fear

There is a song on the radio that sings:

            “Fear, he is a liar

            He will take breath

            Stop you in your steps

            Fear, he is a liar

            He will your rest

            Steal your happiness

            Cast your fear in the fire

            Cause fear, he is a liar”

I think about what it is that I fear. I agree that fear is a liar and deep fear likely motivates me more that I realize. So, what is it that I fear? It is not an easy question to ask myself. My first reaction is answer, “nothing”. I am not a fearful person, and I think most would agree that, from the outside, I don’t seem to be. But as I contemplated the idea more deeply and introspectively, it didn’t take long to find the answer.

Uselessness.

This life is fleeting and short—but a vapor. I cannot hold back tears when I consider my arrival at the feet of Jesus and the possibility of being shown how I could’ve been used for the Kingdom but wasn’t; how I could have been daring for the Lord and didn’t; how I could have given more to the mission but wouldn’t.   

Christ poured himself out for us so that fellowship with Him may be possible. The idea of pouring ourselves out as a living sacrifice is a necessary one, and more importantly, a biblical one. Setting aside convenience, comfort, and balance for the sake of sacrifice, service and sharing of God’s word is not a life wasted.

So where does the lie come in?

A drive against uselessness equals a motivation towards usefulness. On the surface, this sounds only good. But as Satan has done from the beginning with Eve, he takes good truth from the Lord and twists it just enough to make it both believable and debilitating.

            “If you want to be useful, do more”

There it is.

DO. MORE.

which means

YOU’RE NOT DOING ENOUGH.

In the movie Inception, people can go into each other’s dreams, even without them being aware. The goal is to plant an idea deep inside their subconscious so they not only believe the idea, but also believe the idea come from within themselves. The idea ‘You’re not doing enough’ continues to takes hold, no matter how much more you do. Eventually, you’re beyond exhausted and spiritual depleted.

When we, as believers, are not constantly checking our thoughts and “taking them captive”, weighing them against what God actually says to us, we accept the twisted version of the truth from The Liar, and simple ideas can drive us—drive us way from Christ’s intentions for our lives, from our relationship with Him, and frankly, drive us mad.

So, what is the truth?

The Lord does not call us to be useless for the Kingdom. But the Lord is not saying, “Do more for me”, He is saying, “Be more with me”.

Doing more for the Lord without regard for instruction and guidance from the Lord becomes a “chasing after the wind”—even when those things are inherently good things. You can become the one wandering sheep finding your own green pastures, but what good is that if the Shepherd isn’t there with you?

In the end, we all have to look at what we are doing for the Kingdom and examine our own hearts of motivation. The Word says that “obedience Is better than sacrifice”.  Are we empowered by He who has already done the work for us? Or are we listening to the Lie that says the good we do will never be enough? And it won’t be.

What we do can never be enough which is why Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice for us. We must lay down the lie that says “Do more” and pick up His yoke, the light yoke, that says “Be more”. For why do long to be and do what we were created to be, and created to do—yet we try and do it without the one who created us, The Creator.

During my furlough season here in the United States, I am learning how to lay down “Do” and pick up “Be”. There are lyrics to another song that have been so great for me lately. It’s called The More I Seek You:

            The more I seek you

the more I find you

            The more I find you,

the more I love you

            I want to sit at your feet

            Drink from the cup in your hand

            Lay back against your and breathe, feel your heart beat

This love is so deep, its more than I can stand

I melt in your peace, it’s overwhelming

I pray that we can all learn how to live in this sweet moments of being with the Lord, laying our head against him, breathing and feeling his heart beat. Only this will allow our hear to beat with His and go forth in His power, with His flock to do His work.