FEAR v. LOVE

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been looking at the stories that our culture tells us to live, versus the story that Jesus invites us into through the lens of Psalm 91. This week we’re looking at the narrative of fear versus love. 

In a moment of despair, the young hero, wounded and with his face tarnished by dust and worry, looked over to the elderly man next to him and said, “I wish it need not have happened in my time . . ." The elderly man, with a look that could be described as an odd mixture of sympathy and amusement, a look that only arises when one has seen many years and many troubles, replied back, “So do I . . . and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

If you’re a fan of J.R.R. Tokien’s The Lord of the Rings like I am, you probably recognize that dialogue as a conversation between Frodo Baggins, a young hobbit who has been given a nearly impossible mission to save his world and is on the brink of giving up, and Gandalf, his wise guide. 

As the weeks have gone by, maybe Frodo’s wish has crossed your mind, “I wish it need not have happened in my time.” Life was probably already complicated for you—you didn’t need Covid and it’s health, economic, or mental effects to make it worse. Yet, this is where you find yourself in, where we all find ourselves. The question now is, what will we do with the time that has been given to us? Will we live a story that is defined by fear and uncertainty, or by love?

We are not the first to face things that cause us to fear, or the first to find ourselves in stories that we would not have chosen for ourselves. In Psalm 91, God makes promises to deliver whoever dwells with Him from several dangers. However, as I thought about this, I realized that what’s also implied is that this person, the one dwelling with God . . . IS EITHER FACING, MIGHT FACE, OR WILL FACE ALL OF THESE TROUBLES. And these are not exactly G-rated issues this person is going through. Check this out:

(v. 3) “Deadly pestilence,” “pestilence that stalks in darkness,” “plague that destroys at midday” (v. 6)

• The Psalmist seems to be talking about some serious health risks. We’d probably call these . . . yes, pandemics. 

(v. 5) “terror of the night” 

• Sometimes the worst aspect of uncertain times is not the tangible threat, but the terror and anxiety about what might or might not occur. I think that’s what the Psalmist is getting at here. 

(v.5) “arrow that flies by day”

• The Psalmist seems to be referring to the threat of physical violence and war.

A lot of these dangers are real, not imagined, and the person who dwells with God is not excused from facing them. She is not promised a life that will be easy, convenient, or separated from the imminence of legitimate trouble. 

Yes, this seems like a downer. It seems that even for the person who dwells with God, the story that they’re forced into is one of fear, where they’re on their own and have to fight to survive. 

But wait . . . what does God have to say to the person who dwells with Him?

“‘Because he loves me’, says the LORD, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.” Psalm 91:14-15 NIV

The LORD (as Pastor Peter says, “The One who gets messy with us”) promises rescue, protection, presence in trouble, deliverance, and even honor. To whom? To the one who’s good, or perfect, or has earned it? No. To the one who loves him.

This person has learned to shift their focus from the fear in front of them, to the LORD who is with them. Instead of focusing on the things that cause them fear and living a story that is defined by fear, he or she emphasizes love in their life—for God, themselves, and others. They live a different story, a story in which the ultimate power is not their circumstances, but the God of love in whom they have chosen to trust. 

HOW 

As you might have guessed, choosing to live a story of love instead of one of fear is often not easy, and it’s not something that happens overnight—it’s a process. After all, the majority of the things we watch, listen to, and are shaped by are all pulling us in the direction of fear. So how do we start on this journey? Well, as we’ve learned, it seems to start with shifting our focus from fear of circumstances to love for God. But how do we cultivate this love?

Something that is helping me on this journey is realizing that how I love God is determined by how I see Him—what I think He’s like, His character. In other words, it’s going to be pretty hard for us to love God if we have a skewed picture of who He is.

So this week, I want to invite you to take 20 minutes one morning and just ask yourself the questions, “What is God like? Why should/why do I love Him?”

• Write your reflections down, then simply praise Him (tell Him how great He is!) for who He is and what He’s done in your life.

• Passages to start with

  • Psalm 23

  • 1 John 4:7-21

  • Jeremiah 31:3

If you’re at a place where you’re not sure if you love God, that’s ok. I’ve been there too, and I’m still there some days. Whether we feel we’re struggling in our love for God or not, I would challenge each of us to ask ourselves, “Do I know God for who He says He really is? Or am I basing my picture of Him on what I’ve been taught by another person?”

