Fair-weather Parking Lots

"But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. John 16:32

Ever heard of a fair-weather parking lot?

We've heard of fair-weather friends

You spend lots of time together…Then hard times come: your health, family problems, difficulties happen -  and they’re nowhere to be found.

We know about fair-weather fans.

I can remember umpteen years ago when the Houston Rockets were a brand new team. To be polite, they were bad. But we hung in there, die-hard fans.

Over a few years, they steadily improved. The first time they made to the layoffs, guess what? Fans came out of the woodwork. People who couldn't tell you a single team member’s name went crazy.

But, back to the fair-weather parking lots.

I walk my greyhound, Ruby, almost every day. She’s a retired racer and I’m-uh-plump. We both need the exercise. The weather has to be pretty bad before I throw in the towel.

So here we are, she’s dragging me around the park. It’s cold, or it’s hot, or the wind’s blowing my hair dang near off. And we’re alone. The parking lot is empty. Nobody there but us.

Then comes a nice day and the whole neighborhood hits the park. 

The parking lot's packed.



Yesterday was one of those days–walkers and joggers and baby carriages everywhere.


I wonder, “Where will y’all be when the weather’s unpleasant?”

Did Jesus think that?

“Where will you be when things get hard?”

Jesus knew the crisis was coming. Soon He would be arrested, scourged, crucified; He would die on a cross.

Jesus knew that the disciples were fair-weather followers. They were with Him day in and day out. They learned from Him and marveled at His miracles. They believed in Him, at least as far as their limited understanding allowed them.

But when time came to stand by Him, to risk their lives for Him, they ran.

Then the horrible day came.

Jesus hung on a cross and the disciples fled.

Fled out of fear that they would be killed as well.

Hid so no one would find them.

Am I any different? Are we any different?

• When things are going well, I’m full of praise.
• As soon as things go wrong, I’m full of doubts.
• When it’s uncomfortable to stand for God’s standards, I compromise.
• When I have an opportunity to talk about my faith, I keep my mouth shut.

But listen to Jesus’ words:

Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Luke 23:34

He knows our hearts and He bathes us with forgiveness. He offers us strength to stand for Him.

When He appeared to them after His resurrection, there was no chastisement.

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" John 20:19

He knows we cower in fear and doubt. He covers us with His love and grace and says, “Peace be with you.”


When has Jesus flooded you with love and peace when you struggled to be faithful to Him?

Afraid of the Dark?

 

 

It's dark!

 

There are monsters in the closet, I know there are.

 

My Dad looked inside and told me the closet was empty.

 

But I know they're there. They're magical and their invisible to grown-ups.

 

When I was a child, I hid under the covers on my bed and clinched a flashlight in my hands, trusting its weak glow to keep evil at bay.

I'm all grown-up now, but I'm still afraid of the dark: fear, anger, frustration, all lurk in the shadows.  Childhood flashlights don't work...but what will?

Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105



That's easy, I thought.

So I sat in the mornings with my Bible in my lap; my eyes rolled over words my brain didn't see. I mentally raced through a few verses I remembered from Bible Drill. Then I leaped up and headed out the door.

 

But darkness still came:  disappointment, insecurity, impatience. Perplexed, I read those words again. My eyes focused on the word lamp. A lamp sits on a table and you turn it on and off, right?

 

Wait, turn it on and off. For a lamp to shine light on my fear and anger, I have to chose to turn it on.

http:/karnscoc.org caption

Chose to read God's Word,
not just scan it.

Chose to store it's truths

in my mind.

Chose to call on His truth  

to shed light on my thoughts and dispel disappointment and insecurity. 

 

Your Word is a lamp... If I want light to shine around my feet as I walk, I have carry His Word with me.  If I hold onto His truths, my feet won't stumble on the rocks in my path.

 

 

How has God's Word brightened your path? 

Bring Fear into the Light

The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1

My Mom was the family worrier. She worried about everything. Her life was filled with “What if?” and the answers always seemed to be bad.

 

 

I know it’s a cliché but she really did worry when things were going well – certainly something bad was right around the corner! She’d say things like, “Friday the 13th comes on Wednesday this month.”

 

We chuckled. We teased her. We called her a worry-wart. We didn’t take it seriously.


Worry-wart: a casual name we use to describe someone who dreads tomorrow; they’re afraid of everything. Someone who’s paralyzed by anxiety.


 

But God sheds light on our fears and enables us to trust Him.

He shines on our anxiety and it fades away.

His light dispels dread and replaces it with faith in His love.



It doesn’t happen overnight – a pattern of fear is hard to break.

 

But, soon, His light overwhelms the darkness and frees us to be the people He created us to be.


Are you anxious about tomorrow?
How has God freed you from fear?