Good Tuesday morning! Okay, think about a nice phobia. Perhaps you only have some run-of-the-mill fears in your life, no real phobias, so choose one of them instead. Put yourself in an imaginary situation where you have to face that fear. Let's say you have to climb a tower or descend into a dark cave. At the moment, you can think of no good reason to face this fear. There is nothing but air, lots and lots of air space, at the top of the tower. And there is nothing but lots of darkness at the bottom of the cave. Even with someone volunteering to help you, you cannot figure out a good enough reason to immerse yourself in this fearful situation. Now, suppose that someone has assured you that at the top of the tower or at the bottom of this cave is the entrance to Heaven. Suddenly, the reason is not just good, but the best! Let someone step in the way and just try to keep us from charging full speed up the tower or down into that dreadful darkness.
When we face our fears in this life, we tend to see our death at the end of the line. Naturally, that makes us breath fast, tremble, and get the old heart rate right up there. The body does not like the thought of its own demise. We may have trouble even moving forward for all the conflicting thoughts, emotions, and physical reactions going on as we face the darkness of that fear. However, the message of Christ is true. Somewhere, at the end of all those trials and temptations we gaze upon in fear is the entrance to Heaven and Christ is waiting there for us. But that isn't all. Christ is also walking that pathway with us.
This is not some magic thing that we need to try to figure out, but a provision of God that we simply accept. Jesus awaits us in Heaven and He is with us always. As we tremble in fear at all the dark possibilities that we may or may not encounter along that narrow path, we should gaze at our Savior and know that one possibility is a sure thing: Jesus will lead us to Heaven.
The path of this life may seem dark or limitless depending upon how each of us views the unknown. But to Jesus there is nothing unknown. The path He leads His sheep on does not end in a pit or at the brink of a vast space. Jesus will bring all of us home to be with Him forever. We cannot see very far along this path; our vision ahead is cloudy and full of guesses. But our Guide and Shepherd is not fooled by the world and its fears. Take the next step. Jesus will not force our trembling feet to walk, but does wait for us to get moving again when fear has us rooted to the ground.
Praise the name of Jesus!
Bucky
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