POWER, LOVE, AND A SOUND MIND
For God has not give us the spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.
II Timothy 1:7

Over the weekend my children and I visited my girlfriend in North Carolina. It was a great little trip and we all had fun. We stayed long enough to visit her church as well. The kids were ushered to a Sunday School class with her kids, and the adults were left to enjoy a few minutes with other adults. When the classes were done, my son brought me his paper from class to hold. While I was waiting for service to start I began looking at his lesson. The sheet gave the children a chance to comment on what their worries were. As I read his paper, I saw he had marked:
- not getting along with his sister
- people aren't taking good care of the earth, and
- some country may attack ours
Given the choices on the paper, I'm sure he marked ones that are true to him. But it began to make me think about how I would have responded to this same question. What are MY worries?
- will my finances be enough to support my family
- do my kids know I love them
- am I a good father
- have I missed God's calling on my life
- when I leave this world, will my legacy be positive or negative
Of course I have more worries, but this list will do for now.
But what does God say to us in His Word about fear and worry. If we know that in John 16:33 Jesus tells us we will have troubles but to take heart, He has overcome the world, then shouldn't that give us some relief? And how about II Timothy 1:7 where we are told that God has given us power, love, and a sound mind, and not fear?
Let's take a minute to break this passage in II Timothy down, though. Fear comes from the devil. God did not give us the devil. No! He banished the devil from his place of holiness because the devil was not holy. So then what are we given?
POWER - Acts 1:8 tells us that we will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us.
LOVE - I John 4:8 states that God is love
SOUND MIND - Isaiah 9:6 shares with us that one of the names for Jesus will be Prince of Peace.
So let's put it all together. God has not given us the devil. No! He has given us the Holy Spirit as our power, God Himself as our love, and Jesus Christ as our peace. It is a three against one battle and we already who is going to win. So the challenge to you and me is to stop focusing on our fears and focus on those who fight for and with us. Sure, we are human and we get tangled in our minds with the things that we see and feel and know, but still our focus should be on the Trinity. Our victory over fear and worry comes from above.

AN ALL-AROUND GOD
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast.
Psalm 139:7-10

I am honored to say that I am the parent of two young children who I love dearly. But I am also human, and sometimes my children run my last nerve. If you have children, then you will probably agree with me that no matter how much we love them, there are those moments when we just need a few minutes alone. For me, that time normally comes while I am in the shower. For that brief few moments I am alone. I am able to let my thoughts be mine and not my children's, able to filter out my day and prepare for the next moment, and able to focus on what other pressures need my attention. I know that when the water stops and I open my door I will be super-dad again and be asked to bring justice between the two, or prepare a meal, or turn the movie on. But I welcome it.
But in those times when I am able to escape my children for a shower, I am not able to escape my title. If an emergency broke out, I would be quick to end my alone moments and tend to my children. The truth is that they can not escape their title as my children either. And the same is true with God and us. Infact, it is deeper. God is all knowing and all present. He knows our every move. When I am 'alone', I am really not alone. And David says it so well, that there really is no place I can go where His hand will not guide me or hold me fast.
God knows the number of hairs on our head (Matt 10:30), He knows our thoughts and our hearts (Ps 7:9), and He wears our names in the palms of His hands (Isa 49:16). We are always on His mind. But the challenge then becomes where He is in relation to our mindset. In a few days it will be Saint Patrick's Day, and as a student and fan of church history, I want to close today's thoughts with the words of Saint Patrick. Perhaps they will challenge you to wear Christ as we are worn by Him.

Christ With Me, Christ Before Me
Christ to protect me today
against poison, against burning,
against drowning, against wounding,
so that there may come abundance or reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ where I lie, Christ where I sit, Christ where I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.