This time of year bombards me with flash backs from my youth. Every Spring Break my church loaded up the big yellow school bus full of teenagers and college kids destined for Daytona Beach. Our mission? To spend the next three days witnessing to all the college kids partying their little heads off. Just to be clear, that wasn’t the only thing that came off during that week. We, however, appeared on the scene fully clothed. For the girls, that meant at least a cap sleeve and skirts or dresses to the knee. I’m guessing by now you get the potentially humiliating circumstances and conversations looming before us each day…ah yes.
It was
my first year. Day one and two on the beach, though exhausting from all the
courage mustered and spiritual warfare (not
to mention the heat) beamed success.
I learned the way to survive out there was not to think about
anything other than the mission. Don’t
pick and choose to whom you will speak. Just
talk to the first person you see and go for it.
As a result, many people heard the gospel and each group member arrived
back at the hotel in one piece with great victories to share.
On the
third day and final day my team transferred from the beach to the shopping
district. We would be stationed on
sidewalks next to surf shops and seafood restaurants with cars and people
buzzing in search of their next pursuit of happiness.
Driving
from the hotel to our assigned location each day always included a bit of fear.
OK so maybe on occasion I had hoped
for a HUGE DOWN POUR TO DRIVE EVERYONE OFF THE BEACH! (What, did I just say that?) Naturally. It’s not everyday you enter a half naked
party zone fully clothed with a New Testament in your hand. But on this final
day, the only cloud in sight rested right above my head. Fear dowsed me like a
heavy storm cloud filled with magic potion. It drenched my soul leaving me
paralyzed like a stone statue that allowed only my eyes to move. Fear directed my sight like a remote control
to the fast lane around me.
Flashing
billboards and sun-kissed, attractive packs of college kids occupied my vision.
Their agenda didn’t include thinking about what would happen to them if they
died tonight. With credit cards stashed
close by, shopping, eating and flirting dominated their itineraries. At least
when the Spring Breakers were on the beach they had reached their destination with no place to go. But now they were on the move. Who would want to stop and talk
to a Bible thumping chick with the framer’s tan in a ridiculous outfit?
Fear’s
remote control captured my imagination and starting flipping the channels. What
if a packed car pulled up and snatched me away thinking it would be fun to see how
this naive church girl could handle a thrill ride in the real world? I had heard stories. What if a mob of kids
just swallowed me up in their midst and forced me to…click, click… away it
went.
I
couldn’t move. I couldn’t talk. I
couldn’t stop all the degrading and horrible imaginations. My chin began to
quiver. What in the world was I
doing? Why was I giving up my Spring
Break for this? Was I crazy? I just wanted to go home.
My
team’s adult chaperone happened to be my Aunt Karen. I confessed to her I had no idea what
happened between breakfast and this moment, but fear gripped me like a boa
constrictor. I didn’t think I could get
out of the van this time.
And
that’s when she pulled it out… my new favorite verse.
Gently,
compassionately, boldly, she said, “Rebecca, the Bible says that God has not
given you the spirit of fear, but of power, of love and of a sound mind. So if
God didn’t give you this fear, who do you think did?”
Light
bulb moment!
Almost
as quickly as it descended, God’s word exposed the lies and made fear evaporate
like the mirage it really is. Instead of
cute girls with short skirts and perfect hair, I recognized the empty eyes and
hollow laughter of a soul wondering if anyone really cared about them. Instead of guys with muscle shirts and
flashing smiles, I saw hearts desperate to measure up.
With
new understanding and God’s promise fresh on my heart, I stepped out of the van
claiming the boldness and pluck that belonged to me. The Sword of Truth had won
the day!
But
that was then. This is now. (Profound, I know.) Today is a new
day. Many fears still threaten. They
always will because fear is one of the Enemy’s greatest weapons. Satan is a
liar and the Father of them. He’ll use every lie and deception, every
imagination possible in hopes to frighten and control you and me.
Do you
have a fear gripping you from doing something you know God is calling you to
do? Don’t be alarmed by it and by all
means don’t give in to it. That’s the
Enemy’s specialty. His only hope is to deceive and intimidate. See, he knows he cannot stop the truth. His only hope is to make us stop believing the truth.
So let’s
choose God’s promise over Satan’s fear.
There is power, love and a sound mind waiting for us if we’ll
accept!
II Timothy 1:7
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