3 words will help you conquer fear in this election year
By: Mike Novotny
In times like these our national motto is a true refuge from all the troubles the rest of the world can cause our exceptional nation. No matter what side we are on the three words will calm our fearful hearts and give us internal peace. This is key to us coming together as a nation, one nation, under God.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The year 2020 , it appears, is the year of fear.
As I write these words, there’s no emotion that seems to have gripped more hearts than fear. Despite all the things we might be afraid of (nuclear war, school shootings, national debt, rising suicide rates), what seems to be chattering more teeth than ever is the election.
It doesn’t matter whom you are for or against, what party you support or oppose, or what political animal is most likely to be bumper-stickered to your vehicle; people are afraid.
Republicans are afraid of the possible implications of President Trump’s impeachment, afraid of a Democratic sweep in November, afraid of being swept away in a sexual revolution, afraid of a liberal-leaning Supreme Court, afraid of the changing/trampling of religious liberties, afraid of short-term social solutions that leave America in long-term financial peril, and _________ (fill in the blank with the latest conservative fear).
Democrats are afraid of President Trump’s triumph over impeachment, afraid frustrated Americans will punish the left for the recent political partisanship, afraid of four more years of presidential tweets, afraid of a conservative-leaning Supreme Court, afraid of the changing/trampling of human dignity, afraid of short-term financial solutions that leave America in long-term social pain, and ___________. (You get the point.)
How about you? Are you afraid for our future?
Although I’m not as deeply political as some of my family members and friends, I will confess that I find some of the headlines unnerving. It’s hard to know whose opinion piece to believe these days, but everyone seems to be predicting a grim future if ________ stays in/loses power.
I think that’s why I adore the three words that changed my life (and led me to write an entire book).
That may sound like a sophomoric marketing pitch, but it isn’t. These three words honestly make a massive difference in my life when fear sits on the throne of my heart and rules over my feelings for my children’s future.
What are those three words? I’m glad you asked!
Word #1: GOD
The first, and most vital, word to conquer your election-year fear is GOD. Not a generic, run-of-the-mill god. Not even an officially approved, technically orthodox God. No, I’m thinking of a glorious, box-breaking, entirely enough GOD. The GOD so full of light that the ghouls of fear whimper and hide from his presence. The GOD so full of strength that he makes the strongest fear look as weak as my seventh grade self (think biceps as thin as straws). The GOD so full of wisdom and ability that he can take any political mess and use it for the good of his people.
And, yes, the word any from the previous sentence includes the mess that makes you afraid.
This GOD is better than your handpicked president. Better than a Congress that unanimously agrees with your convictions. Better than a debt-free America where everyone is safe and medically cared for.
Allow this basic logic to persuade your heart. Whatever you want/wish for/pray for politically is less than nothing next to GOD.
Word #2: Is
The GOD you just imagined is presently present. He is not the “I Was” of the past or the “I Will Be” once you’re in a better place. No, he is the great “I AM,” our “ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). The phrase “ever-present” means that GOD will be present whenever _______ happens. There is no shift in culture, no partisan legislation, and no political power swing that can undo the present presence of GOD.
David, the shepherd/king of biblical times, lived under the terrifying reign of King Saul (where hostile tweets were the least of his problems) and then through the ugly uprising of his own ambitious son Absalom (who used shady marketing to win over the voters), yet he penned these famous words: “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me ... You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies” (Psalm 23:4,5).
David was not afraid, even in the dark valleys where his political enemies plotted and planned. Why not? “For you [GOD] are with me.” If this stunning GOD always “is,” then there is no reason to be afraid.
Word #3: Here
The GOD who takes away fear is not over “there” with them, but instead right “here” with you. If you’ve turned from your sin and trusted in GOD’s Son, Jesus, then “GOD is here” is your daily reality. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:18).
Nothing in 2020 has the power to shove GOD away from your side. An impeachment is impotent in that regard. Elections are unable to evict our King from the throne of your heart. Supreme courts and border policies have no say where GOD goes.
Brother or sister, that means that GOD is here. No matter what. No matter who. No matter when.
