God is Bigger Than The BoogeyMan part 2.

As a child, the boogeyman takes on the form of more conventional monsters-- things with one hundred eyes and twice as many teeth, all the better to eat you with, all the while hiding under your bed just waiting for you to fall asleep. They make a kid afraid to go in the basement or sleep alone in their own bed at night. To be sure, our childhood "monsters" show the depth of our imagination.

Yet the imaginary takes on the form of the real as we "grow up." And that's kind of the opposite of what we would expect. As adults we tell children, "there's nothing to be afraid of," when it comes to monsters because they simply aren't real. Or are they? True enough, gone are the slimy scales and razor sharp teeth, problem is they get replaced with a more vicious enemy. One, unfortunately, that is all too real. So the pointy horns and red flesh and pitchfork is our waning childhood imagination at work, satan is still very real and very much at work, busier than ever. He shows up in different forms, right? Fears that you might fail financially, worries that your health is failing you, unforgiving toward someone that has wronged you, hatred for your fellow man, and rage over the fella that just cut you off in traffic. Those are our adulthood monsters.

As a kid, monsters keep us from going places we would otherwise go. They control us and keep us in a place of weakness, at the mercy of imaginary boogeymen. In one way or another, they hinder our freedom. And really, as adults, our monster-fears are no different. Still they keep us down and anchor us in a place God would not have us. He gives us the power to put an end to those things and live freely. He tells us, "look there's nothing to be afraid of." But still we hold on to those fears and in a way that's kind of like giving more credit to the father of those fears than to our Heavenly Father. Yikes. Is that really what we mean to do?

Isaiah 8:13,14 reads, "Do not fear anything except the Lord Almighty. He alone is the Holy One. If you fear Him, you need fear nothing else. He will keep you safe."

My prayer is that as you read this, you acknowledge those things you need to hand over to Him and begin to trust in Him fully for your care.