Daily Devotional for December 2, 2021
The Fearbreak
“The saying ‘no news is good news’ is so often true,” Dad said as he switched off the car radio. “I’ve heard enough bad news for today.”
“The guy on the radio was talking about escaped prisoners. Could they be around here?” Lark asked, peering anxiously out the car window. “What if they—”
“Look!” Gavin interrupted her. “There must be a fire over there!” He pointed ahead where smoke billowed up into the sky. “Wow! First we hear about escaped convicts, and now we see a fire! Looks like it’s a huge one!”
When they got closer, Dad pulled over so they could get a good look at it. “That’s a controlled fire,” he said. “It looks like a farmer is burning off some long, dead grasses.”
“It almost looks like he’s making a firebreak,” said Gavin.
“What’s a firebreak?” Lark asked.
Gavin was eager to tell her. “A firebreak is a wide strip without grass or anything that can burn. If there’s a fire coming toward it, the fire dies when it reaches the firebreak because there’s nothing to feed it.”
“Is a fire coming this way?” asked Lark.
Dad shook his head. “Maybe the farmer just wants to be prepared because it’s a dry season. Then if a fire should break out in the area, his property would be protected.” Dad put the car in gear. “You know,” he added, “the farmer fights fire with fire, and we can overcome fear with fear.”
“We can?” Gavin asked. “I don’t get it.”
“When we fear the Lord as we should, it drives other fears out of our hearts,” said Dad. “We could say fearing the Lord builds a fearbreak around us.”
“I still don’t get it,” said Gavin. “We shouldn’t be scared of God, should we?”
“The kind of fear I’m talking about is more like respect and honor,” Dad explained. “It’s more a matter of trusting God than being afraid of Him.”
“Like…trusting Him when there are escaped convicts around?” asked Lark.
Dad nodded. “We need to do all we can to be careful, but there’s only so much we can do. Beyond that, we need to simply trust our heavenly Father and know He’ll take care of us, no matter what happens.”
-Barbara J. Westberg
How about you?
What are you afraid of? The dark? Getting sick? Losing someone you love? Try fighting fear with fear. Build a fearbreak around your heart now as you fear your heavenly Father—in other words, as you trust and obey Him. He loves you and saved you through His Son, Jesus, and He promises to take care of you. Trust Him in all circumstances, knowing He is in control of everything.
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