Bill Knott's GraceNotes: When I'm Afraid (April 3, 2020)

We wouldn’t ridicule a child who said to us, “I’m really scared. Please hold my hand.” We wouldn’t taunt a hurricane survivor, “Snap out it. Get on with life.” Because we’re human, we know fear. Hurt and pain may come our way; events may spin beyond control; we could lose those that we can’t live without. When all the world is afraid, let’s honor those who own their fear with honesty. It is no sin to be afraid. The fault lies only when we let our fears erode what heaven says we owe each other—grace and truth and gentleness. There’s no just cause for hate or hoarding, prejudice or wounds. Our worry need not make us lose our wits. A hundred times the Bible says, “Don’t be afraid,” or as the better versions have it, “You can stop being afraid now.” There’s just one things that calms our fears—the truth that we aren’t left alone. “Peace I leave with you,” the Lord who calmed the storms declares. “My peace I give to you” (John 14:27). Wherever He is welcome, fear declines, then disappears. The grace that saves us also soothes us. Hear the voice above the storm. Take the hand still offered you. And stay in grace. -Bill Knott

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