There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel, because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother. Genesis 35:7
I’m an old movie buff. I’ll take a movie from the 1930’s-1950’s any day over a contemporary film. With life as we know grinding to a halt due to the coronavirus, I find myself with a bit more inclination for movie-watching.
In the 1954 Hitchcock thriller Rear Window, James Stewart plays Jeff, a photographer who is home-bound with a broken leg. Bored from being cooped up at home, Jeff turns to spying on his neighbors with his camera and binoculars from his window at the back of his apartment. He becomes convinced that he’s witnessed a murder. While the plot continues in true suspenseful Hitchcock style, Jeff portrays a man ruled by his deep-seated fears. But he also deals with his fears of the immediate danger of suddenly being pursued by his murderous neighbor. He is helpless to defend himself. He cannot protect his fiancée, played by Grace Kelly, when she enters the presumed murderer’s apartment.
Rear Window speaks volumes about voyeurism as well as the society during which it was made. However, it also speaks to our own fears and curiosities. In a time when many in this country and around the world are mandated to stay at home, we, too, can feel bored and “cooped up”. We, too, can be overly curious and even obsessed about what’s going on around us and in the world by staying glued to the news. We rationalize that the more we know, the more we can control. We, too, can experience fear as we look through our own rear window and realize we live in uncertain times and in circumstances beyond our control. Our perspective, like Jeff’s in Rear Window, can become narrowly focused on our sudden confinement as we practice extreme, but necessary, social distancing, while we harbor feelings of fear. But unlike Jeff, we don’t have to choose to react in fear.
On another level, there are lessons to be learned through metaphoric rear windows. This backward-looking perspective can aid us as we peer through the windshield and glance out the side windows.
In Genesis 35, God directs Jacob to move his family to Bethel and to build an altar to the Lord. This altar is a specific reminder to Jacob and his people that God delivered him when his brother Esau pursued Jacob with the intent to harm him. But this physical altar of stacked stones also reminds Jacob of how God was always with him in past difficulties and that He will surely be with him in the future. In looking back at God’s faithfulness, Jacob has the courage to look forward to the future.
Looking back, we, too, can see more clearly where we’ve traveled through life to get to where we are now. We can see through the rear window how God worked on our behalf. Believing He is faithful, we carry that faith forward to help us navigate through uncertainty and difficult circumstances. When we see how God has worked in our lives in the past, gratitude has room to surface in our hearts to replace fear. Even joy – yes, joy - can grow when we thank God for how He has cared for us in the past. We trust He will care for us in the future when we cast our anxiety on Him (1 Peter 5:7*). We don’t have to give into fear because we know that God is with us in all circumstances (Joshua 1:9**). While fear may try to worm its way back into our minds and hearts, with a mind focused on God and His faithfulness and a heart overflowing with joy and gratitude, fear can be left by the wayside, seen only through the rear window.
Lord God, as I reflect on the past, I thank You for the ways You have worked in my life. You are faithful and I do not need to be fearful. Fill my heart and my mind with gratitude and joy as You lead me through the difficulties of the present and the uncertainties of the future. Amen.
*1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
**Joshua 1:9 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Want to subscribe to future posts? Click here. For a free (no strings attached!) downloadable PDF of Bible verses on overcoming fear and anxiety, click here.
Text and photograph copyright © 2020 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of winding road to Mt Difficulty winery in Central Otago, New Zealand.
NOTE: Interested in learning about the similarities between this current pandemic and the 1918 pandemic of influenza? I highly recommend the short, but informative book The Influenza Pandemic of 1918 by Virginia Aronson (available for free from the app Internet Archive or https://archive.org/). If you’d prefer a synopsis, click here for my essay on the 1918 pandemic based on facts from this book.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
I’m an old movie buff. I’ll take a movie from the 1930’s-1950’s any day over a contemporary film. With life as we know grinding to a halt due to the coronavirus, I find myself with a bit more inclination for movie-watching.
In the 1954 Hitchcock thriller Rear Window, James Stewart plays Jeff, a photographer who is home-bound with a broken leg. Bored from being cooped up at home, Jeff turns to spying on his neighbors with his camera and binoculars from his window at the back of his apartment. He becomes convinced that he’s witnessed a murder. While the plot continues in true suspenseful Hitchcock style, Jeff portrays a man ruled by his deep-seated fears. But he also deals with his fears of the immediate danger of suddenly being pursued by his murderous neighbor. He is helpless to defend himself. He cannot protect his fiancée, played by Grace Kelly, when she enters the presumed murderer’s apartment.
Rear Window speaks volumes about voyeurism as well as the society during which it was made. However, it also speaks to our own fears and curiosities. In a time when many in this country and around the world are mandated to stay at home, we, too, can feel bored and “cooped up”. We, too, can be overly curious and even obsessed about what’s going on around us and in the world by staying glued to the news. We rationalize that the more we know, the more we can control. We, too, can experience fear as we look through our own rear window and realize we live in uncertain times and in circumstances beyond our control. Our perspective, like Jeff’s in Rear Window, can become narrowly focused on our sudden confinement as we practice extreme, but necessary, social distancing, while we harbor feelings of fear. But unlike Jeff, we don’t have to choose to react in fear.
On another level, there are lessons to be learned through metaphoric rear windows. This backward-looking perspective can aid us as we peer through the windshield and glance out the side windows.
In Genesis 35, God directs Jacob to move his family to Bethel and to build an altar to the Lord. This altar is a specific reminder to Jacob and his people that God delivered him when his brother Esau pursued Jacob with the intent to harm him. But this physical altar of stacked stones also reminds Jacob of how God was always with him in past difficulties and that He will surely be with him in the future. In looking back at God’s faithfulness, Jacob has the courage to look forward to the future.
Looking back, we, too, can see more clearly where we’ve traveled through life to get to where we are now. We can see through the rear window how God worked on our behalf. Believing He is faithful, we carry that faith forward to help us navigate through uncertainty and difficult circumstances. When we see how God has worked in our lives in the past, gratitude has room to surface in our hearts to replace fear. Even joy – yes, joy - can grow when we thank God for how He has cared for us in the past. We trust He will care for us in the future when we cast our anxiety on Him (1 Peter 5:7*). We don’t have to give into fear because we know that God is with us in all circumstances (Joshua 1:9**). While fear may try to worm its way back into our minds and hearts, with a mind focused on God and His faithfulness and a heart overflowing with joy and gratitude, fear can be left by the wayside, seen only through the rear window.
Lord God, as I reflect on the past, I thank You for the ways You have worked in my life. You are faithful and I do not need to be fearful. Fill my heart and my mind with gratitude and joy as You lead me through the difficulties of the present and the uncertainties of the future. Amen.
*1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
**Joshua 1:9 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Want to subscribe to future posts? Click here. For a free (no strings attached!) downloadable PDF of Bible verses on overcoming fear and anxiety, click here.
Text and photograph copyright © 2020 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of winding road to Mt Difficulty winery in Central Otago, New Zealand.
NOTE: Interested in learning about the similarities between this current pandemic and the 1918 pandemic of influenza? I highly recommend the short, but informative book The Influenza Pandemic of 1918 by Virginia Aronson (available for free from the app Internet Archive or https://archive.org/). If you’d prefer a synopsis, click here for my essay on the 1918 pandemic based on facts from this book.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
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