Childhood fears are funny to us now, but they were very real then! Remember being scared of the "big, bad bear"? He was "real" in your imagination, bigger than life in your dreams. You'd awake scared out of your wits and run to jump in your parents' bed, cuddle up to safety, and know you'd be all right! Soon you were asleep, carried back to your room, and ready to face the world the next day!
So who's afraid of the big bad bear?? We're all grown up now--nothing to fear, right? Wrong! We live with all kinds of fears--real and imagined, whether we're a Christian or not! Now, of course, we KNOW all the right Scriptures to tell our friends when THEY are afraid, but when WE are afraid, uh....that's another story! Right? Admit it, God knows us all anyway--and we can't fool Him!
But our own minds and our own imaginations can sure fool us! The poor people in New Delhi, India, are scared again--this time there is a "bear man" on the loose. He follows the "monkey man" that had the city in a panic with so-called attacks all over the city. Now it is alleged that there is no accurate documentation on the monkey and the bear--just a frenzy of fear stories circulating the city--and scaring the people. (See links below.)
You may not have an imagined or real bear or monkey on your trail today, but you do have that old lion roarin' away, nipping at your heels, after you hot and heavy. The devil hates you, and would like to be that "big bad bear" from your childhood dreams, to haunt, harrass and horrify you into a frozen fear mode, where you're no good for yourself, your family, or your Lord.
He's no figment of your imagination--he's real, but he is DEFEATED! Before he was a "bear" in your world, he was a serpent in God's world...and Jesus, God's Son, has "bruised the serpent's head." No more can he control you, alarm you, or bring you down in the dust--not unless you let him!
So, arise today, put on your armor in the name of the Lord and know that no monkey, bear, lion or serpent from Satan's ZOO has authority over you, your mind and your spirit this day. You are the Lord's, under His protection and in His care. Now believe it--go get on your armor of the Lord, and have a great BEAR-FREE day!!
Down the Path to the Well--a thought to remember along the way