Fear or Intimacy?

I had kind of a weird night’s rest last night.  By the time I finished reading a little of the Word and turned the light out, it was fairly late.  Let’s just say that the “Sleepers Awake” early morning radio program on the classical station WCPE had been on for a while at this point and it starts at midnight!  When I laid my head on the pillow and closed my eyes I noticed that I wasn’t exhausted like I usually am at night.  So I ended up thinking about things and talking to Papa God until I finally drifted off into slumber.

After what seemed like many hours, I awoke from a strange dream where my wife and I were standing next to our old Datsun 4X4 (which we donated to the Salvation Army back in 1996…) when a tall tree on the other side of the truck suddenly fell over and was on target to crush the shell covering the bed of the vehicle.  In the sequence of the dream, my wife and I took cover under the truck while the tree suddenly shifted and plummeted over the truck completely missing it and us and fell harmlessly on the ground!

With that we hugged each other and I opened my eyes feeling somewhat weirded out by the dream!  I laid there for a moment or two and then turned over to check the time on my clock on the bed stand.  For all intent and purposes, I expected it to be around 6:00 AM and was totally surprised to observe that it was barely 3:00 in the morning!  So I shook my head in wonderment, got up to take care of some needs and get a drink of water.  Then I returned to bed and starred at the ceiling for quite a while.

I found myself dealing with a whole bevy of thoughts and subjects and then got a little irritated with Papa God.  As is our usual custom before bed, my wife and I had prayed Proverbs 3:24 over our sleep time where the writer declares: “When you lie down, you will not be afraid.  As you lie there, your sleep will be sweet.” (God’s Word ©)”  Well, I figured that my sleep wasn’t sweet at that moment and I was not too pleased about it!  After a few moments following that train of thought, I suddenly came to my better senses, apologized to Him and then calmly began to converse with Him as a son would talk to his father in which he has an intimate relationship with.

As peace filled my being I must have dozed off for the next thing I knew, it was around 6:00 AM and Piper had started moving about in bed!  I was able to help her to relax and then I slept on and off again until around 7:20 when I finally gave in and got up for the day!

My point of this story is that our place as adopted sons and daughters of Papa God gives us certain rights and privileges that aren’t available to just anyone!  Galatians 4:4 talks about our ability and heart desire to call out to Papa God in a very personal manner.  As I cross-referenced this verse to Romans 8:15 I paraphrased its contents saying: “For we have not received the spirit of bondage that leads to fear, but the Spirit of adoption which leads us into an intimate relationship with our heavenly Father.” (personalized KJV)

I realized as I read this, that adherence to the principles of this world and its laws puts us in bondage to our fears and estranges us from God and from those we interact with in our families, at our church, at work as well as anyone we bump into as we traverse through our daily lives.  On the other hand, Jesus paid the price for our freedom from this dilemma so that we could be adopted into Papa God’s family. (See Galatians 4:3-5)

I witnessed this principle first hand as the family and friends who reacted in fear to our situation did not set up an atmosphere that encouraged our desiring to have a close relationship with them.  In fact, we felt that they estranged or alienated themselves from our plight and closed the door for any possibility of lending a helping hand.  While those who came to our side in agreement and in faith with God’s Word laid a foundation of love and predicated a strong desire in us to move into a closer relationship with them.

When I came to my senses early this morning I realized that since I have developed a close relationship with Papa God, that I could talk honestly and respectfully with Him and stand on the truth of His Word that we had prayed over our sleep.  I knew that I would be safe, secure and loved as I discussed the need with Him because He is my adopted Dad and He loves me as one of His own… because I am – AND so are you!

As we choose to walk and live in His love we are automatically drawn into a closer, more intimate relationship with Him!  What a blessing!  His love ALWAYS overcomes any attack of fear and in doing so, pulls us toward Him!  So what direction are you going today?  Away in fear or toward Him in love and intimacy?  Have a great day.  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What kind of relationship am I expecting today?”