refuge

Recently I’ve had some reminders about fear.

First, we vacationed in Europe. In France especially the fear of terrorism was obvious in all the security measures and heavily-armed police, and in fact there was a story of a tour bus being shot up just a day after we returned.

Then, a group of us started rehearsing for a reader’s theater production of “Words We Couldn’t Say,” about the Dutch resistance during WWII. Those few pages powerfully share the fear and atrocity that came with the Nazi occupation.

I haven’t often felt in danger for my life, although there were a couple of memorable occasions. I have feared pain and loneliness.

It’s good today to be reminded that nothing in this world can truly hurt me. In Psalm 46:1-3 it says, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”

It may be that fear has its roots in our need for control and comfort, that when we feel helpless we feel fear. If I just see that God controls it all, what is there to fear?

Years ago I read “The Shack,” which was controversial for the way it portrayed God. I don’t agree with much of that book, but it did make me think about some things. One of them was how God comforted a little girl who was abducted, assaulted and murdered. The terror and pain was made manageable for her by God being present every second, murmuring of his love and what joy awaited her in just a little while.

Is that how it works? I don’t know, I’d prefer a world where little girls don’t go through things like that. But it reminded me of the unexpected strength and endurance that was there for me when I had to go through the hardest parts of my life.

God preserves his people. A lot in this world could overwhelm me, but nothing is equal to God. If he is for me, who or what truly can be against me?