Without A Net

[Altonwoods]

Whether we realize it or not all of us are walking a tight wire of some kind in our lives and the balancing act we do is always at risk given the thin nature of the "reality" we subscribe to.
Everyday, people in this hard little world fall off that wire, land
hard, and are injured in way's that can be hard to heal. The
repercussions of that fall are what we sometimes call a "crisis" which
interestingly enough is a word that's based on the Greek term Krinein
which means "to decide".

Decide what?

Any trapeze artist you happen to meet will most likely tell you that a certain level of fear or respect is essential to the performance of their craft, but that if you allow that fear to take center stage then
walking that wire becomes impossible. And while a net can be something
that catch's us and keeps us safe from a fall, it can also be used to
keep us in bondage after we've lost our balance and fallen into a trap
or snare of some type! Safety is of the Lord, but fear is a symptom of
spiritual bondage to sin. Just as Adam found out in the garden. How is
it that that after thousands of years we still hide in the bush's from a
loving God?

The greatest fear any of us have is the fear of not being loved. So why does it seem as though we run from the very thing we need the most or pretend to be above it in some way? Perhaps it's because in lieu of
being able to procure it, we've taken on the mantle of god in our
lives and arrogantly chosen to express or exercise our "divinity" by
making choice's about our lives that no one else can change, even if
we're the one's that suffer as a result of that choice. Isn't that a
shame?

Ultimately it isn't us who make our choices, but instead they, who make us!

It's at these familiar crossroads, these moments of sudden confusing complexity, that like any other subscription we've signed up for our fear delivers to us our default answer....

What about me?

Our lives become a frustrating failure when we try to take on Gods role or when we project onto God our flawed human understanding of love. Most of these misguided actions and bad choices flow from a core belief
that the universe we live in is a decidedly unfriendly place, that real
love is a lie, and that if there is a God He's probably mad at us!

No wonder we're anxious and afraid to step out! We're walking on a wire and we believe that we're working...

Without a net!

Why am I saying all of this? Because there are way too many people who go through their lives making decisions that originate from thoughts that are sponsored by fear, not love. Who instead of living the life
God had planned for them are tangled up in the net of this world and are
presently miserable as a result! If hell is an eternal separation from
God, Who is love, then you might say they've already started doing their
time here on earth! In fact, I've heard more than a few people refer to
their lives as being a "living hell"...I don't believe that Gods
pleased with any of those things at all, actually I think it break's His
heart, mine too...and since I'm on His team I'm trying to do
whatever He enables me to do to help others to choose Him instead!
Being a Christian is simply an awareness of who we are in Christ and the
joyful acknowledgment of Gods saving love that has freed us from the
necessity of fear in each and every moment and circumstance of life!
What it means for each of us is that,

Above all we are greatly loved!

Come what may, we do have a safety net...

Jesus caught each of us when we cried out for Him to save us!

You've done that right?...Is your life going to suddenly become perfect after you come to know the Lord? NO! what it means is that whatever you go through in this life He's in the midst of it with you!
God never promised us a smooth ride, but He has promised us a safe
landing! While we're here we don't have to live a life of fear, shame
and doubt, or be prisoners to things like worry and anxiety! There's no
reason this life has to be an empty meaningless existence without a hope
for eternity when all we really have to do is stop for a second and
simply reason this thing we call life out!

Have YOU traded in fear for faith!

That's a choice I'm committed to making every day!

"Faith is that state of being in which we're able to find present comfort in the arms that have held us up all along, and future peace based on the past and the present."

[James Nored]

Fear is always the opposite of faith in the gospels. Jesus is the great man of faith. His disciples are filled with fear. We need to be more like Jesus--able to sleep in the boat with the storm raging all around.

[James Nored]

Alton, this phrase struck me: "Our lives become a frustrating failure when we try to take on Gods role." This is so true. When we try to control the world--which is God's job--we fail and make ourselves miserable.

Your words on fear, stress, and anxiety are much needed. I, as well as millions of others, struggle with this. Thank you for sharing these thoughts.