It was a typical weekday. I was in the office working on ministry stuff when, suddenly my cell phone rang. As I picked up the call, I saw it was my daughter Elena who was home from school on summer break—alone. Excitedly I said, “Hi Elena!!”—talking to one of my children is a nice break in the day. A frantic voice came across the phone, “Dad you need to come home NOW!!” Before she could get the next words out of her mouth my mind was already racing—what could possibly be wrong. She continued, “there is a snake in the basement!! I am looking right at it!! Can you come home?!”
Most dad’s have a fear of not being able to protect their family from scary things, and I am no exception. Dads tend to be more afraid of failing than of the actual adversity scaring their loved one. But when it registered that it was only a snake, I kind of chuckled. Still, Elena proceeded to tell me that the snake had cut off her path of escape and she was trapped on the sofa with her feet curled up. “What do I do Dad,” she exclaimed?
“I am on my way right now” I said. I was able to calm her down and ask her to keep an eye on the snake until I could get home—then I could catch it. Leaving the office, I raced home in a matter of ten minutes.
Before I had even walked through the door however, Elena had drummed up enough courage to climb over the back of the sofa. She then went to the garage and put on a pair of her brother’s high rubber boots, a pair of winter gloves, and proceeded to grab a box. With her armor on she had enough courage to cover the snake with the box and pin the box down with something heavy until I arrived.
By the time I stepped in the room that silly snake was so angry it was smacking its head against the box. (Don’t worry. No snakes were harmed in the making of this story.) It turned out, this incredibly scary reptile was only a small Garter snake about 18 inches long. I found the situation quiet amusing. Elena did not!! I was very proud of her for facing her fears though.
To this day I believe Elena is still scared of snakes, but confronting this fear solidified two things. The first is that it taught her that her “Father” is nearby and will respond to her cry for help. God is always nearby and ready to respond to His children. As parents, we are an example of the heavenly Father to our children. Even though it is not humanly possible for us to be there for our children every time they are afraid, we have a God who has promised He would be. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you,” (Deuteronomy 31:6, NIV).
Facing your fears accomplishes a second thing; it increases your faith! With some help from her armor, Elena overcame her fear and dealt with the snake. The box was there to block any attempt of the snake to bite her. Ephesians 6 talks about a ‘spiritual’ armor we can put on. “In addition to all this, take up the shield of Faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (v.16). The world and the devil can shoot arrows of fear at us—it happens every day just by watching the news. Having faith in God, who is bigger and stronger than any fear we can imagine, is our shield that enables us to face our fears. Faith in God will block any attempt of fear to defeat you. Even with a shield, we will still ‘feel’ fear, but we will not be overtaken or destroyed by that fear.
Fear can be one of the most crippling and challenging enemies we face. Fear comes at you in so many different forms—be encouraged! “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart!! I have overcome the world” (John 16: 33). Each morning put on your high rubber boots, winter gloves, and grab a box to shield you as you face your fears with the armor of God. God the Father is on your side, and as you put faith in Him, he will shield you and prevent fear from overtaking you.
Tags: faith, trust, fear, peace, ephesians, armor, protector
