You will not be afraid of destruction
You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
Or of the arrow that flies by day;
Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. Psalm 91:5-6
About ten years ago I felt led to pray Psalm 91 “a thousand times.” I’ve probably done so, but according to my log, I’m only in the 770’s (I tend to forget to mark it down). But when I DO finally scratch off #1000, I know I’ll keep going…because Psalm 91 is potent!
I started writing my thoughts about this psalm verse by verse a few years ago, but got refocused on other things while writing about verses five and six. And now it’s high time to pick this thread back up—with the second half of verse six:
You will not be afraid of the destruction that lays waste at noon.
I love how this Psalm blatantly states what seems to be emotionally impossible considering the onslaught of scary news blasting our way on a regular basis.
This is what the Word of God declares—you will not be afraid of destruction that lays waste at noon.
Fear is powerful. Tyrants of all generations have used it to control populations to bend them to their will. Fear of the unknown, fear of the dark, fear of sudden attack, fear of sickness, fear of “If you don’t do as I say, you’ll suffer greatly,” spoken out of the mouths of those who purport to know better than the rest of us continue to haunt people who simply want to live and let live.
I have found that the best way for me to live fearlessly is to recognize fear as soon as it starts to take hold and to face off with it. However, in the past I chose to pretend that I wasn’t afraid; I pretended that nothing all that bad was going on, and I simply buried my head in the sand, closing my eyes to reality. Instead of trusting God, I trusted my own imaginary ability to pretend away danger. This was an exercise in futility; this was NOT an exercise of faith in God.
So how do you face off with fear once you recognize it in yourself? Best way I’ve found is to first acknowledge it to God, and then prayerfully go to His Word and find those scriptures that bring comfort, strength, and the ability to resist both the fear AND the thing that created fear in the first place.
I was a natural born scaredy cat; but when I started turning to the Word to combat my fears, I found it a very effective weapon. Even now, when “things go bump in the night” or frightening news grips my emotions, I unashamedly turn to Psalm 56:3 (which, I know from experience, is easily memorized!), “What time I am afraid, I will trust in YOU.”
No one should be made to feel ashamed when dealing with fear. It happens. But when it does, forge a fast path to the One who can help you—who won’t condemn you—but who will give you all that you need to stand in the face of it while He covers you.
I have also learned that instead of allowing my imagination to play all the different scenarios of destruction over and over again, I am to take those thoughts captive (not ignore them or pretend them away) to the obedience of Christ while I declare my trust in Him to help me, come hell or high water.
In addition, I’ve learned that I don’t have to tell Him HOW to help me. He is very capable of doing so in a multitude of creative, jaw-dropping ways. I merely trust Him to do so, and He does. Often it is rather mundane appearing; but now and then He has astonished me with such inexplicable deliverances from danger that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt—this was God.
Psalm 91:5-6 describes four of the most common fears experienced by the human race. Terror by night; the arrow (bullets, too) that fly by day; disease that stalks in darkness; and destruction that lays waste at noon. And yet, to those of us who “dwell in the secret place of the Most High and who abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1), we have Someone to turn to when we face those fears.
Remember, He does not expect any of us to be fearless apart from Him…He knows none of us are Superman or Wonder Woman, even if we pretend to be. We simply put our trust in Him when we are afraid, knowing that He will never fail us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).
One more thing—His faithfulness is your shield and buckler (Psalm 91:4, last part). You may not have a whole lot of faith in your own faith, but that’s not all that necessary. Why not? Because it’s HIS faithfulness—to you and to His Word—that shields you. You merely need to trust that HE IS faithful, and that takes care of the faith factor. Your faith works because HE IS FAITHFUL, and when you put your trust in that fact, His faithfulness WILL be your shield and your buckler.
Thankful for the faithfulness of God!
Dorothy
© 2023, Dorothy Frick
Read MoreSuffering according to the power of God
“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God” 2 Timothy 1:8
I don’t know how often I have read 2 Timothy, but this verse recently jumped out at me, as if for the first time. I come from a faith tradition that does not preach or teach much on suffering; I know some who do teach about this topic, but it makes sense to me why it’s not an extremely popular or sought after subject. Who wants to be reminded of suffering?
Here I go, anyway.
This phrase in 2 Timothy 1:8 kept rumbling around inside of me—suffering for the gospel according to the power of God—and then shortened to simply suffering…according to the power of God.
I thought of the apostle who wrote this letter to Timothy and how his entire life as a believer in Jesus was punctuated with suffering.
I love comfort. I told God that. But being a realist, I recognize that this life has its share of suffering, and no one is exempt. Whether the suffering comes in the form of rejection, mockery, lack, pain, illness, loneliness, or any number of other sources, it struck me that there is a way to suffer according to the power of God. Therefore, if I am to undergo suffering of any kind, I choose to do so according to the power of God.
