I have an old paperback book in my office called, The Gospel According to Peanuts, by Robert L. Short. It features many of the cartoon characters of Charles Shultz, but from the early years, before 1965. In one, Lucy has set up her 5-cent psychiatric booth to help Linus face his fears. Lucy tries to pinpoint Linus’ particular fear. “Are you afraid of responsibility? If you are then you have Hypengyophobia!” “I don’t think that’s quite it,” says Linus. Lucy continues, “How about cats? If you are afraid of cats, then you have Ailurophobia.” “Well, sort of…but I’m not sure.” An impatient Lucy then says, “Maybe you have Pantophobia—the fear of everything.” “That’s it!” says Linus. The truth is we all have our worries and fears which too easily want to control us.
I am always moved by the words of Dutch resistance fighter, Holocaust survivor and Christian writer Corrie Ten Boom. In her book Clippings from My Notebook, she writes: “Worry is carrying tomorrow’s load with today’s strength—carrying two days at once. It’s moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.” I attended a church luncheon in Tulsa many years ago where Corrie Ten Boom was the featured speaker. Her lesson that day came from a piece of needlework. When she held it up to show us, she displayed the back where all the threads were knotted and crisscrossed. She then held it above her head. She said that when she wondered about the suffering, hurt and all the confusing turns of life, she would remember that while we may only see the tangles and the knots, from heaven God sees the complete portrait of His love and purpose. Then she revealed the beautiful picture she was still sewing. “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”
Some of her other quotes include: “If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. If you look at God, you’ll be at rest.” And this word about living in faith: “You can never learn that Christ is all you need, until Christ is all you have.”
Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Fear not. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.
Reprinted from 2019
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