From Fear to Trust (#572)

"The crisis in the world is the lack of good leadership." That's an astute observation our guide in Israel made as we were discussing tensions in the Middle East and in U.S. politics. It is easier for bad leaders to manipulate with fear and to polarize people to get our own way. Good leadership invites people to a greater common good by helping people work together. How long as it been since we've had that kind of leadership? Only as we have a growing confidence in God's love for us and his unfolding purpose behind human history can we separate ourselves from the the fears that drive our culture and actually become a source of blessing to people around us. But that is not easy for some to find when the values of this age and economic rewards run directly counter to the life and freedom Jesus invites us into.

Podcast Notes:
Whose Afraid of the Big, Bad Shack, by Wayne
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4 Comments

  1. Carl Jung said, “To become aware with oneself is a terrible shock.” Climbing out of living in a place of control which has been driven by fear which has been driven by shame, is where I am living. I didn’t know how much of my life and supposed love has been driven by fear…a lot! The fear in my life has been out of self-protection, insecurities, always being on guard for the big bad wolf, etc… It has been awful! I still drift back to that place more than I would like. I did not know how much of how I saw life, God, others,…was filtered trough the lens of Fear. It colored so much of how I saw life that I just ignorantly thought it was the norm. I became so at home in this place of fear that knowing life from any other lens, was to risk being hurt and taken advantage of. So my level of control on others through speculation, knowledge, anger, manipulation,… was to protect myself from experiencing that which I feared the most (rejected, abandoned, …). And exactly as you both said on the podcast, living in fear never lead me to safety; it lead me to more fear and exhaustion and anxiety and… UGH!!!! So now I live learning to find that that God is good and loving and trustworthy. If this “truth” becomes more of a revelational reality, I think that I can start to be more fully present and engage in life and community in a more graceful, understanding and loving way.

  2. You mentioned that it may take a crisis to bring unity. I think you are right. WWI or WWII were times the country came together for a cause. 911 was a time when differences were set aside and the country unified.

    We seem to be at a similar point. Society seems frayed. It is unclear how to move forward.

    I keep wondering how people of faith navigate. I think it is a mistake to look to our political systems to deliver ‘heaven on earth’.

    We must be in the world but not of it. What does that even mean? Lot of opinions.

    For me, I will continue to exercise my rights and responsibilities as a US citizen. But my hope is not in our system.

    And who knows maybe we can be people of hope in a time of great distress. Not promising an evacuation plan. But promising that we will not be alone as we walk through.

  3. I’m glad you said it, Wayne, ‘cuz I was already thinking it! (Ref: Mack in church was the worst scene in the movie.) LOL! Thanks again for making such a great film! Loved it & want to see it again already.

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