Psalm 91:15 reveals an amazing statement from God. It declares, “I will be with you in trouble”. If you are IN trouble of any sort, know this for certain: That is exactly where the Living God is as well. He is WITH YOU. IN TROUBLE. He’s not like so many whose instinct is to ditch you at the first whiff of difficulty. NO. He’s right there with you in the middle of your trouble. Where you suffer. And if you dare to believe that, then you will be empowered to suffer according to the power of God, a suffering in which the Almighty bears the brunt of your pain and will turn it all around for your good. Why? Because HE’S good.
In August of 2003 I underwent bypass surgery to correct an anomalous right coronary artery. When I awoke in ICU, it felt like my chest had been crushed by an 18-wheeler. Immediately the Scripture came to me, “He was wounded for our transgressions. He was CRUSHED for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5a). And I experienced (as I was waking up from a 14 hour stretch of unconsciousness) the Lord’s crushing in place of mine. My pain was still there, but I was keenly aware of the intense pain He endured for all of us and mine became miniscule in comparison. Without being aware of 2 Timothy 1:8, I had entered into suffering according to the power of God.
And today I was reading Hebrews 2. In verse 17 I read that He was made to be like all of us in all things (the Greek meaning of “was made to be” is He “was obligated to be”. That means if He refused to be made like us in all things, then none of us would ever taste the freedom of being forgiven and cleansed or the joy of experiencing the love of God and eternal life with Him. For us to be fully accepted in Christ, He was obligated to become human…and hence, to suffer like we suffer—and beyond.
Hebrews 2:18 continues, “For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”
There is something about suffering that is readily linked to being tempted. Resisting temptation carries a form of suffering—you refuse to pamper or give into whatever is luring you to disobey God. However, I saw something deeper here as well. Suffering of all varieties brings with it great temptation to be outraged at God and ditch HIM for all kinds of reasons. “Why did this happen? I PRAYED!” “Why won’t this go away? I don’t get it! I did everything the Bible says to do and I still hurt (lack, feel depressed, am lonely, etc.)”
Jesus was tempted in the very things He suffered. Don’t think He wasn’t tempted like we are when we suffer to scream, cry, yell, question God and tell Him off, slap faces, punch holes in the wall, kick the dog or cat, and throw an absolute hissy fit and a great big pity party! But He didn’t. Why not? Because He suffered according to the power of God. And in that, He conquered temptation and never gave in to a bit of it.
This verse goes on to say that as a result of His temptation in the things He suffered (and the inferred overcoming of it all), He is ABLE—He has the POWER—to come to the aid of all those who are tempted. That includes you.
Are you in the middle of some kind of suffering that is tempting you to question your faith and everything you know about God? Then you qualify to receive His ability and His power to aid, assist, and support you right where you are, in whatever condition you find yourself.
The victory is not in avoiding suffering altogether (although He so often is gracious to cause us to bypass it), nor is the victory in how short the suffering lasts (although He frequently brings about quick deliverances).
The victory IS found by fixing our eyes on Jesus despite whatever we may be suffering, and to know that the Greater One IS at work in our lives and that He will turn this whole situation around for good. Press on despite it all. Victory IS yours.
This is how you suffer according to the power of God.
Dorothy
© 2023, Dorothy Frick
Read MoreGod in the clouds VS the Cloud is god
I wrote this is in a comment on a secular news site and decided to share it here:
“The push to veer human thinking into the concept that there is no God in the clouds—that the Cloud is god—comes from anti-free will enthusiasts who want to circumvent human free will so that when we have nothing (by their oh so god-like design), we will be happy.
“Free will in humanity was definitely a risk for God—many choose not to follow Him, many mock those who do—but He is quite big enough to handle those slights. But those who are anti-free will and want to form Human 2.0 without a free will also want total control thinking that will make them god. Sorry Charlie, only the One big enough to handle rebellion and turn things around for good to those who love Him can wear the name God effectively.
“But the little gods will have their hour, and it won’t be pretty.”
Here’s to the God in the clouds!
Dorothy
© 2023, Dorothy Frick
Read MoreMom
Thirty-seven years ago on August 11, my mom left her worn out body and moved to Heaven. She was still young (in terms of dying, at least), not even to her mid 60’s, but she simply wore out. A lifelong smoking habit (which she stopped cold turkey with great difficulty a few years prior) had taken its toll on her lungs. In turn, to keep breathing, she became dependent on steroids, and they had taken an unseen toll on some of her other internal organs.
A week before she passed, she underwent a simple procedure to remove her ovaries. The concern we had at the time was that the pain she had been experiencing may have been cancer, but we received the post-op “all-clear”—the removed ovaries were simply calcified; and we rejoiced.
The next afternoon, however, my dad called. “Come home right away. Your mother is dying.”
