One night last week I heard a ‘ding’ letting me know I had a facebook message. I clicked on the message to find it was from a Pastor’s wife who lives in Ohio. As I opened the message I read ‘I made homemade cinnamon rolls and wanted to share them with my neighbors.’
Knowing she had sent the message to the wrong person, I responded ‘wish I was there.’ She, not knowing she sent it to the wrong person replied ‘where is D?’ I sent a message back and said ‘I believe you sent it to the wrong person, this is Kim Potter.’ Her response made me laugh out loud.
She responded ‘Yes, I sent it to the wrong person…no cinnamon rolls for you unless you come over THE BRIDGE.’
You see, it is a personal joke. The first time I spoke at their church was the first time I had driven to Ohio. My trip had gone so well, pleasant in fact. Then as I entered into Cincinnati I found myself on this bridge unlike any bridge I had seen before. I was on it before I knew it or I would have avoided it. Fear gripped me and I thought ‘God, we don’t have bridges like this in Tennessee.’
I do NOT like that bridge. However, I love the people on the other side of the bridge. I LOVE THEM. God has knit my heart to theirs…but there is this ‘thing’ between us….fear of a bridge….so no cinnamon rolls for me.
Now, while this is a funny story and a little dramatic, because I WOULD drive over the bridge again and I am sure I will one day soon, this is a fact for many people. Something is standing between them and what God has for them and that something is fear.
I was reading this week about the children of Israel and their journey into the Promised Land.
Moses sent spies out to view the land and bring back a report. As we know all of the spies brought back an evil report except for Joshua and Caleb.
They saw the giants and the fight it may take to enter into the Promised Land, to lay hold of the promises of God. They knew the fruit was good there and the land was incredible but they only saw what they feared. Fear alone stood between them and their promise.
God has already told them they could have it and that He was with them, yet fear stopped them from entering into what God had for them.
This is what came to mind when Judy said ‘no cinnamon rolls for you unless you come across the bridge.’
Now, I am probably not going to drive across that bridge for a cinnamon roll. But I would drive across it to minister or to visit the people there who have a God-place in my heart.
What do you fear? I have a friend that got behind on her rent, fear gripped her. She was avoiding the landlords out of fear. The Lord told me one morning to tell her to resist fear and run toward it. I said to her ‘call them and deal with it.’ She received that word with faith, overcome her fear and guess what? When she went to talk to them, her rent was current, God had taken care of it for her; her breakthrough had already come but fear was stopping her from seeing it.
What do you fear? Don’t let it keep you from the promises of God. Remember GOD IS WITH YOU. What do you fear? Don’t run from fear, run toward it. God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love (HIS LOVE FOR US) and a sound and peaceful mind. Hold onto that truth and send fear out of your life, once and for all.
