"Crazies"

There once were crazy cattle,

They’d spook if you came close,

Mankind or with equine,

They’d vanish like a ghost.

Sometimes you had to hunt ‘em,

And work to get ‘em caught,

‘Cause they’d be in some thicket,

You’d wonder why you bought.

And if you got ‘em hemmed up,

They’d fight and come for you,

You better have your quick on,

Or your days might be through.

Cowboys and silly cattle,

Have a long love-hate affair,

We dread to go and get ‘em,

But wouldn’t miss the dare.

And all our real good stories,

Are about those kind we chased,

The ones that gave us trouble,

We roped ‘em and outraced.

These days folks want ‘em docile,

And easy to toll home,

And you can’t really blame ‘em,

For culling those that roam.

And ‘course to find a cowboy,

That can go and make a catch,

It’s getting really hard to find,

Most have met their match.

Times they are a-changing,

Guess we must make change, too,

But don’t forget the crazies,

And all they used to do.

One more thing I’ll mention,

It’s not just those old cows,

But lots of crazy people,

They spook so easy now.

Remember God will help ‘em,

And He’ll cast out their fear,

His love trumps all that scares ‘em,

And He’ll dry every tear.

“…perfect love expels all fear…” (1 John 4:18, NLT)

Fear is a powerful emotion. Some of it is instinctual, and is designed to protect us from danger. A loud sound, for example, will cause us to instinctually duck or move away. But the kind of fear that is negative is not instinctual or normal. It is a torment, because it prevents us from having any peace about life. We are worried, stressed, anxious or full-out afraid of something all the time. And that’s no way to live. This verse, and others like it, tell us that God’s love does not co-exist with fear. His love drives it away. Why? Because the more we experience God’s love and put our trust in Him, the less we have to fear. In the end, we have no fear at all because we’ve turned everything over to Him, including our reactions and feelings. It really works.

Lord, let Your love cast out all our fear, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Mike Capron, mikecapron.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Mike, and God bless you.