Dr. X, the IRS is on line 2. Dr. Y, Mrs. Jones tripped and fell as she came through our front door. She wants to know the name of our insurance carrier. Dr. B, the hospital just called. It’s about your wife and the baby. They were in a bad accident. FEAR! It’s the most intimidating four-letter word of all, and it controls the masses.
Chiropractors are no exception. In fact, from what I have observed, chiropractors seem to be especially susceptible to this caustic spirit. If allowed, it gently creeps in and ultimately overpowers, but it does not have to be so. God has given us a power to overcome it.
So, how do you have more faith and less fear? Check your soil. Fear grows best in one type of soil. Faith grows best in another type. Fear loves soil that is fertilized with rebellion. Faith loves soil that is fertilized with obedience. Fear loves soil that is mixed with foolish pride. Faith loves soil that is mixed with humility. Fear loves soil that is vain. Faith loves soil that is reverent.
What is the key? Jesus says in Matthew 16 beginning with verse 24: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” The same theme is recorded in the Gospels of Mark and Luke, but Luke adds one very significant word. Luke 9:23, “Then he said to them all, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’” Did you catch the difference? The word is daily.
The key to creating the most fertile soil in which faith can flourish and in which fear cannot take root is to daily deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Jesus. How do we accomplish this? Start your day with a prayer of thanksgiving. Confess your sins. Pray for forgiveness. Acknowledge His sacrifice that saved you and gave you life. Then lay that life at His feet, and surrender it to His will. Pray that you might die at his feet, so that He can raise you up, and so that He can live in you to His glory. Pray for His will and purpose for your life to be carried out in you for today.
It is a mystery, but the destruction of self gives birth to a new self that is miraculously melded together with Christ in an abiding presence that we do not fully understand. This new self possesses a force that the forces of evil (fear being a force of evil) cannot stand against.
Again, the key word is daily. Each day, everyday, one day at a time. If you do this, you will find new life. It is a life superior to any life you might pursue of your own accord. Jesus beckons, “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30.
May the Peace of God, which passes all understanding, be with you all.
