Sinking Into The Wall

I love looking at walls. I suppose it is the interior decorator in me that just loves to see what new designs and patterns are being put together. I like to see what other people think looks good together and take away ideas for my dream house. The other day I found myself staring at a wall. It was the kind of design that seems to move and makes you feel as if you are going to sink into it. You know the kind…it’s the bathroom wall that makes you dizzy as you sit there pondering life’s hardest questions…it’s the living room wall that you just can’t take your eyes off because you need to count all the flowers on the wall. I think you get the idea. We have all seen that type of wall that just makes you feel like you are sinking into it.
I bring this up because I have been thinking and studying about fear and doubt a lot. What, you may ask, does a design on a wall and fear and doubt have in common. Well, on the surface they don’t have anything in common. Upon a closer look it is clear to me that fear and doubt also allow you to sink into it, if you aren’t paying good attention, just like the designed wall. As you ponder that thought, let me share with you a quick story from my favorite book, the Bible.

This is the story of twelve men who were sent on a special mission. This mission was to scope out the land and those that inhabited the land. The ultimate goal was to see if the land was fertile and if the people residing there were strong, weak, many or few. The mission took time. The men had time to become fearful and filled with doubt. During that time, ten of the twelve got together, looked at the men and women in the land, and decided that it was too dangerous to battle the people in the land. They looked and saw with the lense of fear and doubt. They were afraid. There were two men who stood up and said, “Do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up.” They did not stop and look at the impossible. They saw the possible. They didn’t allow fear and doubt to cloud their vision. Here is the big deal with this mission. Because the ten saw the impossible, they, along with all the children of Israel, were sent to wonder in the wilderness for forty years. What a consequence for fear and doubt. If you would like to read the story in detail, it can be found in Numbers 13 and 14.

My point is that fear and doubt can hold you in bondage. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be in bondage. So, what is the solution? It’s simple: just have faith in the Lord and what He says. Simple, right? In the book, Breaking Free from Rejection, John Paul Jackson states it this way: “our personal relationship with God will determine our perspective. Our perspective will determine our decisions, and our decisions will determine our destinies.” (Page 52)

If you and I want a life free from fear and doubt, we can’t allow ourselves to sink into it. We must look away from the fear and doubt and look to the only One who can help us. Jesus is the answer.

Well, after all that I bet you won’t look at the funky design on the wall the same way again. God can teach a truth even through a crazy design on the wall. Until next time, may He teach you something new also.