Anticipatory Anxiety

“Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered.

No one was there.”

 
Recently, the Chapman University Survey of American Fears (CSAF) conducted their annual survey of the top 10 fears in America. They do this by following trends over time and identifying new fears that might emerge.
  Among the top ten fears Americans currently have: Corrupt government officials; Economic/financial collapse; Russia using nuclear weapons; US involved in another World War; Biological warfare and Cyber-terrorism.
  Let me ask what I hope is a thought-provoking question: How many do we have any control over? Zero, nil, diddly-squat, zippo…you get the point. If 99.99% of us have zero control over these things, why are we afraid of them or what purpose is there in us worrying about any of them?
  Many people, including sadly many Christians, suffer from what’s known as Anticipatory Anxiety. That’s simply a “fear of the future.” Some tragic consequences of anticipatory anxiety are that victims are nervous and fearful about the future. Often, they spend time mentally dwelling on worst-case scenarios regarding future situations. Instead of dreading a terrible potential future with a low potential at that, God wants us to live where that missionary statesman, William Carey lived. Carey wisely said: “The future is as bright as the promises of God.”
  For the believer, the future isn’t dark, it’s brilliantly bright because our Heavenly Father has it all under control. What does the future hold for the believer? Let me point out five promises just from the book of Philippians.
  Future Perfection. The last part of Philippians 1:6, says, “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” When someone is born again, they can’t be satisfied with spiritual mediocrity. They long to be sinless and ultimately be sin-free just like Jesus. Those of us who are “in Christ,” will, one day achieve our dream.  No more struggles, no more defeat, no more shame: perfection.  What a joy it will be to be “finished,” completed, perfect!
  Future Joy. Philippians 1:18 says, “…Christ is preached. And because of this, I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice.” Every believer longs for joy. If you’re a Christ-follower, you can be absolutely confident today that you will do lots of rejoicing tomorrow, both on this side of the grave and on the other side of death. Paul was primarily thinking in terms of rejoicing on this side of the grave. His confidence in future joy gave him present joy. Paul and we can have hope based on the promise of our Father.
  Future Deliverance. Philippians 1:19 says “for I know that through your prayers, and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.” Whether we live or die, God has promised to deliver us. Either way, we win! No more disease or pain, no suffering, no more losses or tragedies, no more hatred or conflict.
  Future Grace. Philippians 1:20 says, “I eagerly expect and hope, that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.” This wasn’t self-confidence. It’s holy boldness. Paul knew that God would give him all the grace that he needed to face anything and everything victoriously, and in that God would be honored by Paul’s life.
  Future Gain. Philippians 1:21 says, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” That’s to be our passion and goal now, “to live is Christ.” Yet, it doesn’t end there, “to die is gain.” For someone who hasn’t committed their life to Christ, to die is to lose everything.  No wonder so many will do nearly anything to hold off death. Yet, Christians have no reason to be desperate.  As much as we enjoy the things of this life, our deaths will bring gain, not loss – rest, joy, peace, comfort, satisfaction, perfect fellowship, and so much more. Seeing Jesus face to face will make every other gain seem small by comparison. Because our future is certain because of God’s promises, every believer should have Anticipatory Excitement!
  Which one do you have? Anticipatory Anxiety or Anticipatory Excitement? Anticipatory Excitement comes from focusing on God’s truth!
  In national parks, there are signs, “Please Don’t Feed the Bears.” When people feed the bears, those bears gain confidence and lose their fear of humans. They become dangerous as they become more aggressive. Many of us need to cross out the “B” and place an “F” there. The sign we need over our hearts is, “Please Don’t Feed the Fears.” As we feed our fears, they eat us alive. How can we feed our faith and not our fears?
  Habitually read God’s Word. Feed your heart on God’s promises.
  Go on a media and social media diet. Stop feeding the monster. The majority of what’s on there won’t help you trust God or grow in faith.
  Become more aware of your thoughts. Have you ever caught yourself just eating mindlessly? We do the same mentally. As the refrigerator has a light that goes on when we open it, we need a light to go off when we begin to head down dead-end dark mental streets.
  Fight imaginary fears with the truth of praise. In the midst of fearful circumstances, the psalmist continually praises God. Count your blessings and then count them again and again. There’s power in praise! By choosing to praise God for what you know is true of God’s character, you overcome your fears with His truth. Rather than following your heart, lead it.
  Remember what God has done, not what might happen. Remember God’s goodness in the past in your life. The conscious act of remembering His past faithfulness deepens our trust in His present goodness. Spurgeon wrote: “It is well to mark our mercies with well-carved memorials.” God commands us to remember His works. Why? He knows we’re so forgetful. Remembering what He has done strengthens our faith to fight fear.  
  Fight imaginary fears with an eternal perspective. Fixing our thoughts on the eternal keeps our perspective of the present balanced. It gives us clarity as to why we’re here and that this life, even at its worst, is temporary. Focusing on eternity inspires us to live lives of significance.
  As our trust in God’s truth deepens, we experience grace and power. Jesus is real. Let’s fill our minds with Him and His promises. And we’ll have no need to fear the future because He’s already there…waiting for us!

