BAD FEAR, GOOD FEAR

To say that May 1, 2018 was a "pretty exciting day" at Casa Canote would be a gross understatement.  At approximately 5:20 PM, while sitting in her recliner, my wife looked down to see a 6 foot black snack curled up in our living room.  For clarification, we do not own a 6 foot black snake, nor do we have ANY other pets.

I was on my way home, arriving only moments after "the incident."  As I pulled into the driveway, three of my daughters and my beautiful bride came running out of the house screaming.  They were followed by my 5 year old son, Nicky Blue Eyes, who found the entire scene to be very entertaining.  As I got out of the car, they were getting into the car.  Somehow, in the chaos, I was able to determine there was a snake AND I would need to capture it or otherwise get it out of the house.  One daughter was still inside standing on the couch...also screaming.

After chasing the snake around the living room with a broom, flipping over a several pieces of furniture in the process, I was finally able to coax the snake outside.  It was during this time that my wife, engine running, used several long blasts of the car horn to communicate with me from the driveway.  I very clearly understood 3 distinct statements from her:

1. This is not ok!!
2. We cannot live here anymore!!
3. Burn it down!!

Now, we do live out in the country which I consider to be a privilege and blessing.  It does come with some issues which must be dealt with including the occasional snake, mouse, raccoon, or opossum. However, in the 21 years since we built our house, this was the first snake to violate the clearly established protocol for humans and snakes to co-exist.

Can I just tell ya something?  Fear serves one good purpose:  It keeps you alive.  Good fear is an instinctive natural human response to survive.  When you see a 6 foot snake curled up 1 foot away from you, there is a natural "fear response" which fires off a couple of quick commands:

1.  Do not pet the snake.
2.  Get away from the snake.

However, there is also a bad fear.  Bad fear manifests itself in the form of unnecessary anxiety or worry.  Bad fear is a liar.  God did not create us to live our lives in fear.  In fact, according the Bible, we were created to live with power, love, and a sound judgment or courage.

So what are you worrying about?  Where is fear, anxiety, and worry being allowed to manifest and grow in your life?  Christian, oh hallelujah, God gave you a spirit to overcome that!

Prayer -

Father, I know the difference between instinctive life-preservation fear and the unnecessary fear which leads to sinful anxiety and worry.  Help me Lord, to lean hard into You in all things, trusting in Your promises, and relying on the strength of Your Holy Spirit within me.  Amen.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment. 

-- 2 Timothy 1:7 (CSB)

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