If you have some questions about this devotional, want to dive deeper into who God has said He is in Scripture, or just want someone to pray for you, feel free to email me at ianreyes567@gmail.com, or another member of the Canyon Creek Project team at hello@canyoncreekproject.com.

He is with us,

-Ian

DWELL?

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” - Psalm 91:1 NIV

Last week, we had a conversation about how, in a world that tells us we are alone and have to hustle in order to provide for ourselves, Jesus invites us to a different way of living. Specifically, he invites us to “dwell” with him. This week I want to dive deeper into that concept of dwelling, and explore what it really means in our lives. 

Most of us know what it means to dwell [live, reside] with other people. Whether with parents, grandparents, siblings, or another family arrangement, shared life is familiar to us (whether we liked it or not). If your experience was anything like mine, you know that when you live with other people, two things almost inevitably happen. 

First, you see the good, the bad, and the ugly of people, and vice versa. There’s nothing like a shared space to reveal who people, and you, really are. Because of your proximity, you get to see what other people are really like in times of joy, stress and everything in between. Second, even in subtle ways, you become more like the people you live with. For better or worse, I have developed an appreciation for 70’s & 80’s music because of my brother Alec’s constant replaying of the classics on Spotify, and that’s one of the smaller ways in which he’s influenced me.

I think that this type of shared living is what Jesus’ invitation for us to “dwell” with him is all about. As opposed to just a quick prayer in the morning or going to church once a week, Jesus is inviting us to do life with Him. He wants us to invite him into those moments that only a person we live with would see—both the moments of unspeakable joy, and unbearable pain (and everything in between). He wants us to let Him in, and share every part of our life experience with him. I think that’s His invitation when, through the words of Psalm 91:1, He speaks about us dwelling in His shelter. For those who accept His invitation, he promises to give them rest. 

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest . . .” 

He says to each of us who are restless, anxious, worn down by the story that our culture keeps pushing upon us: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28 NIV).

He invites us into a whole new way of living. Instead of anxiously hustling for commercial success or even for His approval (or the approval of others by the way), He invites us to “dwell” with him. To leave our restless house of cards, and enjoy the shelter of His presence. He invites you into this today.

HOW?

I struggle with accepting this invitation from Jesus. It’s hard for me to be vulnerable with God; to live in His shelter, asking Him to come into every part of my life, rather than just going to Him as an occasional visitor. 

Something that has helps me in this journey was suggested to me by a friend a few months ago, and I want to ask each of us to try it this week:

Take 15 minutes on one morning this week and talk to God . . . except, don’t say any “thank you’s” or make any requests (no “T’s & G’s,” aka “thank you” and “give me”). In other words, simply share how you are really feeling on that particular morning (“Today I feel ___,” “I’m worried about ___” etc.). You can do this through writing (my personal favorite), or by taking a walk and talking, or some other way that makes sense for you. When you’re done, take a couple minutes to be silent, knowing that God has heard you and is with you no matter what you’re going through. He’s your shelter.

INVITATION

Instead of trusting the story that culture tell us, or that we often tell ourselves--that we’re alone, that we have to figure everything out for ourselves, that we’re unworthy, or that God is far away--what if Jesus is asking us to trust Him today, to dwell in His shelter and enter into His rest.

If you’re confused about where to start, have some questions about this devotional, want to dive deeper into who God has said He is in Scripture, or just want someone to pray for you, feel free to email me at ianreyes567@gmail.com, or another part of the Canyon Creek Project team at hello@canyoncreekproject.com.

Enjoy His presence this week.

HUSTLE v. DWELL

There’s something about stories that draws us in like nothing else. From Netflix and Hulu, to Instagram and Snapchat, all of these outlets are tools for storytelling. Personally, there is no series of movies I love more than The Lord of the Rings. I’ve been rewatching them recently with my Dad and brother, and they still awake the kid inside of me and create an overwhelming desire to live an adventure.

In his book, Epic, John Eldredge argues that our love for stories is not a coincidence, as the way we experience life is through story. He goes on to say that each of us embraces certain stories in order to make sense of the world, and the stories we accept have a significant impact on the way we see ourselves and others.

