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By Barry Buzza [other pieces by Barry Buzza]
 Last evening, Susan and I were listening to Larry King interview President and Mrs. Bush Sr., and I was surprised by one of Barbara's answers. Larry asked her, "Are you afraid for the safety of your sons?" The question was in the context of some death threats they'd each received. She responded, "No. I only give emotional energy to things I have control over. Things I cannot change I put out of my mind."
Phobia's and anxieties seem to be a part of life. I read a list of the top ten fears that North Americans have. It was compiled by the National Association of They Say So after an internet research project. The countdown from number ten goes like this:
10 -- fear of pain
9 -- fear of failure
8 -- fear of open spaces
7 - fear of flying
6 -- fear of enclosed spaces
5 -- fear of needles
4 -- fear of spiders
3 -- fear of snakes
2 -- fear of heights
1 -- fear of public speaking
President and Mrs. Bush both have a deep faith in God and have stated that they find comfort in their reading of the Bible. I was impressed by their confident reassurance that ultimately God is in charge.
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I don't know what it would be like to not believe in God or in the words of the Bible. I've thankfully been raised in a home where the fact that we were created by God and for God was a basic life assumption. I can only imagine that if there were no God, and I therefore was simply a cosmic accident, that there would be no meaning or purpose to life. I wouldn't want to live my life without the belief that there is a unique destiny prepared for every person. I agree with Barbara Bush that knowing who's ultimately in charge, does give us an anchor.
Jesus gave us the model for dealing with the threats of life and the fears that result from them. It was about twelve years after his birth in Bethlehem that we next read about him. As a young Bar Mitzvah candidate in Jerusalem, his mom and dad found him sitting among the scholars. He was asking them questions and listening to them. Jesus learned from early childhood, the value of reading the Holy Book. His study of the Torah underscored the relationship he had with Father God. It was the source of his spiritual courage.
People talk with me regularly about their fears and anxieties. My counsel is always the same. First, I encourage them to begin a daily Bible reading habit. In the Bible, we learn that God loves us and has a good plan for our lives; that even in the difficult days, when it seems so dark that we can't see tomorrow, he promises that he will use the negatives to our ultimate good. We learn that God is above all and that he's on our side in our battle against evil. There is a deep settled peace, confidence and courage in those who read and believe the Bible.
My second piece of advice is equally important. It is to align our words with what God says, rather than with what we fear. I'll come back to that subject next week.
Barry Buzza, a regular contributor to canadianchristianity.com, is a veteran pastor, and also the president of the The Foursquare Gospel Church of Canada. www.barrybuzza.com www.foursquare.ca
January 31/2008
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