It's a Gut Reaction - November 5, 2009

Good Thursday morning! Remember, remember the 5th of November.... yeah, yeah. We know it's Bonfire Day or Guy Fawkes Day in jolly old England. Here it's just another work day for the those who have jobs. When was the last time you saw a bonfire around these parts? I think the practice has fallen out of fashion, but I may just be not paying attention. Nebuchadnezzar built a bonfire back in the day. He had three fellows tossed in who refused to worship the king's own statue. We are all familiar with the story from our Sunday School days, but what did Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah feel before their famous meeting with destiny? If you're thinking, "who?", you might remember their Babylonian names, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Is it possible they felt faithful, but terrified?

We often think that we are never to feel fear. After all God commands us many times in the Bible: "Don't be afraid!" If we are full of faith, are we also fearless? You might have a more urgent question in your mind: Does feeling fear mean that our faith is weak? When Jesus appeared on the water, walking on top of something the disciples knew to be a yielding surface, they felt fear. Some of them might have felt a strong urge to exit the other side of the boat and try running across that same surface. What we feel as fear is partly a reaction of our bodies. That surge of adrenaline happens before we can think: "stop!" Jesus said, "It is I, don't be afraid!" In a similar situation where we have startled our friends, we might say, "calm down, it's just me!" The reaction has already happened, but just as Jesus calmed the wind and waves, He also calms the storm in our minds when we fear.

Daniel's three friends probably felt the adrenaline reaction in their bodies when the strong warriors bound them and threw them into the blazing furnace. The fire had been made so hot that Nebuchadnezzar's strongest warriors died when the door to the furnace was opened. Those warriors felt fear, but had only their own strength to rely on. We can see that it wasn't enough. We will feel the reaction of fear to certain situations, but we learn to trust in Christ to calm the storm that springs up in our mind in those moments.

God bless you on this fine day!

Bucky