I called my friends, Jack and Mary, who I knew would pray with me about it. I slept on their couch that night after praying with them so I could make the four-hour drive to Springfield, MO in daylight.
That August morning, Springfield was gloomy and dank; the sun was nowhere to be seen. I parked at the hospital and found Mom in her room with my dad sitting beside her bed, concern etched on both faces.
Later that day as my dad was holding her hand, she said to us, “Let me go!” Dad quickly pulled his hand away, and she said emphatically, “No! Hold my hand but let me go! I want to go to Heaven!”
The next day after tests, the team had discovered the problem: while removing the ovaries, they had accidentally perforated her small intestines (according to the team, they were tissue paper thin due to her continued use of steroids), and they were decaying within her at the rate of an inch per hour.
As soon as an operating room was available, she was whisked away for emergency surgery. She never regained consciousness and remained in a coma for two more days before she died.
My friend Betsy showed up to support me while Mom was unconscious. I will never forget how graciously she spoke to my mom about what a wonderful mother she had been for me, how she had instilled a love of nature and good character into me. I watched my mom’s face as Betsy spoke to her and saw a tear roll down her cheek. Speak kindly and speak encouragingly to those you love who are seemingly unconscious. They will likely hear you. Let your words be life to them as Betsy’s were.
When Mom passed, I was exactly half her age; I was the age she was when she gave birth to me.
I knew she went to Heaven. Although she never spoke much about her faith, she made it very clear one day while listening to a debate between my ex-brother-in-law and me. He contended that Jesus was merely a good man; He never was supposed to be an object of faith. Of course, I disagreed and was diving into the argument.
Then my mom interrupted us. She spoke with calm confidence and said something to the effect of “You know, I never really raised my kids to believe the way Dorothy does, but she is right. Jesus is the only way to God the Father.” It was a mic drop moment, and the topic changed.
I had two very unusual experiences as well before that sad week in August that showed me, first of all, that God was ordering my steps, and second, that my mom was indeed Heaven-bound.
You see, I had been planning an exciting vacation to start the first week of August with my friend Ellen. We were going to drive down the Gulf side of Florida and up the Atlantic side, alternately camping out and staying in motels until time or money ran out. But during the last two weeks of July a sense of gloom and anxiety started growing so much that whenever I prayed about the trip, I felt nothing but dread. It was like I was being tackled in my spirit. I had to break the news to my friend that I didn’t know why, but I could not proceed with our planned trip.
On August 11, when Mom died, Ellen and I would have been somewhere camping on a beach. And since there were no cell phones back then, no one would have been able to reach me. God wanted me by my mom’s side and “tackled” me in that unusual way to make sure I would be there.
The second unusual experience happened the day before her “simple” surgery. I felt rotten. My throat was sore, and my head and body were aching, telltale signs of flu. I went to bed that night still bummed about missing my “dream vacation” and sick as could be.
In the middle of the night as I slept, I dreamed that someone was praying for me. The love I felt as they prayed in a heavenly language while placing their hands on my aching shoulders and back, was tangible. I turned around in my dream to see who this amazing person could be, and there she was—my mom. Now understand, in all my years with her she never prayed with me, but that prayer was so real, so powerful, and so full of love I wept in my sleep.
And in the morning, I woke up 100% well. She had prayed in my dream, and the signs of a believer had followed her. (See Mark 16:17 and 18.)
As I remember that impactful time, although the sadness was raw and real, the sense of utter peace and comfort was every bit as real to me as well. I know I will see my mom again. ❤
Dorothy
Read MoreCognitive Dissonance and the last days
I read Matthew 24 this morning for my Bible reading. In that chapter, Jesus discusses the end days with His disciples. Very interesting read.
I used BlueLetterBible.org to follow David Guzik’s commentary on that chapter to see what he had to say about it. He pointed out that even though Jesus describes the absolute chaos and calamities of that time, the Lord also states that during that season, people will go about a fairly normal day to day life— “eating, drinking, marrying and giving in marriage” (vs. 38).
Guzik asked, “In this, there is a dilemma. How can Jesus” [return at the end of time (my clarification)] “to a ‘business-as-usual’ world, and a world experiencing the worst calamities ever seen on earth?”
I thought about that, and then while comparing his question to our current cultural situation, I feel the answer to this dilemma is easy:
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE: The refusal to recognize that things are spinning apart and that evil is permeating and influencing everyday people’s daily lives and decisions.
Another way to view this dilemma is the frog in the unhurriedly but continually heated water analogy. The frog incrementally becomes more and more adapted to his soon-to-be fatal surroundings because it is all happening so slowly—and so comfortably.
I can see how in the last days people will act like nothing out of the ordinary is happening while chaos and disaster and violence spread like butter over the toasted earth.
Something to think about.
Dorothy
© 2023, Dorothy Frick
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