Here’s what I’ve learned through it all: Don’t give up; don’t be impatient; be entwined as one with the Lord. Be brave, courageous, and never lose hope.
Ps 27:14 (Passion Translation)
Your Storm – Fear Part 6
Go to PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5
Fear will confront you all your life. Great news right?
Don’t give up.
As we grow and mature, we will learn how to approach fear and be brave and courageous in its wake. The key is to be entwined with God. The divine partnership of dust and divinity, God and his creation, the human and the holy. And together, you will face your fears and cross over to the other side of them.
Take a moment to think about all the things that you worry about and are afraid of. Name them. The longer they go unnamed and unspoken, the more they will dance around the edges of your life just out of your reach. So, call them out.
One of my deepest fears is losing a child. I know some of you may have been there, and my heart breaks with yours, I’m not even able to imagine what that would feel like and what it would do to a mother's heart. It is something that I dread. And I often think that I would not be able to live if I lost a child…
But by naming my fear, staring it in the face, and being present in it, not losing control of my emotions, but present in peace and faith and trust, I can see that if this fear were to ever be realised in my life, the transcendent love of God would be only thing to lead me through. And lead through, he would. And perhaps he is for some of you even now. Then something rather strange happens. This fear of mine reveals what is most precious and holy to me, and teaches me to live every moment that I have with my children, fully and joyfully.
Richard Rohr says something incredible about fear and darkness,
“The letter to the Ephesians (5:13) intuits what later psychology would merely unpackage: Anything exposed to the light will itself become light, the author says. That is rather amazing considering that most of us today think in very dualistic terms about good and evil. Here Ephesians says that “dark” things, like fear and shame, can actually be used for our own good and transformation, if we just hold them up to the light. They themselves can become a form of light!”
And…
“There are two immense “storms” in life, it seems to me: the storms of our negative emotions and the storm of a true encounter with God. Eventually, you must “feel” both of them. It is the price that we must pay for both emotional intelligence and spiritual awareness.”
May you, wonderful friend, find peace in the midst of your storm. May you hear the whisper in your heart, the voice on the wind and the shout from the heavens that says, “Peace, be still.” And may you face your fears with the bravery and courage that is only possible when before such a foe, and cross over to the other side, by the grace and love of God.
Take some time today to read over any devotions you may have missed this week. We’ve been looking at fear and faith and we hope it's blessed you. AND keep the conversation going! Email us at talktous@pktfuel.com, or post this little reflection on your social media sites to generate some great conversation and stories around the topic.
Grace and peace guys,
Lizzy (and Jesse).
Go to Part 7 – Fear Not
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