Testament Tuesday – Feeling Calm, Cool, & Collected

When we have full on, no fear kind of faith we are always in a state of calm because we know that God has our back. Sounds easy, right? Well for most of us this is so much easier said than done. And just because we have those freak out days doesn’t make us any less of a Christian, in fact it makes us 100% normal! The level of calm we possess doesn’t just depend on our trust and confidence in God. It also depends on our perspective of the situations we are in.

Psalm 27:1 says,

“The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?”

This verse tells shows us that we should see world and our circumstances through God’s eyes, knowing and trusting that God is by our side. Knowing that we need not fear anything. When we believe that God is fully with us, walking with us in every situation, we can feel his power, love, and protection.

There’s another story in the bible where we see this kind of confidence. In Numbers 13 and 14 we read of Moses sending 12 men to spy on the land on Canaan where they wanted to live. This was the land that God had promised the Israelites when they left Egypt. After 40 days the men returned with their reports. They reported that the land was overflowing with milk and honey and that it was so bountiful. But the men were scared and reported that there was no way they would be able to overtake the Canaanites to get their paradise.

The men said “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. We even saw giants there. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!” (Numbers 13:31-33)

But a few men saw things differently. Caleb and Joshua said “If the Lord is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. Do not rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!” (Numbers 14:8-9)

Everyone else saw this as an impossible journey, but Caleb and Joshua knew that it was possible with the Lord. But sadly the Israelites didn’t believe Caleb and Joshua, instead they let their thoughts overwhelm them and scare them.

Doesn’t this often happen to us too? Don’t we see things through our own perspectives instead of Gods and let the negative thoughts consume us? How many times do we assume defeat without even trying? How many times have we made things bigger than they are instead of remaining calm, cool, and collected with our faith in the Lord? Have we forgotten that with God all things are possible?

When we see things through our own perspectives, we miss what God has done for us. We believe the worst case scenario instead of seeing the miraculous stories God has available for us. Caleb and Joshua saw the giants but know that with God they need not fear. They kept their faith and didn’t let their thoughts overtake them.

We need to make the choice to see things through God’s perspective every day. We have to know that no matter how great the danger is, we need not be afraid for God is with us. He is our stronghold, the refuge our hearts seek.

It’s time we stop making out giants bigger than they are, we are a mighty warrior through Christ so it’s time we start acting like one!