Fear Not.....

You know that feeling when you are on the freeway and you don’t know if the next exit is the one you need? So, you get into that lane and then you realize “Oh Man” that is not the right one….and you look over both shoulders quickly to get back only to find out it’s too late? That sinking feeling in your gut, that “OH PICKLES now what” thought that runs in your head?

That is kind of what the last few weeks have been like for me.

I don’t fear the exit, if you will. I’m just not sure. But in the same breath I know that fear corrodes our confidence in God’s goodness. It has a way of strangling us in our sleep. At times: even knocking the wind out of us. We begin to wonder if love does in fact live in heaven. If God can sleep in our storms, if his eyes stay shut when our eyes grow wide, if he permits storms after we get on his boat, does he care? Fear unleashes a swarm of doubt, anger-stirring doubts.

God’s most common command comes from the “fear not” genre. The Gospel lists 125 Christ giving imperatives. Of these, 21 urge us to “not be afraid” or to “not fear” or to “have courage” or to “take heart”.
“Surly goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” Ps 23.