Can we help you spiritually? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

 

When You Gotta Have Tulips

“We forget all too soon the things 

we thought we could never forget.”  Joan Didion

I had to have those tulips! It hasn’t happened to me very often, but I was a bit obsessed. When I’d done an escape for supplies earlier in the week, I saw fresh flowers in a local store. During our over three decades of marriage, I’ve brought home to Jane hundreds, perhaps thousands of flowers. Never overly expensive but something of beauty and freshness. It’s just a simple way to let her know that I love and appreciate her. Now I saw fresh flowers again. This time I felt driven to buy them. I wasn’t sure why.  I just knew that I felt had to have those flowers.

  They were "$5 for Friday," which added to the allure. Some were bunches of the same color but there was one bunch with multicolored tulips. That was it! The variety of freshness and beauty was the one.

  But then when I went to check-out, and the price scanned was $14.99. I assured the clerk that they were “$5 for Friday.” He politely went and checked, couldn’t find a price and gave them all to me for $4.00.

  If I could, I’d buy flowers and pots and pots of flowers every time I venture out these days. Yet, I’m not really a “flower person,” (or flower child for those of you who grew up in the ’60s). I don’t have a green thumb and have difficulty determining the difference between much more than the more well-known types of flowers. Why the passion now? Beauty, nature, growth – all become more valuable and precious to us in times of sickness, decay, and death. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

  The famous world-class Japanese-American artist, Makoto Fujimara, lived a few blocks from Ground Zero in a neighborhood popular with artists. Prior to the World Trade Center disaster, those artists were producing works intended to shock, most of them portraying dark scenes, obscenity, and violence. After the terrorist attack, many of these artists were shut out of their homes and studios. After 9/11 Mako faced an unusual opportunity. He’s a thoughtful Christian and opened a communal studio to allow these artists to keep working. He dedicated it as “an oasis of collaboration by Ground Zero artists.”

  But what had happened at Ground Zero was darker, more obscene, and violent than anything these artists could ever have imagined in their worst nightmares. Now in the safety of Mako’s studio, they rediscovered beauty, humaneness, courage, gentleness. Their new works of art began to reflect this new appreciation and outlook. One artist known for darkness and decadence made a wonderful creation, folding hundreds of white origami butterflies and arranging them in a beautiful pattern.

  After being bombarded for months now with scenes of hospitals, death, and dying from various parts of the globe, fresh scenes of spring and life and beauty are a greater longing on our hearts. It makes us want tulips!

  One of my most missed memories of growing up in the south is the Dogwood trees. We had a white one in our front yard when I was a child. Atlanta has an Annual Dogwood Festival. How I miss those beautiful white and pink blossoms this year with a yearning I haven’t had in decades.  

  Recently I heard a radio commentator share the thrill of hearing birds singing in Manhattan and commented that he couldn’t remember ever hearing birds in NYC before. Last week World News contributor Kim Henderson related that as she joined her husband on their front porch early one morning, he said to her, “You just missed it.” Then, he told her that he’d been watching a grey fox that had just scurried away.

  After this, I hope we never again take smiles for granted! Like many others, I’ve finally succumbed to a mask. You can maybe notice smiling eyes over the top…maybe. It’s harder though. Those masks make me long to see full faces. Breathing through fabric makes me long to once again smell salt air blowing in from the ocean or the scent of pine trees in a forest. When I’m out walking, I find I quickly wave at anyone who happens to make eye contact, mask free!

  Have you joined the Happy Heart Facebook group? It’s grown to hundreds of thousands decorating windows with colorful hearts. Many are family art projects. Others are communicating love for a healthcare worker in the home or sometimes the loss of a loved one. Chalk art on driveways and sidewalks with a myriad of color has become increasingly common.

  Though we’re limited on how much we’re out, I can’t recall seeing anyone talking on a phone in a store, oblivious to others around them. The absence of personal human contact has made us long for it all the more.

  Our hearts have always gone out to those separated from loved ones who were in the military, serving our country on foreign soil. Now hospitals and nursing homes down the street have become “foreign soil.” We’d drive by senior centers hardly giving them a thought. Not today. Many of us, out of love and for the protection of our elderly loved ones, haven’t seen them in weeks. No personal contact, no hugs, no gentle touches. Some have gotten very creative to stay in contact. One man works for a company with cherry pickers and had himself lifted up so that he could greet his elderly Mom in her second-floor apartment.

  For us, mealtimes at home together have grown very precious. We find we linger longer at the table, though we’re spending more time with each other than we’ve spent in years. Our prayer time for those struggling, particularly with health issues, is deeper and more passionate.  

  At first, Sundays were very depressing for me. I’m not sure if I started the series in Philippians more for our church or for me. This pandemic has given me a whole new appreciation of the Apostle Paul and the power of his words about joy, peace, and contentment.

  I miss my church family! I miss singing together! I miss seeing people greet and hug each other. I miss giving children high fives! I miss toddler giggles and squeals. I miss seeing folk gathered, sharing their lives, coffee cup in hand. I miss praying with each other.

  I miss it all. How about you? May we never take it for granted again and may we never forget!

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.