Those are the three words that can change your election-year fear.
Still struggling? Can I suggest reading the psalms, all 150 of them, before election night? Study how real the enemies of the ancient world were, how much fear they injected into the hearts of GOD’s people, and (most vitally) how David and friends knew exactly where to run to find peace -- the refuge of GOD’s presence.
They couldn’t control the political future. Neither can you. But every Christian can breathe deeply, find lasting peace, and rejoice at the reality that GOD is here.
Even during an election year.
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3 magic words , IMPEACH TRUMP NOW !
LOCK HIM UP!
IMPEACH HIS ASS!
Trump will win.
Simply stated: that which comes into existence has a cause. You go one step further and presume the cause is a being.
We agree here: something cannot emerge from nothing. This is by definition of the word 'nothing'.
No, the conclusion we can draw is that which comes into existence has a cause and that which exists but did not come into existence has existed perpetually (is eternal). You presume again that the eternal (first) cause is a being.
No, we cannot presume that the first cause is a being. There is a first cause, but it is not necessarily a being.
To wit, your logic has one critical flaw: you presume that the first cause is necessarily a being. You are inserting a requirement that does not logically exist.
If "God Is Here" why doesn't he show himself? An all knowing god should be able to see some of his imperfect creations need evidence.
Trusting in a sadistic, narcissistic POS that wants my fear is supposed to help me conquer fear - No thank you.
It is rather ironic - worshipping an evil, immoral, genocidal maniac is supposed to conquer fear. Perhaps humans created some of their gods as decent beings, but the Abrahamic god is not one of those.
Not to mention the whole religion is based on fear. Be good or go to HELL.
It's the same thing good parents do with children. Be good, or get punished.
I never told my children they would spend eternity in the burning pit if they misbehave.
That's amazing. You think good parents drown their children if they misbehave, stone them to death, order them to be raped, kidnapped and enslaved, torture them ...we put people like that in jail. If your god were real, it would be on trial for crimes against humanity. As described in the bible, it is the epitome of evil.
I sure hope you don't have children if you consider murder and torture to be valid punishments for misbehavior.
You are being so melodramatic. Most successful systems are built on fear. How do you think the criminal justice system works? Be good or go to jail or even be executed. It's not a foreign concept why would religion be any different?
I already listed one in the comment you replied to. Why do people follow speed limits? Because if not they could possibly get a fine or lose their license or something that would be a punishment to them. It would probably benefit most people to speed most of the time, but the FEAR of punishment keeps most people driving responsibly. Get it?
Religion is far worse. Disobedience justifies stoning children to death?
The bible is melodramatic; equating God's torture and murder with what a "good parent" would do is ridiculous.
Uh huh - sure it does.
You do realize that stoning children was acceptable in society back then? It's not like that was something only religious people did. You can't judge the Bible based on your current SJW standards. Taking the Bible too literally makes you totally miss the whole point of the book.
On that, we agree. However, the person who seeded this crap is a biblical literalist and a Christian dominionist.
Of course I can. When you're trying to justify your God's atrocious, immoral actions by comparing them to parents punishing their children, I can absolutely judge the biblical God and find it to be evil. The bible specifically tells people to rape and enslave little girls, and to commit all kinds of atrocities. And since people use the bible as an authoritative source, it's worth pointing out its immorality.
How many people take the bible literally? There are certain individuals here on NT who do. Also some high profile individuals in society too.
Since religion is an invention of mankind, one would expect it to be based on extremes: fear for those who do not tow the line and the greatest possibly heavenly rewards for those who do is the masterstroke recipe for controlling minds.
My mom was more subtle. She used to toss me marshmallows or hot dogs if I misbehaved saying "These might come in handy where you are going."
Ah yes, nothing gets the old Newstalkers spooled up better than a nice religious discussion. Not even Trump.
I really don't know why it seems to matter to so many people. Neither side is going to change their minds.
I know i'm not .... no matter how hard nonbelievers try to insult and look down their noses at me. Knock yourselves out haters
Honey Badger don't care, Honey Badger don't give a shit ....
