You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
Or of the arrow that flies by day;
Of the plague that stalks in darkness,
Or of the destruction that devastates at noon.
Psalm 91:5-6 (NASB)
When I was about seven years old, I was eating watermelon one day, and accidentally swallowed a seed. For whatever reason, I was convinced that the seed was stuck in my throat.
My mother kept telling me I was okay, since I was breathing fine and not choking. She gave me things to eat and drink to try and wash the seed down, but my panic steadily increased.
It soon became a huge melodrama with my two older brothers, my father and my mother, all looking at me, concerned over how to solve my problem. My mother kept assuring me that I was breathing, and everything was okay, and she was probably correct, but I felt that seed was still in my throat, and worked myself into a full panic, to the point that facts no longer mattered.
It’s just an example of how worry can take over our minds until things are totally blown out of proportion. That whole ordeal reminds me of the walk of faith that we all go through. Facts have the capacity to either calm us or trigger our fears, but sometimes fear turns to panic, even if the facts are good. Only faith can lift us out of the grip that fear has on us.
The good thing about having faith, is that it’s not dependent on any facts. The scriptural definition of faith is “the assurance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen.”(Hebrews 11:1)
It doesn’t say that good news is required to have faith. I have since developed my own system to prevent fear from growing into panic. I recall my childhood watermelon seed ordeal, and say to Jesus, “This is not the end of the story, You are still here, and I am still breathing.”
Our hope was never meant to be reliant on facts, hope relies on Jesus, that His presence is with us, and He will conquer all our fears. This is the truth to hold on to.
Psalm 91 promises that we will not be afraid of the terror by night, the arrow that flies by day, or the destruction that comes at noon, and that covers it all. The Lord covers us at all times of the day and night with His protection and comfort.
Whatever we are facing, there is deep consolation in pausing to remind ourselves that Jesus is always with us, everything is okay and we are still breathing.
Lord, our every breath comes from you, and you promised to be with us always. Help us to take a pause, when we are in fear, and to be still and breathe in your comforting presence. Amen
Update:Jon is transferring out of Intensive care today and into a neuro unit. Everything is stable. Thank you.