Sunday 16th March

I walk my dog Molly in various parks and places round about, mostly where I can let her off the lead so she can run about - preferably not too near water as she cant resist the urge to leap in for a swim .   One great place Ive found is just down the road in Ballynahinch - a riverside walk but fenced off so she cant get to the water.  ( Except she has found one spot where she can wriggle under the fence but I walk past that quickly and mostly she doesnt bother)

The recent stormy weather has wreaked a bit of havoc and in the past couple of weeks the tree surgeons have been along to tidy up the various fallen branches and remove one large piece of fallen tree which had obscured part of the pathway.  And whilst they were at it I noticed they had taken the time to do this.

All the trees along the pathway are covered in ivy.  It grows almost like a second skin around mature trees and of course if it is left unstopped then it will eventually choke the life out of its host.  The foresters had tackled the problem not by trying to dig the ivy out by the roots but by hacking a great chunk out of the middle of the stem thus depriving the upper growth of any sustenance.   A bit further on down the path is a tree which hasnt received this treatment

At first glance this speciman looks healthy and growing.  But in fact the only green visible is ivy.  The tree itself is pretty much dead.  For some reason no-one has seen fit to rid this one of its parasite and the ivy has strangled the life out of it.   As I was walking and observing I got to thinking about the words of Jesus in the parable of the sower

The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.
Matt 13 :22

Just like the ivy covered tree we can get choked by stress and worry and anxiety.   The decieftfulness of wealth - well who hasnt been tempted by the seduction of ' stuff' and the availability of credit and the desire to keep up with the Joneses?    Worry is a killer.  It really does get a stranglehold on people and paralyses them .  It robs us of sleep and appetite.  It steals our joy in the moment and plants seeds of fear which grow only too quickly in the soil of anxiety.   Yet the Bible tells us not to be anxious.  
Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

and in Matthew 6 ( and Luke 12)  Jesus expressly commands us not to worry about what we wear, whether we have enough food in the cupboard or about what tomorrow might bring.

Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 

Im very fortunate.  I come from a family or non-worriers.  I have no recollection of ever seeing either of my parents worried about anything until I was well into my adult life.  It was just not part of my vocabulary as a child and therefore I have grown into an adult who doesn't worry.  I know plenty of people who were brought up in highly anxious households and are highly anxious themselves.  There is definitely an element of learned behaviour in there somewhere.  However anxiety is actually fear and fear is a spiritual thing.  It is a powerful weapon of the enemy and it can get right into the marrow of our bones and freeze our hearts.   In the past my approach to people who are ruled by fear is to go looking for the roots.   Because there are always roots somewhere.  But this week, looking at the way the tree surgeons have dealt with the ivy, Ive started to wonder whether there's another way to tackle fear.   Which is to just identify some part of it where it is attacking the 'tree' and inflict a mortal blow on it.  Through prayer.  By using the sharp cutting blade of the truth of Gods word.  If we are to grow into the cedars of Lebanon and oaks of righteousness we need to be rid of our ivies of fear and worry.

Lord, I pray today that you would free your people from fear and worry. Help us to keep our eyes fixed on you in the times when the enemy is active, whispering doubts into our ears and painting dark pictures of possible outcomes in our minds.  Remind us of truth.  Plant us deep so that we can grow tall and strong in good soil and if we become entangled in weeds and ivy send along wise friends who can help to free us.  Disable all anxiety and grow peace and trust in and through us so that we can shine in a world which is terrified of tomorrow and living in fear.   Amen