Scaredy Cat

It was a beautiful, fall day in North Carolina, and we were on our screened-in porch visiting with our neighbors. Halloween was approaching, and they had brought us two yard decorations. They were made of quarter-inch plywood and were about two and one-half feet tall; one was a black cat and the other a white ghost. Both were just outlines without any painted details. After a while, her royal majesty, our cat Misty, came regally strolling out on the porch to see just who was invading her realm. She graciously acknowledged our neighbors and then turned and saw the Halloween decorations. She immediately jumped three feet, straight up in the air, paused before coming back down, and then ran back into the house. Who knew? She was a scaredy cat.

All of us have things that scare us. Sometimes they are misperceptions, like Misty’s giant cat, but other times they represent real threats. Our fears make us seek comfort, and some require us to seek courage. We turn to family, friends and professionals for help. As Christians we also turn to God and find solace in his word.

In his LMM Sunday sermon, Charlie Meier mentioned that the phrase, “Fear not” appears over one hundred times in the Bible, and much of the Bible seems to have been designed to help us with our fears. This is especially true of the book of Psalms, and they are a good place to look whenever we’re feeling afraid. The twenty-third Psalm has soothed believers for over two thousand years. It is this soothing Psalm that is most remembered, but many others seem equally helpful in times of fear and trouble. For example, Psalm 27:1 says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?” In the New Testament, Hebrews 13:5-6 reads, “Because God has said, `Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, `The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?’” This is indirect advice telling us to turn to the Psalms, for the quote in verse 6 is from Psalm 118:6-7.

Reading the Psalms helps us realize God’s wonderful, unconditional love for YOU and me.

Jim