Fear of change. Fear of circumstances being out of my seeming control. The fear of the unknown. Fears rise around and flow in and out of our minds constantly. But today I’m choosing to see the good. It is a choice you know.
Choosing to see the flowers blooming and trees budding… life moving between the chaos.
The storms, real life hurricanes and tornadoes and natural disasters that I’ve weathered have brought communities together. These kinds of storms bring families closer, friendships tightened, loved ones serving. I’ve watched storms bring neighborhoods together to rebuild and reconnect.
But this virus.
This virus has begun to separate us. It violates our trust in each other and leaves us behind closed doors, and victims to its fear. Fear of change in so many areas of our life seems rampant.
But it’s in the midst of this fear that I hear a whisper.
The whisper is deep in my soul and it is almost muffled by the news media, the social media and the children romping in the house…
The voice whispers… “Do Not Fear.”
The thing about that whisper is that I’ve walked with God a long time and I recognize it right away. Never in my life have I heard God shouting, yelling or using neon signs to call me to his side. It almost always resides in that still small whisper.
“Do not fear.”
It settles as a command. But it holds more than that.
It’s a refuge in the midst of the uneasiness.
It’s calm in the midst of the uncertainty.
Maybe even more so it is a call to rest our souls.
You see as believers in Jesus, we have the opportunity that the fear stricken world doesn’t have. We have peace, and therefore, we get to bring peace. We have the beautiful invitation to not have any fear of change.
God was not caught off guard by the toilet paper flying off the shelf. He was not shocked when there was no vaccine for a virus. God also is not wringing his hands at how this will change us.
And change us it will. Maybe that is part of the fear to begin with. The change.
So today I wanted to bring to you 3 things that will change for the good if you allow that still small voice to whisper to you today.
The first thing that can change during a season of fear is our prayer life.
Does the same prayer leave your mouth each day? “Thank you for this and that. Pray for safety. Pray for comfort.”
But what if the fear of change led us closer to the heart of God?
What if comfort and happiness weren’t the things that weighed heavily on our Savior’s heart?
Maybe the heart of our Savior lies with the widow, the orphan, the one who needs you to help fight for justice? Maybe it is these that should carry more weight in our prayers than the fear itself.
Who can you pray for today? What burden can you help carry in prayer or in person for someone to not only be comforted, but for them to find the lasting rest and peace Jesus can bring?
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
The second thing that fear of change might shift for the good is our relationships.
During seasons of our life where fear rears its ugly head, our relationships have the beautiful potential for change. But this is not meant to cause uneasiness.
Change does not equal bad. Fear of change does.
Our relationships can change and be better, stronger. Our relationships with our parents, our spouse, our children can all grow stronger. If a flower begins as a seed… it only means good things when we see it change into a flower.
We need change in our relationships. We need to stir each other up, motivate each other, ask the hard questions, and grow together during the change.
Can we choose to treat those who we are quarantined with as Jesus would? Is it possible that we can clean up one more mess with grace? Can we extend forgiveness with someone takes up our space one more time?
and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds
Hebrews 10:24
The third thing that can fear of change can shift is our rhythms.
The patterns of life will change. Some of us in fear tend to shut down, hide, be silent. Others of us during these seasons tend to speak louder and show up bolder. But the permission to change the rhythm of life is presenting itself. It is OK to shift.
The pattern of breathing may shift at times. The pattern of going to the grocery store on Monday may shift. That routine you had of taking the kids to school may change. It is OK.
Sometimes this shift in rhythm is what keeps us breathing, keeps us human. It keeps us from being robots going about our days from thing to thing.
Jesus is as close to us as breathing.
God doesn’t fear us, he doesn’t distance himself from us. He doesn’t quarantine himself from us in high and mighty places hoping to not get sick. He is with us.
So as you go about your day, whether:
-the fear is just bubbling under the surface,
-you’ve had multiple melt downs or
-you simply sit back wondering why everyone else seems to carry the fear louder than you do…
know that God is with us.
He is our peace. And He knows the next steps for you. Lean in. Sit at His feet.
He’s not fearful of your fears.
If this has been helpful to you, please share or comment below.