I have one of those calendars on my desk where you flip through it each day and it gives you just a sentence or two that encourages you for the day. I’ve been so busy I haven’t been flipping through the calendar. The last day I had read was January 12th – the day of the quake.
On January 28th – Fear will always knock on your door. Just don’t invite it in for dinner and for Heaven’s sake – don’t offer it a bed for the night.
On January 29th – Proverbs 3:24 – When you lie down, you will not be afraid. When you lie down your sleep will be sweet.
On January 30th – Matthew 8:26 – Jesus got up and gave a command to the wind and the waves, and it became completely calm.
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I feel like fear has been sleeping in my home. Not the kind of fear where there are monsters in your closet – but a more subtle fear – Lord am I really being used to the full potential you had planned for me? Am I doing all I should be doing? What if I can’t ease the fears that this quake brought on for my children? Will Jose ever be able to forget what he has seen, smelt, touched, heard, and felt in Port-au-Prince? Will the people there ever be able to understand what has happened to their country? Will I be able to bring peace and comfort to the people here? How are our friends and family here going to take care of so many family members when they are barely making it now?
The list goes on and on. So at night – I toss and turn – I allow doubt and fears to take over my mind. The hours on the clock pass by slowly and at 4am – I’m still awake. I suffer with a little chronic insomnia anyways – but it has been magnified since the quake.
I read today’s verse Matthew 8:26 and I immediately found peace. Jesus was sleeping – knowing that the storm was coming – because He knew it would be okay – and yet he was woken up. With a quick word – the chaos in the sea stopped. Just like that – it was over.
Jesus is the same Jesus today as He was in the boat. All that happens in this world is within His reach. I am sitting at my desk right now and on the wall I have Psalms 33 – another beautiful reminder of how amazingly LARGE our God is. I knows that our God (who breathes stars into space) can triumph over any circumstance. He is just THAT BIG.
More encouraging scripture from God’s Word:
John 16:33 – I have told you these things, so that in me you may find peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
Matthew 14:27 – Take courage. I am here!
Mark 5:36 – Don’t be afraid; just believe.
Fear creates a form of spiritual amnesia. It dulls our miracle memory. It makes us forget what Jesus has done and how good God is. Fear may fill our world but it doesn’t have to fill our hearts. The promise of Christ is this – we can fear less tomorrow than we do today. Jesus takes our fears seriously. The one statement He made more than any other was – Don’t be afraid
My prayer tonight is Proverbs 3:24 – When you lie down, you will not be afraid. When you lie down your sleep will be sweet. I think all of us here in Haiti are due for a sweet sleep. That’s my prayer for everyone – all over this nation – that tonight – there will be no earthly tremors – but only sweet heavenly dreams.
*My calendar is Fearless by Max Lucado