Do Not Fear

Our theme for the month of June.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

My wife and I are always happy when we get to spend time with our grandson, He just turned three, and he is a joy to be around.

I remember once when we were keeping him. I was sitting in a recliner reading, my wife was across the room, and our grandson was in the floor playing with his trains. We had the window shades down, so we couldn't see outside.

All of a sudden we heard a loud boom. I figured it was thunder, but I got up and looked out the window. Sure enough, a thunderstorm was well underway. My grandson had a worried look on his face as he looked up at me. I said, "Don't worry, buddy, it's just a little thunder." He looked just a bit better as he went back to his trains, definitely keeping his eyes and ears open.

About two minutes later, we heard the thunder boom again, this time louder than before. It was the kind of thunder that you feel as much as you hear. My grandson looked at me then suddenly stood up, ran across the room, and jumped into my outstretched arms. He crawled up into my lap and dug himself close to me. I said, "It's ok. Nothing's going to get you." I picked up a book, and we read it together.

He went from fear to peace in about five seconds. He was at peace because he knew that he was safe in his Pop's arms.

I'm not afraid of thunder and lightning anymore, but the fears and worries of life sometimes overwhelm me, and I feel scared and alone.

The phrase, "Do not be afraid," or some variant of that appears multiple times in the Bible. I know that is true, but there are some times I am still afraid. Honestly, there are times when it is right to be afraid. Fear sometimes evokes a protective instinct that keeps us safe.

More times than not, however, we worry about things that are beyond our control, or like my grandson, we fear things for no good reason.

In all our fears, we should know that we are safe in our Father's arms. Holding ourselves close to God brings us a peace; the peace that the apostle Paul said "passes all understanding."

God the Father stands ready, with His arms outstretched, to draw us close - wherever we go and whenever we need it. All we have to do is run toward Him.

Father, thank you for being there, not just when are frightened or overwhelmed, but always. Thank you for your peace, and the grace that makes that peace possible. Amen.

Today’s devotional was written and recorded by Cliff McCartney.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.