Christ Over My Fears, Offering Rest Today

     Okay. Our male rat terrier is the biggest coward in the universe.  He acts tough... but he isn't.  He throws himself at the front door, barking furiously - so much so that his feet come off the ground momentarily.  But when we let him out and he actually sees the garbage truck coming down our street, he does an instantaneous u-turn and starts scrabbling frantically at our front door, desperate to get back inside.
    So he's afraid of garbage trucks - if I were his size I would be too.  But flies?  If there is one in the house, he will retreat to the laundry room and hide behind the dryer, completely out of sight.  I guess it's good that he doesn't know that flies have thousands of lenses and can see very well, even during reconnaissance missions through the laundry room...
    He's also afraid of Phil at times.  As the guys say around here, the dogs know who "mommy" is and so when Buddie wants to sleep in our room at night, he will wait until he hears Phil snoring - I'm serious-  and then scratch on the bedroom door, knowing that if he keeps at it long enough, "Mommy" will get out of bed and let him in.  I don't know how many times Phil has awakened and said, "What? Is the dog in here? How'd he get in here?" and as soon as he starts speaking, Buddie hides. (Fortunately, Phil is a sound sleeper and never remembers these monologues).
   And then there are those  times when Buddie is just too lazy to jump on the foot of the bed. So he comes to my side of the bed - never Phil's!  Again, he will tap on the side of the bed or on  my arm with his paw to let me know, "I want a boost up!"  If he does this in the middle of the night, I'm not that nice to him but still...he knows that underneath the choice words I may call him (thankfully he can't speak English), I have a soft heart and so he does this time and time again.  And it works time and time again.

Not our dog... Buddie didn't want to pose
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  Yesterday morning, I felt a tap on my arm and I immediately awakened, lifted the dog and started saying soothing things to him. It wasn't that I was thrilled to be awakened by our spoiled canine. It was that as soon as I opened my eyes, I heard tremendous thunder booming and saw eye-popping lightening illuminating everything in our room. Instead of irritation I instantly felt compassion; I know Buddie is literally terrified of storms.  When he is shaking in fear, my heart always goes out to him - I can't help it.  Even in the wee hours of the morning, I want to comfort him.
   And it hit me this morning, could God do any less?  If I, being selfish, can't keep from reaching out to a dog who is afraid, could God keep from reaching out to me, His beloved child, when I am afraid?
   The on-coming garbage trucks in my life may look (and be) huge.  The uneasy fears in my life may twist my gut at night when I can't sleep. The all-out storms of life may leave me shaking from fear.
   Yet I know that the One who said, "Comfort , O comfort my people" (Is. 40:1, II Cor. 1:4-5) meant it and that He is there for me. When I'm in the fetal position, He is there with me because He has promised that once He comes into my life, He will never leave me or forsake me  (Heb. 13:5-6).
   When the flies of "what if" are upsetting me in the middle of the night, I can know that He is at my right hand and as I focus on Him, I can know that I will not be shaken. (Ps. 16:7-8)
    When I am tempted to second guess my future, I can be assured that He will work all things out for my good as I surrender them into His hands.  (Gen. 50:20, Romans 8:28)
    I heard someone once say that our life here on earth is like a dot and eternity is like a never-ending line and I believe that.  The speaker  who explained this finished his talk by asking us, "Which are you living for:  the dot or the line?"  It's a good question.
    Living with my eyes fixed on the dot - which I do a lot - increases my fear exponentially. Always.  What will happen tomorrow? To me? To my kid(s)? To my spouse?  To our possessions, etc.
    Living for the line, reminding myself that countless thousands of Christ followers have gone through trials and come out well on the other side, either here in this brief life or There which truly is forever - that helps.  But having enough sense to crawl out from under my fears and tap on the arm of my Savior - well, there is nothing like an all-powerful,  loving hand reaching out to secure me, to hold me in the dark moments  of life.
   Thank You, Abba.
    Romans 8:18, 26
    II Cor. 4:16-18

If you can't stand, just come out from under your fears and get to Him the best way you can...
Christ Redeems All Worries Literally