The wicked plot against the righteous
    and gnash their teeth at them;
but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
    for he knows their day is coming.

• Psalm 37:12-13

“Fear is the atmosphere of worry. Nothing weakens us as much as fear. On the other hand, nothing weakens the tempter as much as a quiet, bold, steady fearlessness. Satan cannot operate in an atmosphere of trust.
“Oh, but fear and worry can talk so wisely! You may often think they are right, but fear is often a stupid blunder. Once I worked in Los Angeles during a flu epidemic. One morning my secretary woke up with a bad headache, and I feared she had the flu. …
“… I felt a headache myself. My eyes felt so strange.
“… I opened my Bible to begin and found that I could not read one letter. Fear whispered, ‘You have the flu in your eyes.’ I listened to the fear. …
“I know that I did not give a happy talk that morning. When worry and fear are on the throne, we are not an open channel for streams of living water. It is impossible to listen to the Lord’s voice while listening to our own fear. Fear is loud, insistent and time-consuming!
“Near the end of my talk, my secretary came quietly into the room and sat down in the back of the auditorium. When I finished my talk and the students left, I went to her. “Why didn’t you stay in bed when you had such a headache?”
” ‘Oh, I’m not ill. My headache is gone,’ she replied.
“ ‘All right, but it could have been the beginning of the flu. You should have stayed home and started answering the letters I gave you.’

” ‘That’s why I came. I couldn’t work because you have my glasses!’ ”

• Corrie ten Boom, God is my Hiding Place

“I will pay attention to the Lord’s voice instead of listening to fear.”

• 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

Jesus says that we cannot add a single hour to our life by worrying.

But we can shorten our life.  We can put our heart to work, pumping harder, all because we worried about things that only God controls.

God loves us.  He has the power.  Our worrying shortens our life and makes us useless to do God’s great works.

Tante Corrie worried about her secretary.  While it is good to be concerned for those around us, that concern should lead us to prayer and lead us to do what we can for the other person.  But worrying?  Worrying did not help her secretary.  In fact, it hindered both her and her secretary.  In her worrying, she picked up the wrong glasses.  They had identical frames, but the prescription was vastly different.

As a result of her worrying for her friend and colleague, Tante Corrie could not read while at the university.  She feared that she was becoming ill herself.  It affected her talk.  She was not her joyful self.  And at the same time, her friend could not do her assigned tasks.

There is hypochondria, a fear that you are sick, and there is fear making you sick.

But we do not have to worry about anything. We must pray.  We can plan.  We can prepare, but once what we can do about it is over, we should rely on God that we will succeed.

Closing Prayer

“Father, thank You for opening my eyes to this revelation. Now I realize how absurd fear can be. Forgive me for yielding to thoughts that do not line up with Your truth. Help me keep my mind fixed on the reality of Your love and the strength of staying near You. Fill me with the power of Your Word, as I choose to trust You. Instead of listening first to fear, I will bow my heart to You.”

• Corrie ten Boom, God is my Hiding Place (prayer for Day 23, When Fear Attempts to Steal Our Focus)

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.