The king himself saw the hand as it wrote, and his face turned pale with fright. His knees knocked together in fear and his legs gave way beneath him.” Daniel 5:6
“It” came out of nowhere. Well, as you know from a recent Grits adventure, I recently came face to face with a couple of dogs who were out looking for lunch…and I was on the menu. It had been a while since I have been genuinely afraid—genuinely fearful for my well-being but that morning I was. I learned that he-man or not, all of us are susceptible to fear. Just a few minutes ago, I was talking to a friend about something that happened to his wife this past Sunday. She was run over by a mad Momma cow, and it is only by the grace of God that she was not more seriously injured than she was. She was over 100 feet from the calf and the cow but for some reason the Momma cow chose her to attack.
We heard about the attack during our Family Gathering on Sunday afternoon at church. We stopped and prayed then. As he told me the details, I could just feel how frightening this was. Well, God stepped up for me Saturday morning and God stepped up for the both of them on Sunday afternoon. He is a caring and loving God who stands by in the wings just waiting for us to holler for help. Oh, and it gets better. Even when we don’t know to holler—He still responds. That is just the kind of God He is.
I received a devotional email the other day that made me smile and chuckle while at the same time reminding me of just how blessed we are to have a Dearest Daddy like Him. The story goes like this. Little 5-year-old Johnny was in the kitchen as his mother made supper one evening. She asked him to go into the pantry and get her a can of tomato soup. But he didn’t want to go in alone. “It’s dark in there and I’m scared,” he told her. Now before we go any further with this tale, I want you to know that I can identify with Johnny. I can remember being afraid of the dark when I was a kid. In fact, sometimes it’s still just a little scary to walk into a dark building at night—especially a church!
Well, let’s get on with the story. His Momma asked again, and yet he still delayed. Finally, she said, “It’s okay – Jesus will be in there with you.” Johnny walked hesitantly to the door and slowly opened it. He peeked inside, saw it was dark, and started to leave when all at once an idea came. So, he said, “Jesus, if you’re in there, would you hand me that can of tomato soup?” Ok, you gotta love it.
Believe it or not there is a story in the Bible about crazy, overcoming fear. There was a king, an ungodly king at that, and God decided to send him a message. He did so by allowing a human hand to appear out of nowhere and write a message of judgement on the wall. Daniel 5:6 tells us of the king’s response. It says, “The king himself saw the hand as it wrote, and his face turned pale with fright. His knees knocked together in fear and his legs gave way beneath him.” Can you imagine that?
Not all fear is bad. Sometimes fear can keep us from walking dangerous paths that can lead to disaster and regret. The Bible teaches us that the fear of God—the reverence of God—is the beginning of wisdom. Remember fear God and fear nothing else. Whether it be a vicious pair of dogs or a crazed cow, His peace and strength is more than enough for us. In the midst of the chaos, if we can listen, we will probably hear the Whisperer whispering, “Fear not my child—I’ve got this.” Bro. Dewayne
Grits with Grace 