Being Constructive.

As I was working yesterday, the live oaks were losing their leaves like a ticker tape parade in the brisk wind. The leaves were then racked in the breeze to all these low areas and ditches where they made these golden mounds which if not taken care of will turn to temporary breeding grounds for blood sucking mosquitoes.

We have to be careful not to dig ditches for ourselves when the concerns of life blow from the trees in our life. We have to make sure they don’t become like cherished gold. We must be constructive in taking care of the leaf litter in life or else it can turn into fear and fear only breeds life sucking mosquitoes. Mosquito bites torment us to scratch -and if we scratch-they cannot just scare us but those around us.

Think about what we do when we fret. Some of us withdraw, some of us become irritable, some of us become sick, some of us become depressed, some of us become angry, some of us become annoyed, some of become disillusioned, unproductive, preoccupied and if we don’t watch what we say and do, we can accidentally scare others. We can’t take back what we have regretfully done. It’s out there and we can apologize but like a nail that is taken out of a piece of wood- it still leaves a mark.

We need to try to see with God’s help that the concerns and testings in life are to build us up in the Lord not tear us down. They are to help us realign and strengthen our focus on God

God is building us into a spiritual house and like building a house there are issues that arise because of the human understanding and mindsets. God has the building plans but because of a lack of focus on Him -the construction project can be held up and can cause more hassles and breed things like moldy doubt and rot of faith.

“We have nothing to fear but fear itself,” Martin Luther King

“The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” Psalm 118:6

Fear is the absence of faith.

“So, you see, it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him,” Hebrews 11:6

We have to ask ourselves when fears want to take roost do we sincerely seek God?

Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light." Matthew 11:28-30

We are pretty useless to do anything positive when we carry heavy burdens- real or ones that have not yet come to light.

To further this thought, God tells us everything not done in love is worthless and even a sin.

“Be on guard. Stand true to what you believe. Be courageous. Be strong. And everything you do must be done with love.” 1 Corinthians 16:13

“Do not fear anything except the LORD Almighty. He alone is the Holy One. If you fear him, you need fear nothing else.” Isaiah 8:13

I find the causes of fear are sometimes unfounded and most often temporary and if we had given them over to God they wouldn’t had caused us grief. The leaves just like issues will fall in our life but we have to decide if we are going to dig ditches for those issues, which will grow into fears or go to the high ground. The choice is ours to make.

May the Lord help and remind us of this fact before we become ditch diggers, in Jesus Name Amen.