The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall i be afraid?
Psalm 27:1 (NRSV)
Thou hidden source of calm repose,
thou all-sufficient love divine,
my help and refuge from my foes,
secure I am if thou art mine;
and lo! from sin and grief and shame
I hide me, Jesus, in thy name.
Charles Wesley
There are some childhood fears which are never left behind. Just ask anyone how they feel about heights, snakes, and/or spiders. Then there are fears we accumulate as we move through life, fears about our professional prospects, our relationships, our health… It’s hard to remain calm while waiting for a son or daughter who missed their curfew to call or come home; it’s difficult to get anything done while waiting for the results of a blood test.
Deepening our discipleship does not grant us immunity from fear. In some ways it causes us to feel those sources of fear even more acutely as we grow in care for each other. There is, however, great wisdom and peace available to us through trusting in God’s reign and praying as Jesus taught us “Your will be done.”
What are you afraid of today? If you were to tell me I’d probably say “wow, that sounds pretty scary.” And yet fear does not have to control us anymore. Trust in God’s grace and mercy. We can live in cooperation with the Holy Spirit and there find “strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.” You don’t have to be afraid
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Ben
