There is a Net: Part 2 (enter the Bear stage left)

As I was chewing on these things,
feeling the tightrope walker grow a bit bolder and stronger,
I saw arrows flying through the various circus rings
first a few at a time,
then a steady stream
and then I realized
some of them were coming at me,
actually aimed directly at me,
as is Something were out to get me
just as I was gaining a little confidence,
and the Fear began to creep in again.

The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.  He will drive out your enemy before you, saying, "Destroy him!"  (Deuteronomy 33:27)

And I saw my Coach stand up to His full height as an enormous Grizzly Bear,
and every story I'd heard about "mama bears" suddenly culminated into this FEROCIOUS King beneath me.  He caught and splintered every arrow, except for the ones He flung back at the Attackers.  One of the Attackers came closer, and it seemed to me a hideous and impossible beast.  But when it neared the Bear it was dwarfed as an ant to a mountain, and my Papa Bear picked it up and flung it's writhing and annoying little self out beyond any distance I could imagine.

Summary of simple truths my brain needs to get a grip on:

Life is hard.

It is like a tightrope sometimes, maybe all of the time.

Some even call it a war zone.

Gravity is real, and we need help.

And we have it.

There is a net.

There is a coach.

There are arrows.

There are enemies.

And they are like ants to a mountain when compared to the Creator of all that is.

And our God is fiercer and more powerful 

than our most dramatic image of a mama bear defending her cub.  

He will break the enemy's bow and shatter his spear.  He will hurl him into the region of Darkness from whence there is no return.

God is our refuge and strength,

and EVER PRESENT HELP in times of trouble.

Therefore, we will not fear 

though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea. . . 

God is within her, she will not fall . . . 

Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. . . 

Come and see what He has done:

He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth.

He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.

He says, 

"BE STILL,

AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.

I will be exalted among the nations, 

I will be exalted in the earth."

The LORD Almighty is with us; 

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

(Excerpts from Psalm 46, NIV)

He will catch me when I stumble and put me back on the rope.

I can walk across.

I can run across.

I can sit down and have lunch on the net.

Some days I more than survive, I can even have fun on the net . . .

I am learning to dance, sing, and

 turn crazy triple flips on the net.

Because

My God.

MY God.

My GOD.

There is a Net: Part 1

Imagine a tightrope walker in rehearsal, wobbling across, every muscle and nerve trembling with raw fear.  The angst has a ripple effect for everyone in the room.  We are growing increasingly uncomfortable as we watch.  It's not the incompetence makes it so incredibly awkward.  It's the unharnessed anxiety morphing into panic that reverberates in all of us now,  every moment is cringe-worthy.  She is shaking and sweating uncontrollably.  We really don't want to watch..  This is more than performance anxiety.  It's like she's scared for her life.  As if falling wouldn't just be an embarrassment, it would be the end.  Of everything.

She is freaking out because she's forgotten,
or maybe I never knew . . .

There is a Net.  
A Very Strong Net.
And there is a Coach.  Calling out encouragement and truth.  But the walker can't hear Him.  She can't hear anything except the Fear, and it's eating her alive.

". . . Depending on Me may feel like walking on a tightrope, but there is a safety net underneath; the everlasting arms.  So don't be afraid of falling.  Instead, look ahead to Me.  I am always before you, beckoning you on--one step at a time.  Neither height not depth, nor anything else in all creation, can separate you from My loving Presence."  (January 21 in Jesus Calling by Sarah Young)

It stuck out to me when I read it, the line: "So don't be afraid of falling," . . .
FALLING IS NOT AN ACTUAL DANGER
not any more.
The reality:  There is nothing to fear.
The supposed feared object - falling, failing = ultimate tragedy, destruction, shame, whatever . . .
DOES NOT EXIST.
His Arms are TOO BIG, TOO ETERNAL, MORE PRESENT, MORE REAL than any possible or imagined misstep, mess, nonperformance, affliction, catastrophe, doom.

There is a net.
There is a Net.
My Father's Arms are REAL.  HERE.

I may stumble, but I will not
CAN NOT
fall.
Not ultimately in a cataclysmic sort of way.
It is outside the realm of possibility.
I am dwelling on things that no longer exist.

"The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.  Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand."  (Psalm 37:23-24, NLT)

Ultimate and final failure don't exist for me any longer.
This new freedom is not because of my skill, experience or performance,
but because
THE ETERNAL ALMIGHTY GOD holds my hand
and every inch of my being.
(Re the Psalm above, in case you're wondering who the "godly" are.  I am godly only because Christ sacrificed His life to share His godliness with me.  Still trying to get my head around this.  I am definitely not, nor is anyone else, innately godly of my own doing.)

If you are a follower of Jesus, if you have put your trust in Him, you wear his Godliness, His Name, His Death and HIS RESURRECTION
and you are listening to Fear
Sweet dear fellow Christian (little Christ)
Brother or Sister
You are listening to a Lie.
LIE.
FOR THE CHILD OF GOD, FEAR IS A DELUSION.

FEAR = DELUSION

Because

IN CHRIST THERE IS 

NOTHING TO FEAR.

This is not a figurative, positive-thinking, self-help kind of statement.
This is a declaration of reality . . . similar to:  the Earth is round.
There is NOTHING IN EXISTENCE that can ultimately harm the person who trusts in Jesus.
Romans 8!

Now about that Coach, moving on to Part 2 . . .