Repent or Repeat – Part II
Psalms 34:4 – " I sought the
LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears."
Many of us have heard the saying,
"being taken for a ride." Well this week we discuss the emotion that
keeps you on the "ride": fear.
Once we understand how this process works, then we’ll understand why we repeat
this "ride of defeat." This week’s scripture gives us one simple step
to walking into victory —— Seeking the Lord.
We’re going to start off with the
"nitty" and the "gritty." If Christians sought the Lord on
personal issues, there would be
a lot less hurt in the body of Christ —— especially in the dating/relationship
area. Many Christians decide to find their own mate in their own time. Then
they expect God to "magically and mysteriously" make the relationship
wonderful when He didn’t author it in the first place. Let’s "get real for
a moment." We should never expect God to "bless a mess, " whether it’s a relationship
or a decision. Don’t believe for a moment that an individual can go against
God’s will and be blessed with overflow in that area.
So many times, relationships fail,
businesses fail, ministries fail because one key element was missing —
seeking the Lord. Anything that we undertake is similar to the birthing
process. If the baby is healthy in the womb then he/she will arrive healthy. What we all need is a healthy and
happy start to each and every venture. But if we choose to do things our way, we will probably wind up with all of
our fears becoming all of our realities. Why? Because God wasn’t in the plans
during the beginning. But by grace and mercy we often get the "get out of
hell card" we so desperately need
.
What does all this have to do with
repentence? The Psalmist tells us, "When I sought the Lord , He
heard me and I got delivered." In other words, we need to turn from our
ways of doing things and turn to God’s ways. Or better yet, we need to stop
repeating (doing the same thing the same way over and over expecting a change –
also known as insanity) and start repenting (turning QUICKLY
toward the way of the Lord). Once we begin to live penitent lives then
we will be saved from all of our fears. We will be saved from the fears of
failing at relationships because our unions will be authored by the Most High
God Himself. We will be saved from the fear of losing our jobs and homes
because we will understand that Jehovah-Jireh is our provider. Point blank , we will be saved not only from the
worst of the worst, but also from the "fear itself" of the worst.
To make matters worse, it’s the fear that keeps us in fear. A
better way of putting it is this :
Fear keeps us holding on to what we know (which really isn’t working that well
anyway.) And because we are afraid to let go, we never grasp for the things God has for us. Picture a child
who is on a merry-go-round while holding on for dear life, getting sicker and
sicker with each revolution. Then a voice says, "Let Go and I’ll catch
you." Instead , the child
says, "No. I’m alright ,"
yet he/she is getting sicker by the minute. The voice then says, "if you
let go, I’ll catch you. You don’t have to stay on this ride." Still fear
keeps the child holding on while he/she hopes that the ride will end soon and
suddenly.
Our
question today is, "What are you holding on to? What’s making you go
around and around –repeating in despair?
What are you just sick of being sick of?" No matter what it is, the Lord
can deliver you from your ride and all of its fears.