Black Smoke

If you were a part of the cult following of the show LOST back in the day, you'll remember this mysterious yet creepy clicking sound that gave a forewarning of the black smoke that was about to appear. Honestly, I'm still not sure what that black smoke was, but it was definitely the enemy. Every time it appeared, everyone ran for cover for fear of their lives (except the one time that Mr. Eko stopped and faced the smoke and it killed him...but that's another story for another day :)).

This past week in Merge, Jordan talked about 1 John 4:18 and for whatever reason, as soon as the verse came up on the screen, all I could think was "black smoke". The verse says,

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love." 

I've been thinking a lot about fear lately. How much it controls us, paralyzes us, holds us back from walking in the fullness of who God has called us to be. Fear is definitely black smoke. Because as it says in 1 John 4:8, 

"Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." 

God is love, which tells you that if there is no fear in love and God is love, then there is no fear in God. I don't know about you, but that realization alone changes everything! If there is no fear in God, then fear is black smoke! It's the enemy. It should not be entertained. It should not have any place in our lives. When fear starts to take root, recognize it as the clicking sound and run away from it because it is not welcome. Acknowledging that fear is absolutely the enemy at work allows you to see it for what it is - deception.

Have you ever thought about how much energy it takes to be afraid? I find it so ironic that we often struggle so much with faith - with the ability to believe in something we cannot see, but yet we seem to be willing to fall into fear easily. And do you know what fear is? Believing in something you cannot see. Crazy, right?! So rather than wasting your energy on fear, rather than wearing yourself out running from the black smoke, why not use that energy to walk in faith instead.

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."
-Hebrews 11:1 NIV 

I am absolutely petrified of public speaking. I was once at a business conference and all I had to was stand up and introduce my name and my position and I was so nervous at having to say that handful of words that I seriously flubbed my own name. 2 simple syllables and I messed them up! My heart races, I get the cold sweats and I shake like I've had too much sugar. Yet in what seems like some cruel, twisted joke, several people, separately, have spoken over me this year saying that's something God is calling me to. My initial response is something along the lines of "WHY DO YOU HATE ME?!", but as I've started digging into it, I can see all of the lies that have become my truths that have been holding me back from walking into that calling, and at the root of it all: fear.  
 
In a message I listened to recently from Priscilla Shirer, she talks about a moment when she's faced with 2 different decisions - Plan A that she would rather do, and Plan B that she really doesn't want to consider. She says that if she digs down to the root of why she's avoiding Plan B and discovers the reason she doesn't want to do it is driven by fear, then that's the very thing she knows she should probably pursue. Sounds a bit backwards, right? Well how about this. If there is no fear in God, God is only love, then wouldn't it stand to reason that the enemy wants her to be afraid of Plan B because there is something significant enough about Plan B that he doesn't want to happen?

So stop letting fear win. The black smoke that keeps clouding up your vision has no power over you unless you allow it, so when it comes, tell it who's boss and choose faith instead. And be reminded of what God says in 2 Timothy 1:7,

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline."