Today’s Verse

Isaiah 41:13

For I hold you by your right hand—I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.’ (NLT)

Thinking back to my childhood, I don’t recall fearing a monster in the closet, or something under the bed. For me, it was waking up in the middle of the night to what I thought was a pack of creatures running from the other end of our house, down the hall toward my room. I can still vividly hear that sound! I was terrified and would call out for my mother who would walk through the door, not having seen any creatures, ready to reassure me that nothing was there and everything would be fine. This experience was repeated more times than I can remember! 

I’ve discovered that as we grow up, so do our fears. They move from being fictional characters and scenarios when we’re children to very real possibilities. For middle schoolers, it’s the fear of new realities they didn’t have to consider as kids. For high schoolers, it’s fear of not fitting in. College students fear failure and the future. Young adults fear not finding the right person, or choosing the wrong career. These are generalities, but you get the idea. Our fears change and grow. Studies have been done with senior adults to determine if fear and anxiety decrease with age. It was found that the fears of senior adults don’t necessarily diminish, but get focussed on things like losing loved ones, illness, or the loss of mobility and function.

Sobering, isn’t it? There will always be things to worry about. But my experience is that most things I fear never actually live up to the level of energy I spend being afraid! I would even say that most things I fear never materialize at all.

REFLECTION

Do you recall a childhood fear? How have your fears grown up? Begin by giving yourself some grace for being human. Then, bring to focus today’s verse with God’s personal promise of His presence and desire to help.