When The Heart Quails

Good morning on this mid-summer day. That seems a bit off to those looking forward to school. The final day of July is observed as the day before August, which seems all too obvious until you realize that summer vacation ends in August. As the dreaded thing approaches, the heart may quail in fear. The heart becomes incapable of bold action; it seems to quiver in the chest and push out waves of weakness to other parts of the body. We may find that the fear we felt for the approach of school as youngsters to be a tiny thing. The fears of adulthood are much greater. Death, financial ruin, sickness, dark basements, scary toys coming to life, mean clowns, we all have fears that seem very much more powerful in the moment. Some fears may even carryover from our childhood. If you feared heights as a child, you may now have a phobia. We get a fancier word, but the fear may be the same. Where do we turn when the heart quails within?

More than likely, you have tried various directions in your life. Some turn from fear to narcotics, others to alcohol in excess, one may hide from his fear in athletic games or sports, another may subsume his fear with competition in the business or financial world, some turn to spouses or friends - often infecting them with the fear too. Answers to fear in this world seem to come in the form of anger or ignorance. God simply tells us 'Don't be'. That sounds a little trite until we read further.

Nehemiah faced enemies armed with weapons and political influence. He told his people, "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord who is great and awesome." Now that sounds encouraging. Remember the Lord... Jesus told the disciples to not fear, and calmed the storm in their presence. Jesus did not need calm waves for himself, He walked over the stormy sea, but He loved the disciples and calmed their immediate cause of greatest fear. The best cure for an immediate and overwhelming fear is Jesus. We learn to look to our Lord and not at the storm. Like the disciples, our hearts may quail in fear first before we listen to the Spirit reminding us of our powerful Lord. Remember the Lord who is great and awesome.

Bucky