“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power and love and of a sound mind.”  II Timothy 1:7.

When I was a youngster, I was afraid of going into the basement.  With only one dim light overhead, our basement was eerie and dark with many shadows and corners.  What made it even more dreadful, was a huge octopus-looking furnace with large tentacles coming out from the top of its head.  When my dad opened the door to shovel coal into what looked like an angry pit, the fire and bright red colored coals inside the furnace belly looked like the entrance into another world- hell.

Of course, as I grew I grew older, I realized that fear, although not as primal as in childhood, is not as clear and as simple in adulthood. But, fear can permeate our minds in such a subtle way that we are sometimes unaware of its influence in our perceptions of the world and the decisions and choices we make as a result of it.   Sometimes in life we feel afraid of bad things happening to us- on the job, in school, in relationships.  Sometimes we are even fearful of success – what if we get on top and fall?

We find ourselves moving left and right and sometimes backwards in order to avoid going forward.   We say and do wrong things to others to try and protect and uplift ourselves.

But, the presence of God helps us to calms these fears,  if we look to the “..hills from whence cometh our help…”, Psalms 121.   This Psalm tells us that our strength comes from the Lord who is by our side at all times. He is the only one who can keep us warm and moving upwardly forward, for others as well as ourselves.

We have to keep the faith in Jesus that Paul speaks about in his letter to his “dear beloved son”, Timothy.   Paul reminds Timothy to be bold in the face of adversity and that the power of the Holy Ghost is with him to guide him into doing the will of God.

So the next time we feel dread, we should say a little prayer and ask God to give us the faith and courage to move forward with power, love, and a sound mind.

Prayer:  Dear Lord, Thank you for giving me the spirit of strength, in times of doubt.  I know you are with me in everything.   Create in me a spirit of power, love and a sound mind.  Amen

Terrye Blevins

January 1, 2018