“I’m going to need to refer you to a specialist,” my dentist told me during a routine tooth cleaning.
It had been about 18 months since my last dental appointment. When my lower-right teeth started to feel pain after eating, I feared the worst. I must have a cavity, I thought. So I scheduled an appointment at the dental clinic.
After her examination, the dentist calmed my fears by assuring me I didn’t have a cavity. Overbrushing was to blame for my gum sensitivity. But then she dropped the “s” word: specialist. She told me another tooth had a problem much worse than a cavity. It had become infected.
The Specialist
Faster than you can smile and say, “Cheese!” I scheduled an appointment with an endodontist to determine the best treatment. At that office, an assistant used a cone beam CT scanner to take 3D x-rays of my mouth.
The specialist reviewed the x-ray images with me and told me I would need to have an apicoectomy. Gulp! (I’ll spare you the details, but it means surgery.)
All of this seems like a lot of trouble to go through on account of some minor tooth pain. The problem I feared I had was not as serious as I thought, and it paled in comparison to the real problem. I needed someone who was close enough to see the problem, wise enough to examine the root below the surface and compassionate enough to prescribe the proper treatment. I needed a specialist.
Sometimes fear feels like tooth pain. Perhaps a subtle, yet lingering pang of dread washes over you and heightens your awareness of your surroundings. Or the uncomfortable ache of anxiety wears away at your soul. It could be the irritation of uncertainty nags you with a growing intensity.
Gideon: A Case Study in Fear
If you have ever used a magnifying glass, you know anything placed underneath it appears larger than it really is. Each of us carries a magnifier through life, and we get to choose on what we will focus. Fear occurs when we focus the glass on the wrong things. Like I learned from my dental appointment, the things we often fear most are not as serious as the real problem.
Gideon was a young man who struggled with fear. As the youngest child in his family, no one expected much of him. By his own admission, he was the weakest link in the family chain. He didn’t see greatness in himself and thought no one else could possibly see his potential. Fear made him retreat to the shadows and stay in the background.
The young man had faith in God, but not much. He believed in doing the right thing, but didn’t have the courage to do it openly because, well, who knew what his parents and siblings might think?
If you met Gideon, you might say his fear symptoms revealed a problem with low self-esteem. That may have contributed to his feelings, but it wasn’t the real problem. How do I know this? Because Gideon didn’t stay in the shadows forever. His claim to fame was leading a small band of soldiers to a decisive military victory over a much larger army. Somewhere along the way, something happened that helped him overcome his fear.
The Game Changer
Gideon’s transformation was the result of one simple thing: the constant assurance that God was with him. The more he saw this to be true in his life, the more he believed it. And the more he believed it, the smaller his fears became. With each confirmation of the truth, his magnifying glass shifted from other people to God. Over time, he was able to trust God for victory.
This assurance didn’t come to Gideon overnight and he didn’t find it on his own. He needed someone close enough, wise enough and compassionate enough to help him. He needed a specialist, and God filled those shoes.
Overcoming our fears won’t happen overnight, either. God wants to be the Specialist we turn to when we are afraid. He is close enough to see the real problem, wise enough to spot the root beneath the surface and compassionate enough to prescribe a personalized treatment plan. Sometimes He provides a close friend, family member or spiritual leader to walk beside us through our struggle. Sometimes He provides medical professionals. Each time, He offers Himself. He is with us in every season of our lives. We can count on Him for proper treatment — the right way, the right time, every time. After all, He is a Specialist.
Article by Cam Edwards
0 Comments