You mean people like [Deleted]
I'm confused. He's hating on you because he places HIS FAITH in God?
??
No, and you know exactly what I mean, but decided to play dumb. He is very condescending when it comes to other's faith and you know it.
He can be but that knife cuts both ways here and you know exactly what I mean. He gets dog-piled on here regularly. I'm not defending his stuff, that's his business but i'm definitely not defending the many dogs on the pile either.
When someone proudly, stubbornly and repeatedly declares on a public forum that God is real, a particular religion is truth, evolution is pseudoscience - a worldwide conspiracy of godless scientists, etc. there will be (and should be) challenges to that.
Note that the super majority of religious articles are posted here by religious promoters. It is unreasonable to expect these to stand unchallenged. The more outrageous the claim the more likely to have multiple challenges.
True but the real magic happens when that debate/disagreement is done respectfully. On both sides.
That rarely happens. That said the negativity towards religion here, specifically Christianity, IS very palpable.
Do you deny that?
Yes discourse is indeed generally negative.
Here is what I personally experience in these matters. When I raise a challenge it is based on the claim and is supported by facts and/or reason. Before I make a claim / rebuttal, I first ensure that I can back it up.
Often, the challenge is met with an intellectually dishonest tactic such as equivocation, deflection, obtuseness, strawman, ... or making it personal.
Rarely do I find a religious interlocutor who will engage in debate without resorting to such tactics. Often the tactics are used in the first reply.
So unless one is willing to engage challenges honestly and as an adult, it is best to not make bold, unsubstantiated claims in a public forum. Especially if the claims are hosted by an article.
Like i said, that knife cuts both ways.
For the most part i try not getting into it anymore with many people here on religion. There are some here who feel different than i who can debate honestly and respectfully. Thats cool and all good. It does get old trying to explain for example, the concept of "faith" to a true nonbeliever and its usually a fools errand. Not always though as evidenced by today. But it usually devolves into how stupid people are for believing in something that can't be proven scientifically. And that really cracks me up since i'm an Engineer by training. I doubt many people here have more "scientific' creds than i.
Name calling rarely accomplishes anything. Especially the Passive Aggressive kind that tries to get around forum rules and regs.
Of course, but that is an over-simplification. That is like saying both R and D partisans cherry-pick to present their positions in the most favorable light. (Euphemistically stated, by the way, to not use the word 'lying').
Since we are repeating, I will repeat that the super majority of religious articles are posted by pro-religious individuals. The 'knife cuts both ways' is true simplistically and in the abstract, but there is far more to the story than that.
For example, do you find people challenging Enoch, et. al.? The main reason is that Enoch (used as an exemplar) does not wave his religion as the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. He does not make outrageous claims based on religious beliefs such as evolution is a worldwide conspiracy by godless scientists. He does not claim that those who do not envision God (G-d) as he does will 'suffer the consequences'. He does not make claims of certainty that his God (G-d) is real and that Trump was hand-picked by God (G-d). (on and on ...)
Those who engage in aggressive proselytizing and/or stubbornly obtuse declarations based on religious beliefs and in direct contradiction with well founded evidence and logic should (and will) be challenged on public forums. Those, like Enoch, who intelligently and honestly engage others in adult discourse are respected and treated in kind.
I don't look down my nose at you. But then, you aren't a literalist and you don't constantly post bullshit articles insulting anyone who doesn't share your faith, or spout off about wanting to deny others equal rights because of your religious beliefs.
Thats good and i hear what you are saying but you would have to have you eyes wide shut to not see it here. There is clearly a anti religion bias with many active members here on NT as HA's articles regarding the same ALWAYS get heavily attacked. Which is to be expected because they are apparently controversial to many here.
And honestly i think thats great as long as its done respectfully but you and i both know that is not what normally happens. The hammer of sanctimonious non-belief gets dropped on all of them and usually quickly. Then both sides, myself included sometimes, are off and running. It accomplishes little but stroking egos i suppose.
That said and using your on train of thought, why do you care what HA thinks? Why read/respond to his stuff?
Again, no one here is changing anyone's mind that i can see.
