Wednesday, July 8, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Commentary...
Replacing fear with faith
By Bill Carmichael
Guest Columnist
<Well Bill, we9ll just
trust the Lord=
When I was 12 years old,
my father, who was a build-
ing contractor, fell 20 feet
off a scaffold and broke both
his legs and one arm. When
I, (with my mother and sib-
lings), arrived at the hospi-
tal, my first concern was if
my dad was going to live.
Once that was assured,
my fear turned to how we
would survive, as my dad
was our only source of
income at that time. I said
to him, <Dad, what are we
going to do now?=
<Well Bill, we9ll just trust
the Lord,= was his reply. I9d
heard that before from him,
but this time I wondered just
how that was going to play
out. My faith in that state-
ment at the time needed
some tangible proof that
God would come through.
And over the following six
months I learned two pow-
erful lessons.
First, I learned that sit-
ting and waiting for some-
thing to happen is usually
not a wise approach in how
we should <trust the Lord.=
We need to look for oppor-
tunity while we exercise
trust. There was opportu-
nity out there and we, as a
family, decided to find it.
My mother found a job as a
bookkeeper, my sister found
a job in a local bakery, and
I and my little brother got a
paper route. Combined, that
gave us just enough money
to pay the rent.
The second lesson I
learned is that when we do
our part, God, often through
his people, does his part.
The bakery allowed my sis-
ter to bring home anything
left over at the end of the
day. Bread, cinnamon rolls,
and most anything else sold
in a bakery came daily to
our house. My father was
planning to leave on an elk-
hunting trip the day after he
fell. Instead, our pastor took
my dad9s elk tag, shot an elk
and brought us the meat. A
lady in our church brought
canned vegetables and
apples from her garden, and
so many people left bags of
zucchini and tomatoes on
our front porch, I prayed
they would stop.
Fear can be a debilitating
thing. What we face today,
with not only COVID-19
but with financial uncer-
tainty, job layoffs, and not
knowing what will happen
next in these crazy politi-
cal times, seems to magnify
fear. Some are saying we
should buy guns and ammo
and stock up on food. Some
are prophesying a new civil
war or foreign invasion.
One of my friends has built
an underground bunker.
But allowing our lives to be
driven by fear rather than
faith creates anxiety that
affects not only our physical
and mental health but stifles
our ability to trust God.
It is true that there may
be more troubling times
ahead, based on what we
have already seen. COVID-
19 is not going away any-
time soon and neither are
these other uncertainties. I
am not trying to minimize
what has happened or might
happen. But I learned as a
12-year-old kid that God
knew all of this before it
ever happened and my
father9s simple advice to
trust the Lord can help us
replace fear with faith.
I should also note that
the way God often provides
is through us, his people. We
had just moved to Colorado
a year before my dad9s acci-
dent, but God9s people saw
our need and became his
hands of love and provi-
sion to my family. From my
perspective, that might be
a better approach for us to
model in these times, rather
than buying guns and ammo
and hoarding food (and toi-
let paper).
The wisest man to live
centuries ago wrote in
Proverbs, <Trust in the Lord
with all your heart, and lean
not on your own under-
standing. In all your ways
acknowledge him and he
will direct your paths.= The
Psalmist said, <I have been
young and now I am old, yet
I have not seen the righteous
forsaken or his children beg-
ging for bread.= And John
of the New Testament fol-
lowed that up with, <There
is no fear in love; but perfect
love casts out fear, because
fear involves torment.=
And Paul9s young protégé,
Timothy, wrote, <For God
has not given us a spirit of
fear, but of power and of
love and of a sound mind.=
And if you want even more
comfort and assurance, go
read the words of our Lord
Jesus in Matthew chapter
six. I guarantee Jesus9 assur-
ing words will make your
day!
These are just a few of
the verses that give us a road
map in the times we are liv-
ing. We are not the first gen-
eration to face crisis. The
age-old choice is ours to
choose either fear or faith.
My dad died in his sleep
just nine days after his 100th
birthday. (Thanks for the
example, Dad!) I think I
will continue to <just trust
the Lord.= How about you?
Bill Carmichael is a for-
mer local pastor, veteran
book publisher, and best-
selling author of many mar-
riage, family, and parenting
books including <Habits
of a Healthy Home,= and
<Desperate for God.=
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