Freedom from Fear... in This Life

A few weeks ago I had a unnerving dream in which I found myself in a conference room surrounded by unknown colleagues or classmates who were all working diligently on something akin to quantum physics. The people around me were all "heads down" busily doing their work while I tried not to make eye contact with someone standing who was either my boss or my teacher, trying to not make it obvious that I had no clue about what I was supposed to be doing. It wasn't pleasant, but I wouldn't quite put it in the same category of the nightmare of being chased by the dinosaurs from the "Land of the Lost" when I was four years old - leading me to scream and sob. That's a nightmare. Maybe just for laughs I'll fake a nightmare and in the middle of the night grab my wife screaming, "No! We're not allowed to capitalize integration costs for technology expenditures which have already been transfered to cost center 62400!" just to see what her reaction is. Anyway...

It doesn't take Sigmund Freud to hypothesize that this nighttime vision might be related to a new position that I've taken at work, a role which has led to greater responsibility, and yes, somewhat increased pressure and stress. During this time, I've found it helpful to continue to meditate upon biblical truths that I've intellectually for a long time but must constantly remind myself of (as I will continue to need to do for the rest of my life).

For those who count ourselves as Christians, many of these truths which should inform a healthy view of work are touched on in a blog post I wrote years ago around the sovereignty of God. I think it's similarly helpful to meet understand how the work of Christ has not simply given me freedom from eternal condemnation, but freedom in this life from the kinds of fear, anxiety and bitterness which can occlude the deepest and imperishable joy. Or as I read from a recent reflection from Scripture Union:

Oh, to be set free… to walk away from the bitterness of broken relationships, missed opportunities and disappointments.

Hallelujah! Jesus saved us. But salvation isn't just about our lives in eternity; it's about our lives in today's reality.

This is not to say that life for a Christian is trial or tribulation free. To the contrary, the Bible remind believers that this is something to be expected, most notably in 1 Peter 4. But to free to walk away from the anxieties, bitterness and disappointments in light of a personal God who has not only declared us righteous, but has told us not to be bound by anxiety or bitterness but to cast our cares upon Him because (a) He cares for us and (b) He can and will act accordingly. That's freedom.

Or as the great theologian Mr. Miyagi once told his disciple in Karate Kid, Part III: "Daniel-San, it's okay to lose to opponent. Must not lose to fear!"