What is it about rainbows that make them so attractive? Perhaps it’s the array of colour after the rain; maybe it’s the now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t quality; or possibly we think that, this time, we really will find that pot of gold that’s supposed to be at its end…

I don’t know about you, but a rainbow always reminds me of God’s promise to Noah after the flood. God contracted with Noah that there would never again be a flood that would destroy all life on earth. Know something? God keeps His promises – always. This is true of every promise He’s made in His Word, the Bible. How about these promises to keep you going?

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Well, our Old Testament friend, Moses, has had some impressive evidence that God is on his side and is leading him in a very specific direction - see my earlier posts on:

• But I'm just a nobody 
• But I don't know what to say
• Fear of not being taken seriously 

You would think that Moses’ fears would have abated by now as he witnesses God’s presence and power. But, you see, our fears are not always rational and sometimes we don’t need to be convinced of the right course of action. Our problem is that we just don’t want to go that way! This was true of Moses, so he resorted to the excuse of not being good enough. This is similar to the “nobody” mindset that came out in his first excuse, but now he gets more specific and refers to his inability to speak well (Exodus 4:10). It’s the same with us. If giving a general reason for not wanting to do something doesn’t have the desired effect, we tend to spell things out in more detail. Perhaps, like Moses, we think we’ll sound more convincing that way.

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This little guy is now one year old! He had his first birthday yesterday and, although he’s fully grown physically, I think he has a little way to go mentally! I wonder if English springer spaniels ever truly grow up… Our previous dog was a springer, too, and should have been called Peter Pan. For his whole fourteen years, he remained a puppy in an adult body!

Rowan has all the qualities of a great friend. Here’s how:

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You’ll find it in magazines that report on concerns that women have about childbirth practices; you’ll read about it on websites that are dedicated to eradicating domestic violence; it even applies to those experiencing “restless leg syndrome”. What is “it”? “It” is the fear of not being taken seriously. 

This fear is one that affects countless numbers of people at different times and in different situations. Not only this, it’s a fear that’s been around for thousands of years. Take our Old Testament friend, Moses, for example. In Exodus 3, he demonstrated fear of his perceived “nobodyness” (verse 11) and fear of not knowing what to say (verse 13). God addressed these fears by promising him that He would be with him and leaving him in no doubt as to who He is. But this doesn’t stop Moses voicing another fear (Exodus 4:1). He’s now afraid no-one will believe him, and that people will doubt God ever appeared to him. He thinks he won’t be taken seriously.

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A few months ago, I gave a series of radio interviews about my book Destructive Emotions. I was excited to have the opportunity to speak live to the large number of people who would be tuned in to the various shows. Thanks to my publicist, the radio hosts had been sent ten questions that I had indicated I’d be happy to respond to during my interviews. I had invested a lot of time constructing my answers to these questions in order to give listeners the best possible idea of who I was and what my book was about. Armed with my ready-made package of questions and answers, I looked forward to my first interview. Once on air, it became apparent that the radio host had no intention of asking my carefully planned questions. She had some of her own to ask! Somehow, I managed to “think on my feet” and was able to give some sort of answer to each of her (unexpected) questions.

Perhaps the next interview will be different, I thought. But, you’ve guessed right, it wasn’t. Once again, the radio host chose to ignore my prepared questions and wanted to delve into areas which, in some ways, were fairly tangential to the content of my book. By the time the third radio interview was due to take place, I was scared. What if the radio host asks me questions I can’t answer? What if I misinterpret what he’s saying and I make a completely inappropriate response? Why can’t she stay with the questions I’m comfortable with? And so, a fear of not knowing what to say began to grow…

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