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My daughter does not like bugs. In fact, she hates bees! I’m wondering if she has a phobia about them because every time she sees a bee, she gets terrified. (I know, not good.) She blames me for her fear of bees. When she was a little girl, she saw me get stung by a bee while trying to shield her from it. She claims that I made a big deal over it; however, from my recollection, I did no such thing. Well, maybe I did react in a manner that could have been quite scary to a 4 year old. According to my daughter, I ranted, screamed and made a big deal, but I don’t remember doing any of that. Anyway, whenever there’s a bee or bug, she reminds me that I’m the reason for her fear of them. And worse, her fear of bugs may have trickled down to my son, but he tries not to show his fear. (Being a man.)
The other day, my son saw a bee in his window and came downstairs to announce it to everyone in the house. “There’s a big bee in my window!” Of course this scared my daughter. Then, she was too afraid to go back up stairs. I told them to be brave, get the spray and kill it. I gave them a few pointers on how to kill it, and encouraged them to go back upstairs and conquer their fears. My husband was in the kitchen making breakfast and I was on the computer. We encouraged them to get pass their fear, be each other’s support, and to kill the bee! A minute later, both of them came running down the stairs asking. “Mommy can you come? Daddy, will you please come kill the bee? Daddy, just come see it.” Kaleb said. “I can do it if you would come with me,” They did this on several occasions.
After about 15 minutes of my children asking for help, creeping up stairs with the spray can in hand and running back down, their daddy finally stopped what he was doing. “Where is it?” and he led them back upstairs. I, on the other hand, waited at the bottom of the stairs just in case the bee tried to fly away. At last, my husband took care of the bee, which was actually a wasp!
That little episode, made me think about several things. First, sometimes, because of fear, we won’t do certain things. We won’t even try. Because we are so afraid, we won’t say or go where God is telling us to go. Instead, we ask others to do, to say and go in our place. We look for other people to do what God has called us to do. Moses, for example, feeling inadequate and afraid of the huge task God had assigned him to do, asked if someone else could do it for him. Moses wanted someone else to do what God had chosen him to do (Exodus 3 & 4:1-17).
Secondly, that ordeal with the bee also showed me that even when we are so afraid, God is always there. After consistently asking for help, my husband stopped what he was doing and took care of the bee. Like my children who asked their dad for help, so can we. All we have to say is, “Daddy!” and God will come to our rescue. He did it for Peter when he began to be swallowed up by the strong waves (Matt. 14:28-31), and He’ll do it for us. Every time we ask for help, our Heavenly Father comes strong on our behalf. We can always depend on Him.
My sister, has God given you a job that seems insurmountable? Have you been trying to pass that assignment over to someone else because you feel inadequate and afraid? Are you being overtaken by the flood – is your back against the wall? Has God told you to move, but you’re still stuck in that same place, that same position because you’re too afraid to move?
Well, it’s Wednesday! Hump Day! Here’s our Biblical principle to get us moving over the hump.
“Be strong and very courageous… Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Josh. 1:7a, 9, NIV)
LET’S WALK IN FREEDOM TOGETHER & IMPACT THE WORLD!
Originally posted: 9/11/13