Over the past few years especially since COVID began, I have written a number of TGIF messages focusing on the fear and uncertainty that seems to have taken over our lives. That uncertainty and unhappiness seems to have grown over this time throughout our country and the world. So I am always searching for new sources of Christian information to help in these difficult times.
This week I just became aware of a new devotional from Max Lucado entitled Calm Moments for Anxious Days. The 90-day hardback devotional provides this introduction:
Breathe Deeply. God Is in Control.
Do you long to let go of the anxiety that weighs on you, to breathe out the fear that hangs over your days and breathe in the calm? Trusted author and pastor Max Lucado offers Scripture and practical tools to let your anxieties go, one by one, breath by breath, into the safe hands of a God who will never leave you.
Each entry includes;
Fear doesn’t need to have the final say. Release your anxious thoughts, your very real concerns, and every fear and trouble you are facing to the God who sees you, knows you, and loves you beyond measure.
For more information for you and today’s TGIF, I provide the first of the 90 devotionals below.
Set Free
Psalm 27:1 – The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Fear, it seems, has taken a hundred-year lease on the building next door and set up shop. Oversized and rude, unhealthy fear is unwilling to share the heart with happiness. Happiness complies and leaves. Do you ever see the two together? Can one be happy and afraid at the same time? Clear-thinking and afraid? Confident and afraid? Merciful and afraid? No. Fear is the big bully in the high school hallway: brash, loud, and unproductive … Fear herds us into a prison and slams the doors.
Wouldn’t it be great to walk out?
Imagine your life wholly untouched by angst. What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats? If you could hover a fear magnet over your heart and extract every last shaving of dread, insecurity, and doubt, what would remain? Envision a day, just one day, absent the dread of failure, rejection, and calamity. Can you imagine a day with no fear? This is the possibility behind Jesus’ question: “Why are you afraid?” he asks (Matthew 8:26).
A whole day without fear might seem like too big of a leap right now. I understand that. What if you tried 10 minutes? Take a deep breath. Think about something true and lovely. Or think about something funny. Once you’ve allowed yourself the gift of a fearless few minutes, go ahead and fill your mind with these promises of God. And remember, if fear, not faith, is your default reaction, you are not alone in that. But what if the opposite were true? With Christ, it’s more than possible, it’s his promise. When fear imprisons you and bullies your happiness away, remember this:
Isaiah 12:2 – Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.
God’s promise to me – The Lord is my light and my salvation. He will lead me out of the prison of fear.
If you liked this message and would like this devotional, you can find it online at Christianbook.com or by phone at 1-800-CHRISTIAN.
I will close with one additional verse of scripture from the Lucado devotional:
Mark 5:36 – Don’t be afraid; just believe.
May God continue to bless your walk with Him!