FEAR
Often when we hear about a
crime, we judge the reaction of the victim and think, ‘That wouldn’t happen to
me because….” Then we imagine our heroic selves thwarting the villain and
coming out unscathed. We’ve all done
it. It makes us feel safer. Deep down I think we know that the difference
between the actual event and our imagination is we are not paralyzed by
fear. All reason goes out the window
when fear comes in. It’s startling how many different kinds of fear drive our
behavior; fear of failure, fear of rejection and fear of death all play a part.
Obviously, Jesus understood
this very well; since there are nearly 100 occasions recorded in the Gospels of
Jesus saying fear not as his opening
greeting. It’s so common that we pass
over it as if it were hello.
Jesus is called The Prince of
Peace for good reason. Everything in his
manner sent out the message. The girl in
the streets expecting to be stoned to death; the woman crawling on hands and
knees through a hostile crowd and the leper who risked his life to speak to
Him, all saw in Him an end to their fear.
Moses once said to his
people, they should obey God’s commandments, love him and walk with him so as
to have a peaceful life. That is a
beautiful sentiment. But it is about the unseen God. We know God as Jesus, a person we can relate
to. Following his word, loving him and walking through life with him is the meaning
of Christianity. It is for this that He
lived.
Imagine your life as you walk
with Him. The comfort of knowing he is
always there can make any hardship easier to confront. Listen to the wisdom of Moses. Meditate on it, learn it and believe it. It’s not that you will never be frightened
again, it’s that you will have the strength to face it because you know you are
not alone.
Blessings,
Carol Lemelin OPA
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