fear
It is so easy to be afraid.
So easy.
Like when my child develops a fever for unexplainable reasons.
Or when I feel a small tickle forming at the back of my throat in the midst of a pandemic.
Or when the doctor calls about an abnormality from the test results.
It’s easy to give way to fear when my husband tells me he’ll be home in 10 minutes and half an hour has passed.
Or when my loved ones travel to far away places and don’t answer the phone.
It’s easy to panic when I turn on the news and learn about missiles, mandates, and persecution.
Or when a spot showed up today that wasn’t there yesterday.
Or when I just knew things would go one way, and it appears they’re going the other.
“When I am afraid I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise. In God I trust, I will not be afraid.”
-Psalm 56:3-4
When… because fear accompanies flesh and bone. There is no question of “if” we’ll encounter fear but rather the full confidence that it will absolutely happen. And from an eye level prospective on this side of Heaven, there is undoubtedly much to fear. If only I could summon courage as quickly as I can fear. Yet when I am pressed, I fight the temptation to quickly digress.
“It is possible then, for fear and faith to occupy the mind at the same time.” (Spurgeon) And I can testify to that truth. As fear rushes in, making a swift attempt to capture my thoughts, steal my joy, and replace my hope with despair – I remember this.
I have an option.
Trust.
Trust in God.
In the unshakeable, unmovable, all-powerful, eternal God.
The God who didn’t give me a spirit of fear but of power, love, and sound mind.
And as I trust in Him, fear loses a foothold to faith. Faith, which reminds me that nothing, and no one, can snatch me from His hands.
Are you afraid, my friend? Is fear your constant companion?
I get it. You’re in good company, too.
But you have an option. And if you choose to turn your eyes upward, look to the Heavens and trust in God, you’ll find yourself resting in good, and highly capable, hands.
