Fear – It can do funny things to you.  When I was 46 years old, I gave birth to my fifth child.  When I was pregnant with her, I was afraid.  I knew the statistics, and they weren’t good.

Chances were this child would have something genetically wrong.  There was a possibility that I would die – but since that possibility exists with each child born, I wasn’t as concerned with that statistic.  I tried to ignore these fears and continue with life.  

We were in the middle of remodeling our home, and since my husband is a builder, our home was also going to be on the Parade of Homes.

I was homeschooling all the rest of our four children, in the middle of a remodel, while being pregnant, with morning sickness.  

And I was afraid.  My fear would pop out at the most inappropriate times for me.  I would be at a gathering of friends and would start crying.  I was mortified.  I hated crying in front of others.  Now – I have cried so often in front of others—it doesn’t bother me at all.

What is the point of this story? 

I had my baby.  She was healthy, and perfect, and all my fears were for naught.

All my fears were for naught.

Right now, we are all in lock-down.  We are seeking to be safe from the COVID-19 virus.

There is a great deal of uncertainty.  There is fear of the unknown.  There is anxiety.

 I am concerned for how the shutdowns are affecting people living on the edge economically.  What is this doing to them?   Will businesses be able to survive?  What will our country’s future look like?

Again – there is fear.  There is uncertainty.  There is anxiety.

During the Great Depression in our country, Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “There is nothing to fear, except fear itself.”

Fear makes people do crazy things.  We have all seen people do crazy things during this time. 

The opposite of fear is faith.  One can still fear and have faith at the same time.  Faith is not the absence of fear.  Faith is just choosing to believe God and do what He says.

God tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves.

God tells us to love Him, first and foremost.   Many of us have put our security in money.  Money has been our God.   During this time, we can repent of that, and ask God to be the One we worship first and foremost.

Perhaps, that is the true point of this time, to return to the One who made us and gave us life.

He has said, “Cast all your anxieties upon Me, for I care for you.”

I believe that when this time is over, it will be clear that, “All our fears were for naught.” I believe this—- because in the words of Becky Crain, who died of breast cancer at the age of 36, “When you face the thing you fear the most, you realize you have nothing to fear, because God is with you through it all.”

God is with us through this all.

So Be Encouraged!!