Fear

By Pastor Paul Gauche

Today’s Word: ‘FEAR’  as in… there are many reasons why the wilderness is a difficult place for us, but it all come back to fear.

Currently, there’s an enormous amount of fear in the world which has both a downside and an upside. The downside: fear, especially when it’s used to coerce and manipulate people, ultimately leads to death. The upside: fear, as an honest response to threat can lead to life. The church, the Body of Christ, being equipped with the Good News of the Gospel has an opportunity to lean into the promise that God has something to say about fear and that the church always shines brightest in times of darkness.

Three truths about navigating fear in the ‘Wilderness’ of a global pandemic.

First, in the ‘Wilderness’ we fear the unknown, we fear what we can’t see. Because we can’t go back to the past, and we don’t care for the present, and we don’t know what the futures holds, the tendency is to reject what the ‘Wilderness‘ has to teach. Human nature is odd: people will often prefer a known misery over the unknown.

Second, in the ‘Wilderness’ we fear losing what we value. We’ve invested everything we have in everything that seems solid. To have it all change or disappear creates fear. And when responses are based on fear, nothing turns out well.

Third, in the ‘Wilderness’ we fear being out of  our comfort zone. The shifts created by the pandemic have jolted us into a profound discomfort. The result? Uncertainty. When we’re out of our comfort zone—if we can’t see it, touch it, smell it, taste it or hear it, fear takes over.

Think about the first time you walked into a store expecting to buy toilet paper only to find empty shelves. That was a moment of fear!

The ancient Hebrew people feared not knowing where their next meal would come from and responded by hoarding food. God’s response? “I’ve got you covered. I’ll provide all that you need just when you need it.”

God is still saying that to us today.

#100days50words

Paul Gauche is the Pastor of Life Transitions at Prince of Peace. His posts are part of his #100days50works project, where be blogs about a different word each day. You can follow his project on Instagram (@pgauche), or on his blog, Thriving Rhythms.