FEAR – False Evidence Appearing Real
Sure sounds like a headline in our news today, doesn’t it? My husband gave this acronym to the word, “FEAR”, many years ago to our children when they were seeing and hearing” things” in their bedrooms at night. To them, it looked like and it sounded like a monster but in reality, it was only a coat on a hangar or the rumbling sounds of the refrigerator.
He also used that acronym when he was speaking to people about those dark shadows of defeat and discouragement that were looming over their lives, but in reality, those were the scare tactics of the enemy to make them think they were going to fail. False Evidence Appearing Real. I also remember when he’d encourage someone to consider applying for a job at a certain place. They did, and they got the job. He proved his point that FEAR about tomorrow was getting them no place, but putting muscle to trust in our unfailing God makes “all things possible” and causes FEAR to flee.
My two young grandsons asked me to tell them the “cat and Papa” story again. Believe me, they’ll be telling their kids this story one day. Here’s the story:
Our daughter, Staci, was the guest speaker for a Mary Kay Annual Convention in Nashville. We had a few minutes to spare so we walked to a little shop nearby, and this little “fake” kitten caught my eye. I wanted it for a companion to the ceramic dog we had. When the kids were younger we always had cats and dogs around, but the day came when the kids left home, and so did the pets. These little imitation ones suited us just fine — no responsibilities of feeding, watering or cleaning.
We drove home from Nashville (back then I was her travel companion and we toured the country doing conferences, meetings, and concerts in our custom high-top van). We could drive for hours because when one of us was driving, the other was sleeping on the bed in the back. We made it to Tulsa about 3 a.m. and put the cat on the chair beside Ron’s chair. We thought he’d love our new pet when he would come to the den in the morning. Later, when Staci and I awoke, he told us that he’d walked into the den, saw the cat and thought “Oh, those girls. They must have left the door open when they got in and that cat snuck in.” He quietly closed the doors to the den and kitchen so he wouldn’t wake the cat up, and then have to be chasing it throughout the house. He opened the back door so he could chase it outside. He went to the cat and “shushed” it to wake it up and with the spoon in his hand from stirring his coffee, touched the cat….nothing. Then he tapped it and it was hard. He knew it was an imitation. The visual of that story– of him sneaking around the cat to not wake it up — still makes me smile.
I still have that cat AND dog, to remind me that SOME THINGS are just not as they appear. Ron spoke about the acronym of FEAR again — False Evidence Appearing Real. That cat stirred up concern in him — he sure didn’t want to be chasing it around the house — like he had with birds that had come in through the fireplace before. But, thankfully — that cat was false evidence — it only appeared real!
How many times do we worry and concern ourselves with things that aren’t real? If we had kept a journal of those worries, and reviewed our journal a year later, we’d see things that were worrying us or causing us fear that never came to pass. With trusting in Him who is the REAL DEAL — fear doesn’t have to consume us and neither should we give it the time of day.
This scripture says it plainly: Isaiah 41:10 “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”
Now watch out for those fierce, violent little kittens that just might come and settle in for a long night’s nap!