On a BOAC flight from Trinidad to New York, the air became turbulent and the plane rocked. I noticed a man sitting across the aisle begin to grip the edge of his seat until his knuckles were white as snow. He pushed both feet hard into the floor as if he, by his own brute strength, could keep the plane in the air. The powerful craft was churning beautifully through the stormy air. The man might just as well have sat back and relaxed because no effort on his part could have helped the tiniest bit. I am sure he knew this, but nevertheless he kept on straining until the flight became calm again.

One time I was concerned about a complex problem. It weighed heavily on my mind as I drove up route 93 from Boston to our New Hampshire headquarters. I was so disturbed by this matter that my whole being was keyed up like a violin string about to snap. Suddenly a car passed me and pulled into the lane right in front of my car. I was somewhat annoyed that this man would swerve so directly in my path. But then I looked down at his license tag and I laughed.

I am sure the driver didn't know it, but God had sent him with an important message for me. His license plate was one of those with letters instead of numbers. And there, at the moment of my need, spelled out in clear letters on that license plate was God's will for me. It said RELAX!

Have the situations and circumstances of life mounted up against you like an angry sea? Does it seem as though you are headed for a crash? Adversity seems like a mountainous wave about to smash down upon you, or drive you into the rocks!

You have a sense of impending disaster! You're just positive that something bad is going to happen . . . probably the very worst!

Someone says relax . . . but how can you relax when your life is about to crash? How can you be at ease when your ship is about to sink?

You're terribly tense! Your head aches. You reach often for the aspirin. Your stomach burns. You always carry a package of Rolaids or Tums. You get fatigued so easily; it seems as though you are always tired.

If you are like most people, you are carrying a huge load of "Whatif's." They are a great burden. They will weigh you down and make you miserable and weary. They will make it impossible for you to relax. So a heavy load of "Whatif's" wears you out faster than God meant for you to wear out.

My little girl wanted to go on a picnic. She kept asking me, but I said, "We can't go today." She cried. I told her, "Don't be sad, honey, we will be able to go on a picnic tomorrow." She stopped crying but I noticed later that she still looked downhearted. I said, "What's the matter, Faith? Why can't you cheer up? I told you we will go on a picnic tomorrow." She said, "Daddy, something makes me feel bad." I said, "What?" She stammered a bit, trying to express herself (she was only two and a half at the time) but she couldn't find the exact words. Finally, she said, "I guess it's a ‘whatif’." I was puzzled. So I asked her again what was troubling her. And again she said, "A whatif." I shook my head and told her, "Honey, Daddy doesn't know what you're talking about." She said, "Oh you know, Daddy, I mean whatif it rains and we can't go?"

"What if we can't go on the picnic?" That's the load of worry that bogs down the heart of a child. What heavy weight are you carrying in your heart? Perhaps it's "What if I lose my job?" "What if I can't pay my bills?" "What if inflation gets worse?" "What if war starts?" "What if my son gets into drugs?" "What if my husband doesn't love me any more?" "What if tomorrow brings trouble?"

"Whatif's" can make life utterly wretched! Cast them out! I told this to a troubled woman from Boston. She said, "I threw them out, Clinton, but somehow they got back on board again!"

Has that happened to you? You eject worries, but they don't stay ejected. They come right back to haunt your mind, cloud up your day and weigh you down.

Daily problems seen through the eyes of fear become invincible giants! Adverse circumstances seen viewed from the standpoint of fear become towering uncrossable mountains. Fear warps and distorts all truth. Fear is a terrible liar. This is why Jesus said, "Fear not!" To men who were caught in the jaws of sickness, He said, "Fear not!" To men beaten down into despondency because of sin and shame, He said, "Fear not!" To those facing great personal crisis, He shouted, "Fear not!" All divine deliverance begins with the throwing down of fear . . . because God's deliverance is a work of the power of truth and fear is a liar.

Jesus said, "The truth shall make you free"(John 8:32).

So cast out the liar fear and take on truth!

Truth concerning the nature of God. Truth concerning the ability of God. Truth concerning the promises of God . . . all revealed in the Word of God. Take it on! Fill up on it!

For instance when you are confronted by a rough, tough circumstance, fear says, "It's all over for you! This will finish you! This is an impossible situation, it will defeat you completely."

That's what fear tells you. But what does truth say? "With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible" (Matt.19:26). "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you" (Matt. 17:20).

You see? Fear wants to make you shrink back. It wants you to give up. But truth calls you on! Truth encourages you! Have you ever seen the enormous crowd in a football stadium cheer their favorites on? With one voice fifty thousand fans shout, "You can do it!" The Bible says, "We are also compassed about with . . . a cloud of witnesses" (Heb. 12:1). Men have gone on before and tested the power of truth: David, who stood before that giant, Moses before Pharaoh or the Red Sea . . . Elijah, Elisha, Peter, Paul . . . it's as if they stand watching you as you confront your giant, your Red Sea. Fear says, "You're finished!" But you can almost hear the voices of these witnesses, watching from their heavenly vantage point shouting, "Stand up to it! Fight it in the name of the Lord . . . you can do it!"

Truth calls you to strength and gives you reason for courage! Alone we have reason to fear. We are helpless against the real dangers of life. But with God one man becomes like a mighty fortress!

Fear says, "You are alone, so tremble and be dismayed." But truth says, "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest" (Josh. 1:9). The Bible says that it is "impossible for God to lie" (Heb. 6:18), and God says, "I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee" (Josh 1:5). "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper" (Isa. 54:17). "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee" (Isa. 41:10).

Have absolute confidence in God's word. Rely upon it, and apply it in every situation all of your life. If everything you see, feel and hear says one thing, and God's word says just the opposite, believe His word . . . rest completely in His promises. In troubled times, believe God!

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