Faith

---

And A Sound Mind
By Deanne Ruedemann

Last summer my family and I moved back to the United States from Romania, and having no house to live in, we moved into an apartment complex, the same one we had lived in the previous summer. We had felt reasonably comfortable living there with no major incidents or problems, but it quickly became evident that this summer would be different.

From the first night, we heard people partying, playing loud music, screaming at each other, and trying to get crying babies back to sleep (unsuccessfully). To make things even more challenging, our bedroom window looked out directly at the main dumpsters. Prior to having lived there, I never would have considered that to be a problem, but now I know that for whatever strange reason, people would choose the dumpsters to have major shouting matches, shoot their pistols, or set fire to the contents (especially if someone has dumped a mattress). All of these things, of course, occurred sometime way after midnight and way before dawn. Having just come back from Romania where the only thing we heard at “night” was the early morning rooster crowing, all of these things were quite a disruption to us.

None of these disturbances, however, would disrupt my life more than the fear that came after a man next door was shot by a police officer. This man had been evicted from the apartments, but continued to come back on the property, so a confrontation occurred between the officer and the man, resulting in the man getting shot. Praise the Lord, the man survived, although he did spend a few days in the hospital. What made this particularly scary for me was the fact that my children were right at the window that looked out to where the man had been shot. They were probably no more than six feet away from where it happened.

I felt God’s protection through this incident, as none of us were harmed physically, but it soon became evident to me that I had been “harmed” by a gripping fear that just would not go away. I began watching the local TV news every day, at first to see the report on the shooting, and then later just to watch other crimes in San Antonio. One thing about watching local news is that when something “bad” happens in the city, the story is told over and over on several different stations, so if you miss one report, there are numerous opportunities throughout the day to catch up on all of the bad news.

The Bible tells us that the devil stands before God as the accuser of the brethren day and night, but it seems to me that he also uses the news media to help keep things stirred up as well. If you watch the news day and night, you will soon start seeing the world as a terrible place to live, full of constant crime and hatred. Rarely does any broadcast give you any assurrance that there is any peace to be had at any place on earth.

The shooting took place during a time that I had started studying the Bible in a different way. I had already been reading Beth Moore’s book, Praying God’s Word, that had shown me how to pray by using Scripture. So when I realized how intense my fears had become, I looked in her book which then pointed me to specific verses to pray through. I was also attending a women’s weekly Bible study that taught similar things about praying using God’s Word. I even recalled Pastor Houston having preached on this very subject. He had said that we can’t go wrong by praying God’s Word because God’s will is always in His Word. So from three different sources I was learning that God’s Word was the key to overcoming anything in my life that was contrary to Scripture, through prayer and meditation on specific Bible verses.

When you look in the Bible for passages about conquering fear, there are many possibilities. But the one verse that has helped me the most to overcome my recent fears about crime and the outside “evil” things that can happen to me or my family, is II Timothy 1:7. I prefer the King James version for this verse:

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

For God had not given me a spirit of fear. He had not! If not God, then who had given me this terrible fear that so filled my thinking that I could not even enjoy the simple joys of life? As I meditated on this truth, that God had not given me this fear, I began to realize that this fear came from two sources: 1) the devil, the prince of the air, who often controls what is played in the media, who loves to use real crimes to create false fears in my mind by having me worry about more crime happening, and 2) my own mind and disbelief in God’s ability to care for me even in the middle of a city that has a lot of criminal activity happening daily.

This realization that my fears did not come from God, but from some other untrue source, gave me peace. For me to fear anything means that I am not fully relying on God’s power that provides peace and joy and an abundant life that is absent of fear and discontentment and bitterness. Power, love, and a sound mind are the things that God has given me. God’s power is inside me and with this power I can do all things. His love is abundant and nothing can separate me from that love.

I especially love the promise this verse gives me of a sound mind: no fear, no anxiety, no mind that is paralyzed with terror, but a SOUND MIND that is full of peace. This is particularly comforting to me as I have watched my mother’s fears develop due to numerous medical problems that have weakened her mind. She often hallucinates and will express her fears of the unknown, saying things like “I’m just afraid”. When I have asked her what she is afraid of, she says that she doesn’t know, but is “just afraid”.

During the last visit with my mother, who is a Christian, I used this verse to help her during one of the episodes of fear she was having. When she spoke about her fear, I said, “Mom, let me share this verse with you.” So I quoted the verse and asked her if Jesus lived inside of her. Of course she said “yes”. I pointed out to her that the verse says that God (who lives in her) does not give her fear. She said she understood. Then I said that if God didn’t give her fear, then it is coming from some other untrue source, and it is a lie.

Next I pointed out the three things that she is assured by God to have: power, love, and a sound mind.
When she heard these words from God’s Word, and understood them, I felt her fears subside and her countenance completely changed to that of peace, just like I too had been feeling peaceful from these same words.

So here I am today, sharing these same words with you, dear sister in Christ, for you to realize the truth of what God has given you and what he has not given you. So next time you feel fear, remember II Timothy 1:7 and know that God has not given you fear, but He has give you power, love, and a sound mind. In all these things take heart and feel His love which will never leave you or forsake you under any circumstance that tries to steal your joy and peace.


Copyright Deanne Ruedemann 2005

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE