Morning Moments

"We have nothing to fear but fear itself" are the immortal words of Frankliin Roosevelt. I know of no more appropriate words for our day.

Several years ago there was a well-known TV circus show that developed a Bengal tiger act. Like the rest of the show, it was done "live" before a large audience. One evening the tiger trainer went into the cage with several tigers to do a routine performance. The door was locked behind him. The spotlight highlighted the cage, the TV cameras moved in close, and the audience watched in suspense as the trainer skillfully put the tigers through their paces.

In the middle of the performance the worst possible fate befell the act: the lights went out! For twenty or thirty long, dark seconds the trainer was locked in with the tigers. In the darkness the tigers could see him, but he could not see them.

A whip and a small kitchen chair seemed meager protection under the circumstances, but he survived, and when the lights came on he calmly finished the performance.

In an interview afterward, he was asked how he felt knoing that the tigers could see him but that he could not see them. He first admitted the chilling fear of the situation, but pointed out that the tigers did not know that he could not see them.

He said, "I just kept cracking my whip and talking to them until the lights came on. They never knew I could not see them as well as they could see me."

Today the world is gripped by fear about many things. It is not just America, but the world, and there is a recognition that what has been tolerated for too long, but not terminated, now dominates and terrorizes many: When will the bubble burst? How long can things be so good? There is a dominant spirit of fear and uncertainty in our world to which media has greatly contributed.

We who are true believers must recognize and realize that the fear that dominates our world should be the reason for our calm, cool, and collected spirits. Our God has always will be, is now, and ever shall be in control and will not give it up nor have it taken from Him. Whatever might come, we must face it, faith it, and not fake it nor fear it. "Perfect love," which is only found IN CHRIST, "is not perfected in fear; but perfect love expels fear. SO, my dear sisters and brothers - FEAR NOT for the tigers don't know you cannot see them. But our God sees both them and YOU!