Trips to the dentist office for us are like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates. You never really know what you’re going to get with our children. My daughter has always done well at the dentist office. Recently, when visiting for a regular cleaning and check-up, everything we encountered brought on a dramatic fit. Something as simple as attempting to get x-ray’s left my daughter in a state of fear and trembling dealing with what could be clinically considered a panic attack. Realizing she did have a small cavity that would require work, I knew this was something we would need to look at further and our current dentist office wasn’t going to be too helpful in this aspect. To make things easier and more kid-friendly, we set up an appointment with a pediatric dentist who had arcade games, TV’s for the kids to watch during their cleanings, and more. Basically all the things that would put a child at ease. The appointment at the new office provided the same issues as before. At one point I questioned her, “Baby, you’ve always enjoyed the dentist office. Why are you scared?” I was finally able to get her to admit she’d been talking to her friends at school who decided to get creative in their story telling. Each story resembled something from a horror movie and became more far-fetched as she continued. I knew from experience what they told her was untrue. I asked, “Baby, has that stuff ever happened to you? Do you trust Daddy? Do you believe I won’t let anything bad happen to you?” In the moment, I was upset. Then the Holy Spirit said, “Woah, buddy! You do it too!”
I hung my head in shame recalling the times I had chosen to believe the enemy’s report over that of my Heavenly Father. The enemy would plant seeds of fear or doubt and I would allow those things to take root in my mind. Before I knew it, the fear had grown into something resembling Kudzu as it dominated my thoughts and permeated every available space in my mind. We find the same types of responses from some in the Bible. Moses sent out spies to survey the Promised Land. Upon return, scripture states, “This is what they reported to Moses: “We went to the land where you sent us. It really is a land flowing with milk and honey. Here’s some of its fruit. But the people who live there are strong, and the cities have walls and are very large… Caleb told the people to be quiet and listen to Moses. Caleb said, “Let’s go now and take possession of the land. We should be more than able to conquer it.” But the men who had gone with him said, “We can’t attack those people! They’re too strong for us!”So they began to spread lies among the Israelites about the land they had explored. [Numbers 13:27-28, 30-32] Each spy had seen the same land and observed the same issues. Two of the men brought back reports of hope and expressed expectations of conquering the inhabitants to receive their promise. The others were more controlled by their fears. Who will you believe today? While the promise is exciting, it will still require something of you to see it come to fruition. You can choose the easy route and miss out on your blessing. Or you can believe the report that houses the receipt of your promises on the other end.
Closing remarks and encouragement: Life is full of curveballs and can be unpredictable and frustrating. When the enemy is presenting us with a report full of lies, we have proof from the word of God that all things will work together for our good! We have a choice to make. The next time something unexpected happens (and I assure it will), you will be faced with a choice. Whose report will you believe? I encourage you to believe, receive, and walk in His promises today! Fruition of the promise may require something of you. Are you willing to fight for what you know belongs to you? Do you trust Daddy-God?
