Three Creeks Area, Sisters, OR
2 Corinthians 11:3 CSB
But I fear that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your minds may be seduced from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
On one particular hike with my dogs, we had a run-in with a rattlesnake. One dog pounced into the bush, and came out with the snake in his mouth then spit it onto the trail. Everything went into slow motion as his buddy came up to checkout what he had deposited on the trail. As I hollered a protracted, “nooooo….” he took a snakebite to his snout. In God’s grace, it was early in a very cool day, so the snake was sluggish. Still, it was a harrowing trip back to the trailhead and off to the vet. The dog spent the night at the vet, and came home the next day without much incident. This experience weighed heavy on my heart. Like Paul checking-in with his friends in Corinth, he felt responsible for them as I was responsible for my dogs. Paul warned the Corinthians not to be deceived. But how could this be a warning for me? I wasn’t evil or hateful – I was fearful.
On our next hike, I chose to go higher up into the mountains to decrease our chances of another encounter. At first, I was on pins and needles, ultra hyper-aware, until the endorphins began to kick-in and I relaxed. Then, through the manzanita, I spotted a frightening coil. The rush of adrenaline was over powering, and I instinctively pulled the dogs close to me. I wasn’t sure if I should flee to the truck at a run and give up hiking then and there! Instead, I kept the dogs very close to me, and we gave the snake a very wide berth since it wasn’t moving. We rejoined the trail on the other side of the manzanita, and I realized I had panicked over an abandoned logging cable.
President Franklin Roosevelt stated in his first inaugural address on March 4th, 1933 to nation full of depression fear. “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” In my fear of a logging cable, I was frozen and nearly beat a retreat. Since I overcame the fear and advanced, I learned of the reality of the situation. The truth set me free.
Again, thinking of Paul and the Corinthians, I think fear can be just as seducing as evil and hate. When we are taught to “fear the Lord” it means revere Him with sincere and a pure devotion. But seducing fear seeks to isolate, deceives with half-truths and misinformation. Ultimately, it detracts us from living with peace and acting with love. If I had stopped hiking, I would have missed out on so many incredible moments that God has granted me, and I would have robbed the joy of others. Don’t let evil, hate, or fear rob you of the richness of living out a life filled with sincere and pure devotion to God and fulfilling His loving plan for your life.
