Lizards or Alligators
I saw a lizard the other day and it reminded me of a time in my very distant past that has always lived in my memory bank.
I grew up in a small town in a time when you walked to town to do your shopping. As a very little girl, I remember what a treat it was to walk with my grandmother to town when she needed to shop. We had to walk past an open area that had a hand rail on one side because the land dropped off on that side of the sidewalk. As I was skipping along beside her (and probably talking), I saw a rather large lizard run across the sidewalk in front of us. I grabbed her hand and yelled out, “Grandma, there’s an alligator!”
You see, to a very little girl that is exactly what it looked like! My grandmother assured me that it was just a lizard and that it would run from us. We were not going to be its next meal.
As I thought about that story, I started thinking about some applications we could all make to our lives.
- What is happening in our world today and specifically in our own nation may seem to us like a huge alligator which is getting ready to destroy us. But God, through His servant David said, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me…” (Psalm 23:4).
- When someone is caught up in a sinful lifestyle and the pleasure that seems to go along with it, and then remembers the commitment he/she made to God, it may seem overwhelming. Self-doubt and fear often come and you feel as though there is no escape. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ…” (Eph. 2:4-5). When we repent and ask for forgiveness, God is willing to forgive our sins and restore us to a right relationship with Him (1 John 1:9).
- There are times when circumstances and the people around us (even within our congregations) cause our faith to weaken and we feel ourselves slipping into a fearful state of worry and sadness. But God, through the apostle Paul said, “…The Lord is at hand [right there beside you]; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:5b-7).
Do you see it yet? Any “alligator” causing fear in your life can be taken care of by looking to God and His word and remembering that this world in not our home. We are just passing through.
Those alligators might just be lizards – and our God can handle both.
Our God is an awesome God. He reigns in Heaven above, with wisdom, power and love. Our God is an awesome God. -Rich Mullins
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AUTHOR: Donna Faughn
