by Wendy Elizabeth Middleton
So do not fear, for I am with you: do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10
Following my new Bible Reading Schedule I read Isaiah 41 on May 25th The day George Floyd was murdered. It reminded me that fear sounds like anger.
What does fear have to do with anger?
What does fear have to do with anger? I asked God that very same question. In my early 20s I had a serious anger issue. The stupidest things would set me off and my blood would boil, I would scream myself hoarse and nearly broke my hands beating the floor. I was always alone when this happened because no one deserved to be the brunt of this rage. I nearly broke my hands beating the floor because I didn’t want to break anything that would have to be replaced just because I was having a tantrum.
I cried out to God “Help me with this anger!” and God whispered, “Fear Not”
Wasn’t God Listening?
At first I thought that God wasn’t listening to me. I needed help with anger not fear. But repeatedly God told me to “Fear not.” He never shouted. It was always a calm whisper in the midst of my rage. Finally I got out my concordance and looked up “Fear not” it is in the KJV of Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, for I am with you…” I don’t particularly remember reading this verse before. I know that I must have but it wasn’t circled or highlighted. It is now.
Obedience calms the storm
Over the next two years I used that verse as a prayer whenever rage reared its ugly head. At first I would pray at the end of the tantrum, then in the middle it would calm me and finally I could pray it when I felt the beginning of the storm and calm the waters before they erupted into so much as a drizzle of rain. God never addressed my fears specifically, He simply gave me the command, and once I learned to follow His lead then the fears became apparent. But by then I wasn’t afraid anymore.
Nit Nit Nit Pick Pick Pick
When we are afraid our bodies are flooded with adrenaline which prepares us to run fast or fight hard. When we are faced with a threat that response is appropriate. But when the threat isn’t so much in our face as in our heads then the response has no where to go, really. It just builds until it explodes one way or another. Little things add up to one tremendous irrational explosion all out of proportion to the trigger. Worse than the irrational explosion is the fact that they drain our energy and distract us from real and present dangers.
Righteous Anger
There is such a thing as Righteous Anger. There are times when we must and should fight hard. Anger at injustice must call us to action, but action, not violence. God is not a God of Chaos but of Peace. And Vengeance belongs to him – period.
So what should we do with our righteous anger? I suggest that we take a lesson from one of the greatest activists of all time, Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. accomplished more with non-violence than any riot ever could
I was only 5 years old when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. He delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech the year that I was born and I watched the student protests over the Vietnam War as I grew up. It always seemed to me that that one man accomplished more with non-violence than the largest student body on record managed for all their shouting and noise.
It takes more courage to stand before your enemy and allow contempt for him grow in the silence, than it takes to toss a brick or bitter words. When faced with injustice and murder then running and fighting are natural adrenaline fueled reactions. Neither is particularly courageous and neither alters the battle lines. It takes more courage to stand your ground, to hold the peace and demand justice without resorting to vengeance.
A line in the sand
I imagine a human line in the sand. A silent line before police stations. I imagine black and white, standing together to make a statement loud and clear. No threats, just silence, and righteous indignation. A united silence that would shout more clearly than the loudest threat: “We stand together. We’re watching. This will not be tolerated. Never again.”
Instead looters took advantage of a man’s death to steal. And the righteous indignation is divided. How much less powerful is the statement being made than the statement that should have been sounded.
Simple – Ain’t – Easy
It takes courage in the face of violence
Wendy
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