Sometimes difficult circumstances kick memories into gear that seem to have nothing to do with the challenges confronting us. But as we think about them, it becomes clear that God is using them to remind us of eternal truths that reinforce our faith and preserve our hope for the days ahead. In these days when the wars already raging are almost certain to get more widespread and intense and when the distinction between propaganda and news is difficult to discern, my mind unexpectedly returned to my first roller coaster ride.
Entering Uncharted Territory ~
I had never been to an amusement park, as they were called back then, and had never even seen a roller coaster, much less climbed aboard one. My heart was racing, and I instinctively grabbed the metal bar in front of me as the apparatus began to move. This was uncharted territory. I didn’t know what to expect as the mountainous trestle we were about to climb came into view. At that point, the highest off the ground I had ever been was the upper level of the tobacco barn back home. That was nothing compared to the dizzying height of the track ahead.
The little car felt wobbly and insecure as we clanked our way up the hill, and it was clear that gripping the bar until my knuckles turned white had no effect on the growing sense of panic
inside. I had reconsidered the whole idea and definitely changed my mind, but now I was stuck. I was in a place I didn’t want to be with no chance to get out, no way to shut it down, and no possibility of turning it around. And if the situation wasn’t miserable enough, the idiot beside me kept screaming “Yeee Hah!!” in my ear over and over. If I did manage a prayer at all in that moment, it was probably something like, “Please, God, let a family of full grown stink bugs fly into that guy’s mouth halfway down the hill. And if this thing goes off the rails, please soften my landing by letting me land on him!”
Trapped with No Way Out ~
I felt helpless, anxious, and alone, trapped in a situation I couldn’t escape and couldn’t control. The anxiety was overwhelming, and I had no prior experience to prepare me. Not knowing what to expect opened the door for my worst fears to take over. Even in ordinary situations like a kid on his first roller coaster ride, ignorance and uncertainty work together to feed anxiety and multiply our worst fears.
Ignorance is like having the lights turned off in a strange room. Things that would make perfect sense in the light can be troubling mysteries in the dark. Paths that are clear and reasonable in the light are impossible to find when we can’t see our surroundings. An odd sound we might laugh about in the light can terrify us in the dark.
If ignorance in the sense of not knowing what to expect, who’s in control, and how to relate to what’s going on equates to a kind of mental darkness, then things are looking pretty murky 
right now. The natural progression is that the more uncertain we feel, the more worried we become and the more hesitant we are to act. With so much information being manipulated and so much truth being hidden, anxiety and fear are having a heyday. Thankfully, through the Apostle Paul, God gave us a divine directive designed for circumstances just like this. It’s a familiar passage, but we need to do more than just read it again. We would do well to embrace its authority and engage in the practices it prescribes. He said:
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7 NKJV)
Another Enemy ~
Anxiety is not the only enemy confronting us in the turmoil currently engulfing our nation and the world. The fear that anxiety generates and supports is a corresponding plague that we need to dispel. Fear is a natural and invaluable protective mechanism, but it can also be a paralyzing force capable of dominating our lives. In recognition of that, at times when His people were facing daunting challenges, God repeatedly admonished them to fear not. Clearly, that’s easier to say than to do, but David’s instruction to Solomon reveals a rationale that helps us apply it, and it’s a principle we need to remember right now.
And David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord. (1 Chronicles 28:20 NKJV)
Solomon wasn’t the only one with a purpose for being where he was and who had been given a task to fulfill. None of us are random accidents. Each of us has a purpose for being where we are, and as followers of Jesus, we have an individual role to play in the mission He sent us to fulfill. We might not know for certain what will happen as these wars rage on, but we know
that we were sent with a purpose and nothing will change that. Our calling is not subjected to the status of global, national, or personal surroundings. Doubtlessly, there is much to fear these days, but the power to dispel the paralyzing effects of fear is not through political or military victories. It’s found in the knowledge that regardless of what might come, we are neither alone nor powerless. We are children of the Light, and our God will be with us and guide us until the work He ordained for us is completed. The ride we’re on is hurtling forward toward things we cannot see, and we can’t get off. This is the time to redirect any energy we might waste in worrying toward transforming our fears into petitions and praise. When we turn anxiety into positive action by delivering them to the One who holds our future in His hands, fear gives way to trust and fresh hope is born.
A Comforting Companion ~
The misery I endured on that ride so long ago was heightened by the feeling of being alone. There was no one to reassure me that I was going to be okay and that I would be safe and secure when it was over. Jesus Christ came to ensure that no matter what, none of those who trust Him as Savior will be left to face hard times alone. We may be in for a rough ride, but we have someone riding with us who sees every dip and curve in the road. So we can buckle up, hang on, and be confident that we’ll step out victorious when it’s over. And despite the incredible tension of these days, we can experience inexplicable peace and declare with confidence the promise God gave us that defies all that the world can throw our way:
…Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:57-58 NKJV)
“TWEETABLES” ~ Click to Tweet & Share from the pull quotes below. Each quote links directly to this article through Twitter.