There is a narrative (a story) that our culture forces upon us, and tells us to enter every day. It’s promoted through our shows, our music, our politicians. Often, it’s even spread through our churches. This story revolves around three primary themes: Fear, hustle, and survival. Over the next couple of weeks, I want to look together at the story that culture pushes us to swallow, versus the story Jesus is inviting us into. 

HUSTLE v DWELL

Work harder, achieve more, get richer, at all costs. In a podcast I heard recently, Dr. Vivek Murthy argues that our culture bows before three gods: power, reputation, and wealth. He says that these are what culture tells us to base our self-worth on, and I think he’s right. From grade school where we are categorized as “gifted” (or not) based on our grades, to business culture that adores those who amass great wealth (ignoring any other measure of success), the story we are told is: You are what you produce. So you better hustle . . . or you’re nothing. 

Throughout history, portions of the church have also embraced this story, preaching that people have to earn the love of God through grit, devotion, money, and more.

I have lived entire seasons of my life in this story. Driven by a desire to achieve at all costs, measuring my worth based on my grades, what others thought of me, or whether or not I could land a job at my dream company, I’ve lost total balance in my life at the expense of my health and relationships. I bought into the story that I am what I produce; that I need to figure things out on my own. What about you?

Into this cultural moment steps in Jesus, offering us a counternarrative (a different story) through the words of Psalm 91. 

1 “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” (NIV)

In a culture that coerces us to hustle, Jesus invites us to dwell in His shelter. 

Jesus tells a story of a God whose love is big enough to dwell in, rest in, abide in. He invites us to turn from trying to figure everything out on our own, or trying to save ourselves, to trusting that in Him we will be ok. It’s a shift of focus, turning our eyes from what we must do to survive, to the One who has promised to be our shelter even in the most difficult of times.

Matthew 6 NLT

31“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

I think through these words, Jesus is telling us today, “Just be with Me, walk with Me, dwell in Me, and You’ll be ok. Trust Me; I will provide for you.” 

HOW?

Merriam-Webster defines the word “dwell” as, “to live as a resident,” and to “exist.”

Staying informed is amazing, but what if on one morning this week you tried to “exist,” or “live as a resident” in God’s presence? Try this:

Stay off your phone (IG, the news, etc) for 30 minutes after you wake up. Instead, read Psalm 91, asking God three questions:

1. What are You saying to me today?

2. How does this intersect with my life?

3. What’s the invitation (what step are You inviting me to take)?

FEAR v. FAITH

“A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!””

‭‭Mark‬ ‭4:37-41‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Why are you so afraid?”

This is a frustrating question from Jesus. I imagined myself being in this story, feeling the rocking of the boat, having water to my ankles, not being able to see the shoreline, and even using a little cup to try to pour water out. So it didn’t take me too long to come up with an almost breathless response to Jesus’ question:

“I’m afraid because I was in a rocking boat, in the middle of a lake with water coming in and land very far, and this is a storm! I’ll drown if I fall into the water!”

Why does Jesus ask these sort of things . . . ?

Then something came to my mind. A verse written long before Jesus calmed the storm, a promise that God had made to His people.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. . .”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43:2‬a NIV‬‬

I fear a lot of things. The future (what the heck am I going to do with my career? Spouse? etc), the present (COVID, health, new challenges, passing classes), the past (regret, fear of falling back into old ways). And I honestly think that these are legitimate fears. I might not be about to drown like the disciples, but I often find my heart drowning . . . What about you?

But today, I think Jesus presented me with a choice:

Fear of circumstance or Faith in Jesus

“Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

Here, Jesus presents fear and faith to be mutually exclusive (to clarify, when I mention fear, I don’t mean the emotion, but the choice to live out of that emotion). Either you fear the situation around you, or you have faith in the One with you. 

I have legitimate reason to fear (you probably do too, as did the disciples) . . . if God is NOT with me.

I think what Jesus was saying to His disciples, and what He’s saying to you and me today is this:

“Am I with you?

Then fear not. Follow Me.”

That’s it. If Jesus is your Teacher, your Master, your Friend . . . then you have His promise:

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. . .”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43:2‬a NIV‬‬

Questions:

1. What are you afraid of today?

2. What is Jesus saying to you today?

3. What is He inviting you into today?