Be aware but unafraid

Summers in our region are some of the best times for playing in the woods and on the water, connecting with family and friends, and creating lifelong memories. 

Our family loves to camp and there are so many places to go that are either packed with people, or too remote for the average RV enthusiast to find. We love where we live and thank God often for the honor of being called to this amazing community.   

When you camp in this region, you know that a primary concern you must be mindful of is your food because of bears that could potentially try to get into your car, tents, and of course your trash. When we camp, we are vigilant to make sure that we aren’t attracting these large mammals that could create some damage.  I imagine if I was asking for your bear story, we could get hundreds by the end of the day.   

When we are faced with an acute awareness of things we should be cautious of due to the consequences of a bad outcome, we become vigilant. Honestly, I have never run into a bear in the woods or camping before. My wife has, and she is the one who keeps us on our toes! Often when we haven’t seen the bad outcomes face to face it becomes easy to get lax and not think that our diligence matters.   

Jesus tells us to be diligent to seek Him (Hebrews 11:6) and aware of what is happening in the world around us (John 10:10), but thankfully the lost, hurting, and broken people around us are not the enemy, but those who are to be brought closer to God.   Our fear of the world (unlike the bear) is unfounded. God died for those who do not agree with Him, hate Him, and would persecute and mock Him and His followers (Luke 23:34, John 17:14). It might be wise to keep ourselves from laying out trash for the devil to come and eat. God does call us to be pure and unspotted from the world (James 1:27). That doesn’t mean that we are fearful of the world, or its opposition. 

We are called to reconcile the world to God (2 Corinthians 5:17) and must be ready to help all see how good, loving, and holy our heavenly Father is. Don’t be intimidated by the roar of a lion with no teeth and remember that Jesus paid for the reconciliation of all who have been separated from Him (2 Peter 3:9).  

Chris Bassett is the Lead Pastor at Harvest Valley Worship Center. Get event info and find out more at hvwc.com