ways. One for the good, one for the bad. One for the pro active, one for the passive.

hide it out under the bed till the monsters go away

The world is full of monsters. Big ugly attacks from the enemy that strike people down with horrific results are happening every single second all over the Earth. People are persecuted, battered, bruised, broken, shaken, terrified and destroyed.
The evil that follows each and everyone of us around, stalking us, is ever present in today's society, at times glaringly obvious for all to see, at other times hidden,hiding just below our consciousness. Readying the attack.
Sound pretty bleak to you? Ain't that just wonderful?
I'm not making light of our present circumstance. Far from it. I quite often find my self hiding from monsters. Hiding it out under my metaphorical bed, waiting for them to pass me by.
The problem that I find myself in is that I often let my fear keep me from breaking free from the oppression of the enemy. I allow the lie that 'I can't make a difference' to nestle into my mind and calm me down. How clever of our enemy to construct a lie that not only talks to all of our insecurities but also allows us to achieve a degree of hollow peace. Of course I can't do anything. I'm one man, living a simple little life. I can't stop these monsters, so why bother. Sound familiar? It should. We all do it. In fact we probably do it daily. No, I'm not talking about preventing a global catastrophe, a famine, a vicious attack, a natural disaster. I'm talking about stopping the enemy in his tracks, Not allowing the hold that the broken world has on our individual lives to take root any more. We all have our own monsters that are present in our little part of this broken world. Each of us have our own fears, oppressions, dissatisfaction, bullies and lies that we let control us. How many of us can say, hand on heart that we have conquered all our monsters? Can anyone truly say that they never tuck themselves up in a blanket, hidden under their bed as the monster of the moment tramples through their life?

if I don't do anything about this then the result is going to be pretty damn scary

One of the many amazing things that I am learning about God is that He can completely transform every single action, thought, lie and attack of the enemy into something not only beautiful but wholly GOOD. There is nothing that the enemy can fling at us that God can not transform. There is no weed that can not be transformed into a beautiful and towering Sun flower. Don't misinterpret what I am saying. I am not insinuating that if we are attentive to God that our lives will be free of pain and anguish. Far from it. It takes but a second to flick through the bible to see that a life of complete and utter bliss is impossible. A broken world leads to a broken people. I am saying that we do not need to be crippled by our pain. Faith in God allows us to stand tall whilst our legs are turning to jelly as we tell the lies to go away. Faith in God means that we can recognise the monsters in our lives and trust that He will help us to destroy them. As I type this I can already feel myself thinking that it all looks to easy. THAT IS ANOTHER LIE! The 'truths' that the lies speak hold us back and keep us hiding under our beds. A smarter person may be able to tell you how to speak against the lies. The best suggestion I can offer is to allow God to train you in discernment. Do this by spending time in prayer and reading the bible. Allow your God given sense of right and wrong to take a hold of you. Read C.S.Lewis's 'Screw Tape Letters.' Share the lies that the broken world has spoken over you with your closest friends, your small group, your LTG, whoever. One of the biggest lies that the enemy speaks into the world is that its degrading to be scared. This lie keeps us locked up in our heads, dwelling on the lies that cripple us and make us more afraid.
God wants us to be offensively scared. He knows what's at stake far more than we do. He wants his people to be aware that if they do not respond to the fear that the world places at their feet that they are not going to be able to fight back. What good is the armour of God if we do not know what to do with it? God has gifted us in more ways than we know. We are his children. We are better than this. We are born into a world of bondage and slavery yet God has been fighting for each and everyone of us from the day we were born. Often in church we talk about the battle that we are facing against the enemy. I never really stop to think about the battle that Jesus fought for me to become a Christian in the first place! I'm not talking about the great battle that he won on the cross, I'm talking about the battle he won for me a few years ago when he opened my eyes. While my side of my testimony is lovely, I wonder what his looks like? All the years that I was working against him he was fighting for me. Every stupid comment I made against him, he countered.
The enemy creates fear and feeds us the poison that makes us scared. God gives us the insight to recognise the fear and Jesus is the antidote to the poison of the enemy.
It is by paying attention to Jesus through prayer, reading scripture and supporting one another that we become equipped to stand tall, stare at what is scaring us square in the eyes, take steady steps closer towards it, lift the sword and destroy each lie one by one. We will be bruised, we will still be scared but we will be strong in Faith, Hope and Love. Jesus is our protection, our sword and shield. He will not blind us to our fear but he will strengthen our resolve, allow us to be offensively scared and attack the enemy in the heart of his lies.

I'm going to try my hardest over the next few week to pay more attention to the lies that threaten my life. I am also going to start to be more proactive with sharing what scares me with my closest friends. Baby steps, people, baby steps. God doesn't expect us to sprint to him, ignoring what we pass by. No, far from it. He expects us to walk slowly and surely towards him in faith, head held high.