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- “We may not know for certain what will happen as these wars rage on, but we know that we were sent with a purpose and nothing will change that. Our calling is not subjected to the status of global, national, or personal surroundings.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
- “The power to dispel the paralyzing effects of fear isn’t through political or military victories. Regardless of what may come, we’re neither alone nor powerless, but children of the Light. Our God will be with us and guide us until the work He ordained for us is completed.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
- “Fear is a natural and invaluable protective mechanism, but it can also be a paralyzing force capable of dominating our lives. In recognition of that, at times when His people were facing daunting challenges, God repeatedly admonished them to fear not. Phil 4:6-7” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
- “Jesus came to ensure that no matter what, none of those who trust Him as Savior will be left to face hard times alone. We have someone riding with us who sees every dip and curve in the road, and we can be confident that we’ll step out victorious when it’s over.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
- “Despite the incredible tension of these days, we can experience inexplicable peace and declare w/confidence the promise God gave that defies all the world can throw our way. ‘Thanks be to God who gives us the victory thru our Lord Jesus Christ …’ 1 Corinthians 15:57-58.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
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Gallagher's Pen ~ 
Much to think about again today sir. You brought back a memory from long ago this morning. My first roller coaster ride was on a tiny, narrow-gauged thing that was only a few feet off the ground. But it was scary because it was a new thing to me. All that clickity-clack of those steel wheels, and it whirred around that circuit so fast! I’d been climbing trees much higher off the ground than this thing, but I knew trees. I had no idea about this mechanical monster. Then, after the first couple of twists and turns, I became that idiot beside you. What a blast that was. I spent my whole quarter on this one carnival ride at the small County Fair. None of the others interested me. LOL
As for “feeling trapped”, Lord I’ve been there in life more than a few times. Something I’ve learned is that while I can spend time looking for ways around, over, or under it, sometimes when you’re trapped the best thing you can do is Get Through It! I’ve also learned that since giving my life to Christ, I never have to go through it alone. That knowledge sure does make the journey easier and less frightening.
I also thought about the “anxiety and fear” that is permeating this world today. I’m convinced that this world, and its controller (Satan) wants to ratchet up anxiety and fear in people. He does that because fear makes people easier to control. If he can convince “sheeple” in this world today that they are defenseless, helpless, and alone, then they’ll be just like lost sheep who are separated from the flock. They become easy prey.
Last, I thought about how God has placed men like you here, at this time, for His express purpose. Perhaps we might one day become known as “the next greatest generation” for our faithfulness and unrelenting refusal to back down or succumb to Satan’s wiles. May we be the ones that post-rapture Christians can look to and see the example of how to stand strong in their faith in the face of the enemy.
God’s blessings sir, and thank you so much for this encouraging and inspiring post.
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It’s not hard at all for me to picture you as the “Yee-Haw” dude on that coaster, J.D. I’d almost be disappointed if you hadn’t quickly transitioned into that guy :). I never tire of God’s incredible ability to not only unveil profound spiritual truth in the world around us every day, but to also be able to reach back and drag out things long forgotten, or at least relegated to the vault of irrelevant and unimportant stuff, and teach lessons we would never have related to the same way back then. And, by the way, you are quite masterful at expressing those lessons in ways that inform and strengthen the rest of us.
I totally agree with your comment about how Satan’s world system works constantly to ratchet up anxiety and fear to control us. Being obsessed with worry over what’s going to happen promotes envisioning the most frightening outcomes and then reacting as though the worst was unavoidable. That kind of thing turns our windshields into mirrors and all we can see is ourselves. All of us encounter people on a regular basis that are internally broken, slaves to some sin, who have no clue who they are, why they’re here, or where they’re going. If all we can see is us, we can walk past them, maybe even utter some cliched social greeting, and never really “see” them at all. As one of my favorite Bible teachers loves to say, “We ought to ‘gaze at, behold, stare at’ God and occasionally glance at ourselves. Instead, our tendency is to gaze at ourselves and occasionally glance at God.”
I loved your conclusion that could possibly find ourselves in the company of those who could be thought of as “the next greatest generation.” Either way, we’ll keep on endeavoring to encourage one another and throwing out all the seeds we can for as long as we can and pray for God to turn them into the greatest and most enduring harvest we’ve seen in our lifetime. Thanks again, treasured friend and Brother, for the nourishing spiritual meals you send our way–prayers continue, of course, for you and your Diane.
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I have all-too-vivid memories of a frightening roller coaster ride, too, Ron, and your comparison of that to what we, as a nation, are now going through is exactly on target. I know I can trust completely in the Lord, but there are still times when I can feel my stomach drop in despair as new developments are announced. Not that I didn’t pray before, but these situations are inviting me to pray even harder, more sincerely, and more often. That has to be the bright side to this unprecedented challenge.
As we both made it through that roller coaster ride ages ago (and I never went on one again), God will see us through this and carry us home to Him.
Blessings!
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Thanks for the smile re. the roller coaster ride, Martha– I especially enjoyed the “never went on one again” wrap-up. Unfortunately, I wasn’t as wise as you were and years later got caught up in that “impress the girls” insanity that boys tend to be stricken with in their teens. But those nauseating ups and downs hardly compare with those we’re having to deal with now and as you pointed out, our prayers are of necessity becoming more intense. Like it or not, we find ourselves on the front lines in this spiritual warfare going on, and I’m once again blessed and encouraged to be in the fight along with you and Danny and your family and fans. By God’s grace and the priceless gift of His Holy Spirit, we’ll hang in there together till victory comes.
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