Monsters Under the Bed

I'll admit it, I was the kid that pulled off unbelievable gymnastic maneuverings at night when I had to cross the space from my door to my bed, and incidentally pass the closet on the way, nudging it tightly shut lest any monster-inhabitants escape it. I'd finally reach my mattress, launch myself aboard it from a distance of at least three feet, because you just never knew what might reach out and grab your ankle on the way up. And in the dark quiet of bedtime, I'd lie still with my eyes wide open and my covers tucked under my chin, not daring to let even a finger hang over the edge in case it got nipped off.

I'd love to say that this paranoia was confined only to childish fears that were easily outgrown, but no, fear followed me through many areas of my life and is still something I struggle with today. It takes a daily surrender, a constant cleansing of my mind, to free myself.

One time years ago, I fell on a cactus while hiking just outside of Phoenix, Arizona. You know, if you ever want to have fun, you should try falling on a cactus; it is so. fun. When I stood up, at least seven or eight spines had embedded themselves in the palm and fingers of my right hand, and those suckers didn't come out. I tried, first with tweezers, then a needle, and then finally, I let them sit in the hope that they would work their way to the surface. My hand got infected; it was red and painful and swollen for days. The spines did end up finally sloughing off over a period of months, then, but I paid the price for that stumble, I promise.

Fear is like those cactus spines, you know? It burrows in and hooks stubbornly, and then it's almost impossible to remove. It releases its poison and infection, and it has long-term after-effects. 

This morning, I was all over the pages of the Word, but found myself ending up in Isaiah 44 and 45. I'm watching a Bible study on the book of Daniel, where two nights ago, the leader pointed out the following passage.

Starting in Isaiah 44:24, the Lord is speaking: "I am the Lord, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by Myself, who foils the signs of false prophets (thank You, Lord!) and makes fools of diviners, who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense, who carries out the words of His servants and fulfills the predictions of His messengers (hallelujah!), who says of Jerusalem, 'It shall be inhabited,' and of the towns of Judah, 'They shall be built,' and of their ruins, 'I will restore them,' who says to the watery deep, 'Be dry, and I will dry up your streams,' who says of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, "Let it be rebuilt," and of the temple, "Let its foundations be laid."

Did Cyrus do exactly that? Why, yes, he did! Do you know what blows my mind? Isaiah wrote this prophecy over one hundred years before Cyrus was even a thought in his parents' head, and here - he is named.

Y'all, the Word isn't guess-work. Isaiah's quill didn't accidentally slip and amazingly spell out the name of a far-distant-in-the-future king. Wow! Quickly jumping down to 45:3: "I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." God knew Cyrus intimately, already, before he even existed!

Back up to 45:1: "This is what the Lord says to His anointed, to Cyrus..."
  
His anointed?! Cyrus? The Medo-Persian king? Uhh...

"This is what the Lord says to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel, my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me."

I realize that was really long, but what just knocks my multicolored toe-socks off is that God used someone who did not acknowledge Him as God to bring about His good purposes and His long-term plans. His plans are set in place, and no one can stand against them, not even the "king of the world." Since the Medo-Persian empire was the world power at that time, and Cyrus was the monarch at the head of it, technically, there was no one greater the whole world over...

Except God.

Just some thoughts here: When kings or presidents do things that make no sense to us, Who is still on the throne? When schools shut down and students and parents and teachers have to disrupt their lives to accommodate, Who is still on the throne? When a virus takes over an entire world and fills people's hearts with fear, Who is still on the throne? When a nation divides and rages and takes sides like spitting, hissing cats, Who is still on the throne?

Of course. God is.

Psalm 20:7: "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God."

Psalm 113:5: "Who is like the LORD our God, the One enthroned on high?"

God will do what God will do, and He will use both His servants and those who do not acknowledge Him to fulfill the purposes He's put into place. I don't know exactly His purposes for this time in which we're living right now, but I can see His hand moving and using both believers and unbelievers to accomplish the big picture.

Which gives me unbelievable security. "Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast" (Psalm 139:8-10).

As someone who has lived a life where fear of the unknown is a thread interwoven through every part of my life... I have no fear of this future, because the Lord shows me both the greatness of Him and the details of Him. He is above all... and in all. He is Creator of the universe, He lives inside me. How can I keep from singing? How could I possibly be afraid?

I'm praying for endurance and fearlessness for each one of us, for no timidity, no fear, for absolute trust in God's provision and plan. As times for believers grow more difficult and as persecution and spiritual attacks ramp up to levels we may never have seen... Psalm 46:2-4 reminds us: "Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells."

You can't see me, but I'm dancing right past that monster-infested closet and flinging the door wide open on my fears. Yeah!!!