For God has not given us a spirit of fear,
but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
- 2 Timothy 1:7
This is one of the verses that my daughter and I have held onto over and over again when worry comes knocking on our door. It has helped us move away from fear and into the stronger truth that God has given us a spirit of BOTH power and love, and the ability to settle our minds that might be full of worry clanging around with truth that can calm storms of worry. I even wrote a song to this one that we sing often in our house when thunderstorms roll in, and we’re all triggered remembering the tornado that tore through our neighborhood.
Truthfully, the past week and a half has been full of fear for me. I think in the wake of losing someone vibrant in your life in a senseless car accident feels like a shock to the system. There has been deep grief in the wake of losing our priest and his child. There has also been fear rising up in me every time I drive on the highway since that awful news. A certain measure of fear is good and right… it works to do things like keeping us alert and attentive while driving, but I was experiencing often that deeper fear that feels like it’s taking your breath away. The weight of the world on your chest kind of fear, and this is the verse that I kept holding onto. I kept speaking it over my fearful heart this week, holding onto the truth that we don’t have to live in fear because Jesus is with us, and His love is strong enough to carry us through any fear or loss that we’ll ever face. I’m here to attest to the power of His love as we have grieved this week. I want to remember the way that this verse grounded me in a truer truth. There is deep loss and sorrow on this side of heaven, but there is also deep love to carry us through and an even deeper hope that is grounded in an empty grave.
We get to choose what we fix our minds on, I suppose. I have grieved freely. I have taken my fears to the feet of Jesus and have been embraced by the compassionate and kind love of God. I can’t imagine walking through loss like this without a Love like His. So take courage, dear heart. Wherever you are, whatever you’ve lost, you do not have to live in a spirit of fear. There is a powerful current of God's love that runs deeper than your sorrow. He can settle your weary and worried mind. Come as you are, and find rest for your soul. I know I have found deep rest in fixing my gaze on the Love this week. It’s a love that beats death, thank goodness, and even though death hurts, I know and remind my fearful/grieving heart over and over again, that death doesn’t get the final word.
Thanks for celebrating the song “Stronger “ with me this week. It was a beautiful reminder for me to lift my eyes to the Man of Sorrows Himself, whose love brings life even when we walk through the shadow of the valley of death. 1, 2, 3, 4, breathe. You are held even here.