False Evidence Appearing Real

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.”

1 Corinthians 16:13-14, NIV

Come Quick!

“Mark!?!  Mark!?!”  I could hear the panic in her voice even though she was trying to keep herself under control.  I opened the door to find our slightly frantic neighbor from across the street.

“Hi! Can Mark come over? He’s such a good guy, and we have a snake in the house,” was her desperate cry for help.

Now, while I agree, Mark is definitely a “good guy”, I happen to know that neither of us does snakes well.  My aversion had some reinforcement when I thought I had gotten locked in the reptile house at the zoo near closing time when I was much younger.  As I went to get him to come help, I knew the minute I said “snake” his heart would plummet.

He asked two clarifying questions,  “A snake?  Inside the house?”  He came to the door with me and, after grabbing a couple long handled tools, escorted our neighbor across the street to see if he could help her and her almost 100 year-old mom.

When he returned several minutes later, I asked, “So, can you add snake wrestler or killer to your resume?”

“Nope.”  He simply replied.  

Okay, now I’m baffled.  He proceeded to tell me that upon further exploration, he was told to be on the lookout for not one, but rather two snakes.  He dutifully looked where the elderly women were directing his attention.

Then he saw it … Relief!  He felt immediate relief when he realized that what was causing so much fear was simply an optical illusion.  Even as Mark reached up, there was a cry of panic about the snake.  It was only after he touched the “snake,” that they understood what was really there.

You see, the drapes had become dislodged, and what they thought they were seeing was not in fact present.  Even with the proof, it took a little bit before belief set in.

To Fear or Not to Fear

There is a teaching that uses the acronym FEAR to represent False Evidence Appearing Real.  In this case, it appeared that there were two snakes in the curtains and the women agreed to be afraid.  Then, it started to escalate with terror attempting to overtake them, as well.

Satan loves to deceive, using counterfeiting and manipulation to his advantage.  What things in your life is he attempting to convince you are real: emotions, physical illness, mental illness, finances, broken promises, broken relationships, etc.?

For me, I’m currently having to keep my guard up against the thoughts that what we are doing in the ministry of Blue Fire Legacy is pointless.  That can quickly become, “If the ministry doesn’t matter, I must not matter either.”  Then, that spirals into “If I don’t matter, I hold no value.”

Circumstances and finances can feed this; remember the “E” part of the acrostic is “evidence”.  The thing we have to remember to do, myself included, is to evaluate the evidence.  Is it true or false?  Or even trickier, is it partially true so that we’ll more easily accept what’s false?

If we lose monthly financial supporters, does that fact of evidence equate to my leap to the value assessment?  The evidence of lost income is true, however, the problem comes when I tie that to a value assessment for myself and the ministry.

Persevere

The road has been long; 9 years long in this particular organization of ministry.  Nine years of wondering if we will get a paycheck this month or not like so many months prior.  

So, worldly wisdom would say there is sufficient evidence for us to abandon the ministry founded to support ministers and their families.  True, but there is also the evidence that those we serve would feel a noticeable void if we called it quits.

There are the occasional testimonies from clients that indicate what God is doing through us matters significantly in their lives.  Simply being able to pen this thought is evidence that God is still using our work and life experiences to challenge and encourage others to walk more deeply with Him in their faith journey.  So, I can let the “snake” in my living room scare me into leaving my house, or I can stand in authority covered by Christ, and stand my ground based on His Truth.

Finally, brothers having done all, STAND firm!  The instruction to stand firm is without exception.  In both Corinthians and Ephesians, it is commanded based on Whose we are; not on the circumstances around us.

“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. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist …” Ephesians 6:13-14, NIV