July 23 2018 – Click here to listen
Through the years I have been like a lightning rod attracting more than my share of nutty people. It’s like I’m a psycho magnet or something. I’ve been frequently threatened, and always carry either or both my trusty 9MM and .380 handguns on my person, plus an arsenal stored at my home for protection. One persistent nut who would not let his hatred for me go kept it up for a couple of years. He never carried through on his threats and neither did the others, even though I’ve offered to meet with them on more than one occasion and settle our disputes the old-fashioned way. None has been serious enough to accept the duel offer. Perhaps they thought I was a bigger nut than they were???
I’ve found through the years that most of these trolls are cowards and are more about running their big mouths than acting out their fantasies; however, don’t send letters I realize that there are always exceptions. It’s not unusual to see on the news where some nut that got fired took a shotgun to work and killed several employees. I take common sense precautions just in case, but honestly, I don’t worry about it. Occasionally someone gets hit by lightning too, but I don’t worry about that either – what are the odds?
Some have an all-consuming fear about getting bitten by a poisonous snake and are petrified when they see even a little Garter snake, but the facts remain that very few people ever meet their fate via a poisonous snake bite. The odds are incredible against meeting our fate in that manner. I told my wife who is very afraid of snakes this the other day and she drily countered by pointing out that I was bitten by a big rattlesnake a few years back. She is not a fan of my no-fear logic, particularly when it comes to snakes, challenging nuts to duels, or me going offshore fishing alone.
Bahhh!
My point is that we should not live our lives in fear. We should live our lives as peacefully as possible, always optimistically looking toward the day our Lord will redeem us, trusting Him completely. Yes, there will be some bumps in the road, but nothing we can’t handle with help from above. Basically, we should have faith that God is with us and will take care of us through this life and the next as He has promised in His Holy Word. God cannot lie, so anyone who has studied the Bible and has faith as they should can rest easy. God would not have promised to take care of us if He did not mean it.
So, don’t spend your life worrying about some nut who may be threatening you, or being swept away by a tornado, going down on a plane, the big “C”, heart problems, getting hit by lightning, being swept away in a tsunami, or whatever. Yes, we should use common sense and not take unnecessary risks like I sometimes do and tempt the Lord as if we are invincible, but we should not live our lives in fear either. If you truly believe in Jesus as you should, worry will not be in your vocabulary and you will trust in the Lord completely to deliver you as He has promised in His Holy Word.
Matt. 6:25
Therefore, I say to you, do not worry