Years ago I heard that FEAR was an acronym*.  F.E.A.R. = False Evidence  Appearing Real. Fear looks at or listens to something and believes it is real. Fear is based on lies. Fear is based on anything opposite what God says is real. Fear is the opposite of Faith.

An example of false evidence is the time Leland had to go out of town for a week. He asked me if I was willing to feed the cows while he was gone. He knew I wasn’t comfortable with the big bovine. He knew I didn’t want to do it. He knew I was full of FEAR – afraid. 

All I had to do was take a wagon with two buckets of grain and evenly toss the grain into two feed bunks. The cows would be more interested in the grain than me.

I DID NOT CARE. They were bigger than me and could hurt me. They could step on my toes. I knew this. Not based on experience, you understand, I just knew it because they were bigger and taller.

He could have gotten someone else but it would have taken a lot of finagling to get someone there. I finally said, “OK I’ll do it” shaking in my boots. Rubber boots he bought me because he knew flip flops were not going to cut it. (Ummm, city girl here.)

Day #1 I decided to be smarter than the cows. I knew they expected feed at 4:00 pm. They were creatures of habit. So I decided if I went out at 3:00 pm, I could get the grain out before they arrived in the corral. It worked! Sure, as soon as they saw me, they headed up to the corral but I got out before they arrived. There would be no stomping on Nan today!

The next day, Day #2, full of victory and attitude, I went out at 3:00 pm – and lo and behold, they were already mingling around the feed bunks, waiting for me. Cows are sneakier than we humans know. They can tell time.

I bravely acted like I was just fine taking a bucket toward the farthest feed bunk. I had a couple of cows try to stick their noses in the bucket but I just kept shaking and walking, acting like there were no cows with noses in the bucket.

I talked to the cows telling them they didn’t want to bump me or make a Nan sandwich by squashing me between them. I tossed the grain in both feed bunks and calmly walked out – lie lie lie – I was literally shaking inside and out. I was still full of fear.

Obviously, on Day #4, I went out at 2:00 pm in order to beat out the 3:00 pm smart-alec cows. I did – but, again obviously by Day #5, yes – they were all up at the corral at 2:00 pm waiting for me.

Funny thing is – by Day #5 I had spent enough time around the cows that I knew them better. I was so impressed with how intelligent they were that I was able to finally see they really were only interested in the feed, not in hurting me. Not one time did any attempt to harm me in any way.

The False Evidence Appearing Real was a lie. The fear I experienced was not based on reality. I KNEW my husband would never put me in danger. I KNEW he asked me to help because he knew I was capable.

I had watched Leland with the cattle and KNEW they were not mean. I KNEW they never hurt him. I KNEW – but still I allowed their size to give me false evidence that they would hurt me.

The entire point of this post is that in these days, it is important to base your knowledge in God’s reality and not on the devil’s FALSE EVIDENCE – his lies. You have to spend time with God and in His Word. You have to know when something is contrary to what God says, that it is a LIE – it is false evidence appearing real. 

Yes, it may present itself as true and real – but if you KNOW what God says, you will know what is false and what is truth. It will keep you safe and protect you from the enemy’s wiles.

♥

*An acronym is “an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word” such as NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration.