For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

• 2 Timothy 1:7

“Anxiety and worry contradict the will of God. We imagine that a little bit is acceptable, perhaps even an indication of how wise we are. We think we see the dangers of life clearly-isn’t it our responsibility to figure everything out? The answer is a resounding no! Believing it is our responsibility puts pressure on us to hurry and do something-perhaps without consulting the Lord and His wisdom. This pressure­ this anxiousness when we accept it-causes us to fear that God will not help us.
“The words fear not occur many times in the Bible. This is not a suggestion but a command for our good. Fear and worry are not part of God’s plan for our lives. Coming up the biggest blunders occur in our lives when we forget to trust God. When we take things into our own unskilled hands, we get everything knotted and tangled.”

• Corrie ten Boom, God is my Hiding Place

“I am called to live in the light of God’s presence, which releases indescribable peace into my life.”

• Corrie ten Boom, Highlighted Quote

Boilerplate

In this new mini-series, I will be looking at a devotion that is said to be written by Corrie ten Boom.  Really, this devotion is like several that I had read.  They come from the writings of that person.  Thus, the prayers at the end may be the editor’s addition to what Corrie ten Boom actually wrote.

Each of these posts will include the suggested verses to read, a quote from the writing that came from a Corrie ten Boom book (five in all according to the copyright page, but no chapter in the book is given the specific book of origin).  I will also include the highlighted quote, similar to an internet quotation, and I will end with the quoted prayer for that devotion.

Discussion

Corrie ten Boom covered the topic of worrying more than once.  This is day 16 in the writings from her books, and it is the third devotional about worry.

“Fear not” is an old King James Version phrase.  An angel appears to someone.  They are quaking in their boots, and the angel says, “Fear not.  I am only a messenger from God.”

Okay, if some ethereal image appeared before me and said that, he would have to repeat it.  I would faint dead away, and the angel would have to wake me up to give me the message.

I am sure that seeing angels was not an everyday thing in biblical times either.

But in translation changes, the new King James flips the words to say, “Do not fear.”  There are 150 verses in the NKJV with fear and not in them.  The NIV only has 82, choosing other words to convey the same message.  But it is amazing that the NIV is barely over half as much when the biblical message does not change.

But in the times that Jesus taught regarding not worrying, His point is that there is much of life where we cannot control the circumstances.  More than once Jesus compares us to sparrows.  If God takes care of the sparrows, certainly He will take care of us.

But remember the lesson of the six “P”s.  Prior planning prevents a pitifully poor performance.

I was a decent project manager in my youth.  I had a record of getting the job done on time, satisfaction from the customer, and not going over on the budget.  I almost always made extra profit on the fixed price jobs by not even using all the budget.

That took a tremendous amount of planning.  It took looking at what could go wrong and having an answer for it.  So, even when that hundred and first thing happened – the one I never thought could happen – I just tied the laces on my boots a little tighter and took it in stride.

But there must have been stress involved.  It was in the midst of all that “not worrying” that my GERD was discovered in a very nasty way.  I have joked that at times I am like the duck in the pond.  I am calm on the surface, but my feet are paddling like crazy beneath the surface.

We all have our fears, but when we do as Tante Corrie says, go off half cocked on our own strength, we might face more fears and God may let us wallow in them to get our attention.

Turning to God first is a much better option.

Closing Prayer

“Father, worry has taken over. Anxiety and fear have filled the place that belongs to only You. Forgive me for not trusting You and free me from this unnecessary burden. Hear the cry of your beloved-come with mighty power and rescue me. I know that as I call on You, You will save me from the onslaught of the enemy and fill me once again with peace. As I wait upon You, You will renew my strength.”

• Corrie ten Boom, God is my Hiding Place (prayer for Day 16, Finding Freedom from Worry)

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.