Fear Not

Marshall reminds me that Christians are not called to live in fear.

My daughter has a new rescue pup named Marshall. We aren’t exactly sure how old he is, but he’s not a year old yet and he has spent most of his life in and animal shelter in a fairly small stall. Needless to say, he has never been on a leash, but my daughter bought him the most adorable harness and leash, and she couldn’t wait to help him explore the world. She reasoned, that he would be thrilled with new wide open spaces and the freedom to walk around.

But, when she took him out for his first walk, he was terrified. People scared him. Barking dogs scared him. Every sound made him tuck his little tail and lock down and refuse to walk. She gave him treats and tried to coax him to walk, but he wanted no part of it.

He didn’t trust her to keep him safe. He had only known her a few days. He had no reason to.

He got a little better over the next few days, and went a little bit further each day, but there was one particular house that always had a dog out front. He had an underground fence and he couldn’t get to Marshall even if he tried, but he didn’t even try. He just stared at him. Marshall didn’t know he was safe and he refused to walk by the house.

After about a week, my daughter decided to pick Marshall up when she walked by the house and put him back down to see if he would continue his walk. It worked like a charm. Not, only did he continue his walk, but they made it all the way to the end of the subdivision.

My daughter and I have had lots of discussions about Marshall’s limited experience with the world outside his little stall and his lack of understanding and trust. We often discuss the importance of patience in building our relationship with him.

Quite honestly, Marshall’s lack of trust reminds me very much of how we tend to view God, especially these days. There seems to be so much to fear, from the pandemic, to politics, to riots and conspiracy theories. Is God listening? Will He protect us? Is He still in control? Like sweet little Marshall, we sometimes want to tuck our tails and lock down, paralyzed with fear of what lies ahead.

God tells His people hundreds of times in the Bible not to live in fear. Why would He do that? He wants us to trust that He is in control and that He has a plan no matter how dark the times may be and even though we like to believe that our current situation is the darkest ever, our Bible tells a different story. There have been plagues, pestilence, famine and unrest since Adam and Eve left the garden. These things will always be present in some form or fashion on this side of eternity.

Yet, we are called to remember that we are travelers here and as travelers, we need to move one step at a time in the direction our Shepherd takes us until He calls us home. We need to remember like Marshall is learning, not to fear, because the Bible tells us not to.

Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