MEDITATIONS by Carol Dean Henn
Do not fear or be dismayed!
Joshua 8:1 A friend of mine has received terrible news about her medical problem. I want to tell her “do not fear or be dismayed,” but it feels as though I’d be saying those words into a raging hurricane. The winds would whip them away as soon as I said them. When bad news comes, or our lives fall apart in some way, it does, indeed, feel as if a storm surrounds us, and all the advice to ‘not worry’ is too flimsy to stand up to those squalls. What I can tell my friend is that fear is natural. It’s a healthy reaction to soul-shattering news. But once fear has told us ‘this is serious,’ we have a choice. We can focus on and embrace the fear, which is a way focusing on the negative and of sapping the strength we’ll need for the days ahead, or we can decide to not fear or be dismayed; to cast our lot with the God of hope and healing, of mornings and miracles. I hope my friend chooses to not fear or be dismayed. ©Carol Dean Henn, 2017 Comments are closed.
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AuthorCarol Dean Henn of St. John’s Windish Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, PA Archives
September 2018
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