The Only Thing We Have to Fear is Fear Itself Devotional Thursday 3/26/20

        Many of you at St. Mary’s Woods may remember this line from FDR’s first Inaugural Address.  I woke up with this line in my head this morning, and I spent some time talking with God about things I am sometimes more afraid of than fear.  We do have reasons to be fearful in these days, I will not deny it.  But (you knew I would say “but,” didn’t you?) something I have learned about fear and anxiety in my spiritual journey is that I ALWAYS have a choice to make when I feel fear.

        “Do not be afraid” occurs more times in the Bible than anything else except “God is love.” So many people in the Bible respond initially with great fear to the appearance of an angel, so God knows that we will feel fear.  But we can choose to focus on the fear, or we can choose to turn our attention toward our Lord who loves us with such great love that Jesus our Savior went all the way through suffering and death to overcome our fears and forgive our sins.  When we are feeling stuck or helpless or afraid of what may happen, turn toward God and God’s “perfect love will cast out our fear.” (1 John 4:18a) It may not be instant, we may have to keep turning toward God, but God will cleanse us of our fears. And that will be a gift from God, and through it God will reduce the effects of fear on our body and our mind and our spirit.

Nancy Waldo, St. Mary’s Woods

2 Timothy 1:6-7 For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you… for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.

Luke 12:22, 25-26 [Jesus] said to his disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. … And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest?

Prayer Suggestion: As you continue to pray for protection and health for yourself and your family members, add a prayer today for God to ease the fears of so many people who may not know that they have a choice to turn away from fear toward God.