"Monster"

There’s a monster in the bushes,

That’s what I’d sometimes think,

When I was a little boy,

My courage then would sink.

And I’d be scared that monster,

In the bushes late at night,

Might really sneak up on me,

And try to take a bite.

We lived out in the country,

Where the nights were dark and still,

It took awhile to realize,

That monster wasn’t real.

Later chasin’ cattle,

Some old steer would give a growl,

From the bushes where we found him,

A-horseback on the prowl.

And I’d think I better rope him,

Before he gets away,

A bovine monster in the bushes,

I was after, come what may.

Fast forward as the years passed,

I met people gripped with fear,

Sometimes they understood it,

For some it wasn’t clear.

Some had fears from childhood,

Like the ones that bothered me,

Only they did not get over,

Still after them, you see.

It helped to speak the truth in love,

That the Good Lord’s love could win,

The battle over every fear,

If grace helped them to begin,

To trust Him with the trouble,

The monster in their mind,

And I saw Jesus heal ‘em,

Many, many times.

So in the name of Jesus,

Stand up and face your fear,

His love will be your healing,

His power very near.

And He can cast the fear out,

And won’t let it come back,

The One who is within you,

Will stop your fear attack. 

“I sought the Lord and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.” (Psalm 34:4, NAS)

it is a wonderful thing to be delivered from fear. Not just to white-knuckle yourself through it, but to be set fee entirely. Some are so plagued by anxiety and worry they are miserable and have become missionaries of misery. But the Lord wants to replace our fear with faith. This happens when we know we can trust His love to take care of us. John tells us that love expels fear. In other words in the presence of love fear has to go. Seek the Lord about it and find out for yourself. There is no fear that can withstand the power of God’s love.

Lord, deliver us from every fear, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Don Weller, used by permission. Thanks, Don, and God bless you.