Today's Devotional

May 13, 2005

Subject:  Paraskevidekatriaphobia

Colossians 2:16 - "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:"

Matthew 12:8 - "For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day."

We've simply got a word for everything don't we?  Paraskevideatriaphobia, or fear of Friday the 13th, is a specialized phobia of triskaidekaphobia, the fear of the number 13.  Amazingly the research will show you that this fear seemed to originate within Christianity.  This "bad luck" day is rumored to have begun as early as Adam and Eve.  Some say that they transgressed on that particular day in the garden.  There is also the thought that the great flood of Noah's day began on a Friday and then some say Good Friday, the day they crucified Christ, was the 13th.  None of these things have been proven as fact, but one thing is for sure.  Paraskevideatriaphobia and every single other phobia on this planet are all subject to the Lord of the Sabbath.

While Christians generally shy away from regarding good and bad luck, we still hold to many of these irreligious beliefs.  Some Christian athletes wear the same socks every time they play a game because they are "lucky."  Some people will even stop driving or change their normal routine today simply because it is the dreaded, Friday the 13th.  Then of course we have the movies that were created to show us that Friday the 13th is the day when Jason Vorhees comes out to slash and kill unwitting teenagers at some crazy summer camp.  

Some of this is humorous and then again it's not because those same attitudes keep us from seeing Christ as the Supreme Being in control of every single part of our lives.  If we have fears, He can erase them.  He doesn't deal in luck.  He controls everything.  So today, on this Friday the 13th, make sure you don't have "Godrulesovereverythingphobia."  Take all of your phobias to Him and you'll have "good luck" for ever more.   

Carlen