Honestly, it's just so much anti-science bullshit that I can't resist pointing it out. I just can't read a comment which claims the Earth's axial tilt was caused by a non-existent flood without attacking it for the bullshit that it is. Science is too wonderful a thing to be shit on like that. And if HA would stop posting articles that are clearly intended to insult others, maybe he wouldn't get attacked.
Besides, he has such an emotional attachment to his Christian persecution complex, I'm probably actually doing him a favor.
Most people are delusional about something.
Lol .... well, that would be a whole other complex typical in many tech/science types but lets not get into that here. There is already enough degrees of freedom in this discussion.
Human nature. We seem to be wired to invent religions, and there are all kinds of other ways we manage to be delusional. For example, did you ever take a psychology course and learn about the defense mechanisms?
I read a lot of scientific articles. You can google it.
You said it, we didnt. And it's also made evident by the types of articles posted or seeded.
I think it's worth discussing. If it gets someone outside of their group think bubble and having a constructive dialogue then I think it's a positive. A lot of people have a negative view of religion because all of their friends do or it conflicts with their political stance. Sometimes you have to be there to represent the other side they rarely get to hear from. That's the way I see it anyways. I'm not even what I would call a practicing Christian but I think it's good for society and worth defending.
My Mom is a retired Episcopal deacon - religion has been wonderful for her. Unfortunately, now that she has dementia, I can't get her interested in going to church services. But I called the priest at her former church and he arranged for a local church to bring Mom communion once or twice a month. When I was at her apartment a couple of days before Christmas, the priest herself showed up with two other women and a small keyboard - we had a small Christmas service with communion and some Christmas carols. The priest had Mom read the gospel, as she would have done when she was a deacon. Then Mom kept going and read most of the priest's part
We just laughed and let her keep going.
Agreed, until it gets into the enviable name calling and pro/anti religion sniping. One of the big three discussion no-no's ..... Religion, Money and Politics.
But hell. then no one would be here helping Perrie to pay for this fine site ......
Money is one of the three no-nos? I mean, I don't tell people how much money I make, but I like talking about money and investments and such and haven't noticed it causing any issues.
One example that comes to mind:
Me and some friends were talking about our 401k's and investments once. No dollars amounts were discussed but one of them took offense to the perceived success a couple of us have had. I mean he was pissed off jealous. My jaw dropped and i no longer discuss such things with that person around. Its just not worth it.
Sooner or later It'll happen to you if you don't put any filters on such discussions ... trust me. Especially if you are perceived as the successful one
That sounds nice of you. I think a belief in God gets a little more important the older you get.
Good point. I guess I do put filters on such discussions, and I have seen people get offended when someone is talking about their beach house or whatever.
Well, just because I'm not religious doesn't mean I don't respect how important Mom's faith was to her, and try my best to keep religion in her life. I also adore her former priest and talk to him every month or two.
Yep, its pretty catty and happens all the time
Don't bet on it. I watched and held my husband as he passed away 7 years ago at the age of 54, received the American Flag 11 yrs ago at the funeral of my son who was 24, and lost my dad who was 45 when I was 14 years old.
Do you seriously think these deaths brought me closer to God, no it did not, it pushed me further away.
I know my son and my husband are around and looking out for me. Can't explain it but I know they are there.
Thats too bad and yours is a terrible string of bad stuff to happen to anyone. Very sorry you had to go through all that but i hope you've found a way to be at peace with it. Whatever that may be. We all need to find solace in such situations and in the end it doesn't really matter where it comes from. It just needs to come.
Really hoping you have for your sake and the rest of your friends and family.
I grieve everyday for them, I cry everyday for them.
I was with my husband since the age of 14...the only man I have ever been with, the love of my life and my soul mate.
I look at the positives in my life....Great family, wonder friends, my dog Shadow, I have a good job, I own a home and lastly don't have money worries.
Perhaps more due to fear than anything else. Belief then is more emotionally based. Still irrational too.
The definite on of faith does not include rational. The problem is you fail to understand that and instead prefer to play thsee games and dodge questions posed. It's not only obvious, it's intellectually dishonest .