Ephesians 6:13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
It was a few years ago that while my husband was driving his work truck, he was hit by a transportation bus who was attempting to turn, but instead had hit a patch of ice and could not stop and ended up going through the intersection into my husbands lane. The bus had several people on board headed to work, but those people (potential witnesses) were taken off the bus and loaded quickly on another bus before the police could even arrive. Although nobody was seriously injured, one person did take an ambulance to the hospital to get checked out. My own husband, refusing to take an ambulance, even took himself in to get checked out. Although I am not going to give any more specific details for legal reasons, I will tell you that when the police report came out, it was written that my husband failed to yield but was not ticketed, even though he never left his lane and pulled out in front of no one. I personally got on the scene before the police and pictures alone showed just who was at fault. Never the less, because of the simple sentence the officer wrote, within just a couple weeks of the accident, the lawsuits began to roll in. Our attorney told us to expect this, especially because there was no record of exactly "who" was on the bus, "people" who "said" they were in the accident started coming out of the woodwork. Those law offices you see on TV that many would call "ambulance chasers" certainly did not help the situation. When you begin to receive these in the mail on a regular basis telling you that people are planning to sue you for a ton of money, it can be a bit daunting. As we walked through this, I had to continue to remind myself that God knew the situation, He knew the truth and that as His children, we had favor in this situation, yet I could not helped hear that "other" voice that kept trying to speak fear into my life and we continued to keep receiving papers in the mail. I remembered about a year and a half after the accident, when I thought things had settled down a bit, and I was getting ready to head out of state for a week long speaking engagement, we received yet another set of "papers". I remember kind of starting to fall apart in frustration and fear because it caught me off guard. There is nothing like that helpless feeling of knowing you are innocent, having done nothing wrong, yet you can scream "But I'm innocent" at the top of your lungs, but yet you are still expected to prove it regardless of what you think may look obvious. Very quickly after feeling this panic reaction however, I felt the Holy Spirit remind me where fear comes from and to hold tight to what God says...not some papers.
I often, in worship and for comfort, turn to Gods Words in the form of music. I sat down at my piano and began to play in worship and the words just started to flow. First of all, I was reminded of the verse in Ephesians 6:13 that reminds us that when we have done everything we can to stand our ground, just to stand firm. I knew that this was not OUR battle, but the Lords. I began to write, write, write, and pour out the words that the Lord placed upon my heart in a song, to remind me just what Gods word says when I felt that fear trying to sneak up on me.
"When the ways of this world threat to carry us away, and fear is all consuming, it is You oh God, that is my strength and shield: Immovable, unchangeable, an everlasting God.....and I shall not fear, cause you are near and You hold me in Your hands, and when Ive done all to stand, I'll stand.
I know I'll find You, right where I met You, You are my anchor in this storm. With Your Word upon my heart, it shelters me, oh it sets me free....and I shall not fear, cause you are near, and you hold me in Your hands...and when Ive done all to stand, and when Ive done all I can, and when Ive done all to stand, I'll just stand....."
Anyway, that is some of it and you get the idea. I can tell you that I have had to lean on that song a number of times since it was written, just to remind me to remain calm and stand. Even when the above situation had passed, and not a dime spent out of our pockets due to His favor, I have relied upon this song in other situations the devil tries to throw at me. I have recorded this particular song, and have used it in ministry to remind others as well of what the word of God says. I think often our first instinct is to panic, jump into fear and into a mode of trying to control the situation.....tiring ourselves out with fearful actions and worry. Worry is much like a rocking chair, where it keeps you busy but gets you no where. I can honestly testify that I have rocked a lot of miles in my life.... none of which got me anywhere but wasted a ton of my time and energy. God does expect us to be prepared with our FULL ARMOR ON, and to do what we need to do (without fear and worry), but to first go to Him in confidence KNOWING that HE IS GOD. He just wants us to stand. I think of times when I handed it all over to God only to take it back thinking that I had a better idea...which is nuts...who has a better plan than God...really?! Instead we need to just duck and get out of the way and just stand on His Word. I write this as a reminder to myself and hopefully it will be a good reminder to you also. Be blessed. :)
