By Dianna Hobbs
Something was lurking behind those trees.
I just knew it. I was sure of my suspicions, even though I couldn’t verify it with any evidence.
Wild-eyed and scared, I looked intently into the darkness, trying to see clearly.
At the time, I was very young, but this was my ritual every time I went on long road trips with my family, something we did together a lot.
My father was a traveling evangelist and he’d frequently load all of us into a 15 passenger van to attend revivals, crusades, and conferences in the south.
Boy did I loathe those extended hikes through the mountains with plugged up ears, soggy cold-cut sandwiches, and seemingly never-ending stretches of road.
Going through mountainous West Virginia was the worst. It took forever to get out of that state.
Still, I can vividly call to mind every detail of those exhausting rides from Upstate New York.
Whenever night fell, I would peer out of the window into the deep forest lit only by the tranquil moon and the headlights from the vehicles of fellow
travelers.
I’m not quite sure why, but the dark silhouettes of thousands of trunks, branches and leaves clustered together, made the outdoors seem very ominous,
particularly on narrow highways. I suppose the horror stories I’d heard about deer jumping out of the forest, crashing through car windshields and killing
drivers, didn’t help much. Those frightening tales tormented my mind as I prayed to God that our vehicle didn’t ever break down and force us to walk
outside in the darkness.
Of all the road trips we went on, never once did my active imagination’s conjured up visions manifest.
So then, road trip after road trip, year after year, I put myself through senseless mental anguish over something that did not materialize.
I was anxious and worried for nothing, as many of us are.
When traveling through the back roads of life, where there are no signs, street lights, or clear views of what’s waiting up ahead, panic can set in if we
allow it to.
Trust me my friend, the enemy loves to plant seeds of fear into the soil of our minds, which grow into giant-sized worries if we don’t uproot them.
When we fail to get a handle on our thought life, before we realize it, we’ll find ourselves bracing for all sorts of negative outcomes, and getting
depressed over what might take place.
But the Lord doesn’t want us to think or live that way.
Expect the best. Believe God to protect, favor and bless you. Anticipate positive outcomes, rather than negative setbacks. Most of what we worry about
never even happens anyway. And even when unfortunate circumstances do show up in our lives, God shows up too, and gives us strength to overcome.
If you are wrestling in your spirit about something today and worry is trying to get the best of you, change your thinking. Don’t fret over what may come
against you, but rejoice in knowing who is for you.
To combat those fears knocking at the door right now, I’m stirring Psalm 112:7 NIV into your cup of inspiration. It says, “They will have no fear of bad
news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the LORD.”
When you drink down the contents of your cup today you will be comforted by the reminder that you have the protection, provision, and power of God working
for you.
There’s no need to fear.
Psalm 91:5 NIV says, “You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,” because, after all, no weapon formed against you will
prosper.
Choose faith.
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