Monday, December 9, 2024

 

 

"Sunrise in the Boreal Forest"  Sandy Kakokis

Strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of feeble heart, ‘Be strong, fear not! Behold your God … He will come and save you. Is 35: 3-4

 

Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for He will speak peace to His people. … steadfast love and faithfulness will meet … Yea, the Lord will give what is good.

Ps 85: 8, 10, 12. 

 

…let us be sober and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.  For God has not destined us for wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Th 5: 8

I have been writing this reflection in my head for almost two weeks. And I will likely continue to write it in my head long after I have submitted it. This is because these readings speak to me about one of my major challenges – fear. The excerpts that I have included above speak of God’s unfailing love and care. So why am I writing about fear? I do so because no one tells people who are feeling safe and secure not to be afraid. The writers of these passages knew that they were writing to people feeling weak, frightened and confused, rather like now.

 

I do not think that I am alone in finding it difficult to maintain a mind at peace and a heart of trust.  We live in an anxious age where stress is endemic.  We may not even be able to identify what exactly we fear. We simply experience a sense of “dis-ease”.

 

At the Bible study about creating a heart of peace our wise leader said that anxiety and control are opposite sides of the same coin. I most fear what I can’t control. Most of our sense of control in the West is an illusion. One of my favourite cartoons shows an anxious wife sitting up in bed with her knees drawn up to her chin and eyes wild haranguing her husband, “But how can you just lie there and accept Continental Drift?” There is much in our daily life that we can control. But, the big stuff, whether we realize it or not, we must accept in faith.

 

So, how do I find peace and learn to trust God? In pondering these readings and remembering other scripture I realized that our role is not passive. This should be self evident, but I have been slow in the uptake. Yes, faith is the gift of God. But, we have to receive it – an action. So, I went back and looked for all the verbs, action words, in these passages. “Be strong,” “Behold your God,” “Hear what the Lord will speak,” do not be afraid. These are all actions that we can take. We do this by the grace of God and in the power of the Holy Spirit. But we must consent and participate in this work.

 

How do we participate? I can only tell you what helps me. You may have other strategies.  Prayer, worship, scripture and community all help to strengthen me and calm my heart and mind. Also, an attitude of gratitude, wonder, and a sense of humour also feed my soul. I give the last words to St. Paul.

 

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, honourable, just, pure, lovely, gracious, if there is any excellence worthy of praise, think about these things.  Phil 4:8

 

by Allison Adams

 

 

 

"Jesus Christ the Apple Tree"  by the Cambridge Singers