Roping Religion: What are you afraid of

Many of the ideas and scriptures for this article are from the devotional “God Wants You To Win!” by world-champion calf roper Jeff Copenhaver.

Psalm 118:6 The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?

The psalmist tells us that the Lord is on our side. We are instructed not to fear. He even asks the question, “What can man do to me?”

Fear of anything other than a reverential awe of God can be a problem for us. Sometimes we get analysis paralysis when we have a decision to make and can’t figure out what to do. At other times we fear the past may repeat itself so we put ourselves in a position where we try to protect ourselves from some pain or problem in the past.

Like some of you, perhaps, I struggled with reliable transportation for a number of years. My first pickup I purchased as a teenager burned a quart of oil every 20 miles or so. My friend helped me replace the engine and that engine only consumed a quart of oil every 250 miles. Eventually, I drove a car that had trouble starting and trouble staying started. I purchased a minivan when we had little kids and the transmission went out almost immediately after purchasing it. Because of those past circumstances, when I was in a position to buy something reliable many years later, I overdid it.

I purchased several reliable vehicles because I had a poverty spirit and a fear of not having reliable transportation. I feared being stranded or being unable to get to work.

What fears are you currently facing? We can be afraid of failure or afraid of success. We can be afraid of man. Will we disappoint our parents? What will others think or say if we fail or if we succeed? Will they be happy for us? Will they condemn us? We need to remember that ultimately we serve an audience of One.

God has promised to never leave us or forsake us. He provides for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. He gives us air to breathe and He determines for us the exact places where we shall live. He satisfies us with food for our bodies and for our souls. He gives us water for our bodies and an invitation to come to Jesus and drink if we are spiritually thirsty for living water.

God is our provision. It rains on the just and the unjust. We need to continually pray for our city and our state. If Havre prospers and if Montana prospers then we will prosper as we submit to the lordship of Jesus and the unction of the Holy Spirit.

I believe God wants to bless us more than we realize. He will not fail us, quit on us, or leave us stranded. He Who began a good work in us will carry it through to completion. God didn’t bring us this far along to set us up for failure and defeat. We can make the horse ready for battle but the victory comes from the Lord. We cannot just sit around and wait for God to act. Perhaps He is waiting for us to act and then He will bless the work of our hands.

Maybe God is urging you to do something good for someone else. Perhaps He wants you to witness to or encourage a friend or neighbor. Maybe God is calling you to a new location. He may have a promotion in store for you.

We need to bloom where we are planted. We ought not to fear the lies of the enemy. We need to be bold and strong for the Lord thy God is with us. We ought not to be afraid or dismayed when circumstances change. When something bad happens God may just be using those circumstances to train us and grow us in our walk with Him. He may be helping position us for His next blessing like He did with Joseph in the Old Testament.

Let’s trust God in spite of the current circumstances. Let’s believe for God’s best for our community. Let’s remember that He loves those we care about more than we do. This week may we walk in faith and not be afraid.

May God bless you big.

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This is the 15th in a series of columns by Kevin Barsotti, pastor of Ark Church in Havre.