The real-life sisters, Agnes and Margaret Smith, who inspired my newest novel, “Where We Belong,” had a favorite motto that continues to intrigue me. Whenever they were in danger or in a precarious situation they would say, “God knows when the end of our days will be. We have nothing to fear.” I borrowed their motto for my fictional sisters, Becky and Flora Hawes, to use whenever they found themselves in a sticky situation. I added a humorous twist to it in one scene when they are on board a steamship during a ferocious storm at sea:
Flora cried out as the ship suddenly leaned so far to one side she feared it would tip over. Her body was crushed against the wall as her bulky steamer trunk pinned her there. When the ship righted itself a moment later, Becky shoved the trunk away, freeing her.
“Are you all fight, Flora?”
“Yes, I think so.” They both took a moment to steady their nerves and secure their luggage again.
Becky exhaled. “God knows when the hour of our end will be,” she said in a shaky voice. “But I sincerely hope it isn’t tonight.”
It’s one thing for me to be fearless when I’m sitting in my armchair by the fireplace, and quite another when my airplane hits turbulence midway over the Atlantic Ocean. Or when I get bad news from my doctor. I’m not afraid of dying—but I sincerely hope it doesn’t happen yet! We live in fearful times. The most frightening thing about acts of terror is that we never know when or where they may occur. We could be enjoying a concert; sitting in a restaurant; taking in a tourist attraction; attending an office Christmas party; sitting at our desk at work or at school. The suspense of continually looking over our shoulder intensifies the fear—which is the terrorists’ goal.
My niece faced a dilemma. Her fourteen-year-old son wanted to take part in an event called the Life Chain. Participants line up shoulder to shoulder along a busy street and hold up signs to remind the people driving past that “Abortion stops a beating heart,” or “It’s a child, not a choice.” It’s a peaceful, pro-life demonstration that synced well with her son’s passionate, Christian beliefs. Understandably, my niece worried about fanatics or terrorists taking aim at her sweet son and plowing into him on the sidewalk. Should she let him take part? How would you advise her? It’s one thing to be courageous when our own life is at stake and quite another to let our precious children and grandchildren be at risk.
A friend of mine, who is the director of an international prayer ministry, recently met with a group of Christian women from South Korea. She asked how they handled living with the daily threat of destruction from North Korea. The women responded that they didn’t have time to live in fear. They were too busy preparing to flood across the border to bring the hope of the gospel to their North Korean brothers and sisters once the evil regime was finally destroyed.
So, I’ve been thinking a lot about fear lately, and what the Bible has to say about it. Several favorite passages come to mind:
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me” (Psalm 23:4).
“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?” (Psalm 27:1)
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).
These are great verses to know the next time I’m in danger. But even more, I need to know the Savior who makes those promises. If I’m ever asked to take a courageous stand for my faith, as persecuted Christians in other nations do every day, I want to be fearless, knowing without doubt that the God I know and love is with me. He knows when the end of my days will be. I have nothing to fear.
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Lynn-
I love hearing your take on Fear. It is Amazing how many people are gripped with Fear and it is sad.
Satan has been working overtime to bring Fear to All people to see how they respond. Thanks for reminding us that we need to take it to The Lord and read His Word to learn to overcome.
Be Blessed and Know That God is With You and a Strong Tower nothing and I mean Nothing hoes passed The Father without His Permission.
Justina
You are so right, Justina. God does not give us a spirit of fear. It’s from the enemy.
Such good words, Lynn. And a great perspective on fear. I think not being afraid to die, yet not wanting it to happen YET, is an indication that we’re living God-directed lives. I hope I have a zest for life until the moment He calls me home. Meanwhile, it’s also good practice to prepare ourselves to be ready in season and out of season to be ready to give a reason for the hope that is within us. (I may have tangled up two Bible verses there, but I think it works. 🙂 )
Great words, Deb. I know what you mean.
Wonderful post today, Lynn. I loved learning that your fictional sisters were based on real-life sisters. How wonderful. I admire those courageous, adventurous people who set off to explore. I always create brave, feisty heroines for my books because those are qualities I admire. In truth, I’m a rather shy homebody who prefers my armchair to my suitcase.
One of my favorite verses about standing strong is from 1 John 4:18 – Perfect love drives out fear. Our Lord loves us perfectly, and when we love him in the same way, our trust increases and our fear dissipates. We have nothing to fear because He loves us and stands besides us. And like the young Hebrews who faced the fiery furnace, we can say with confidence – “Our God is able to deliver us, but even if he chooses not to, we will still follow him with conviction and joy.”
I love that verse, Karen. And I’m a wimp, too. I do admire brave women. I don’t think I’m one of them.
I was raised by a father who is a worrier, and I believe worry or anxiety is a form of fear. He thinks, even to this day, about every single thing that could go wrong in a situation, and I feel that it has always held him back from being able to truly enjoy life. I made up my mind early on to never let fear keep me from doing something. I wouldn’t say I’m fearless. I think our human nature makes that nearly impossible, although knowing and trusting the Lord goes a long way in curbing our natural fears. (Those are some of my favorite Bible verses, by the way) I refuse to let any fear paralyze me or guide my choices. I give every anxiety to the Lord and let Him guide my footsteps instead!
I admire you for choosing a different path than your father. Fear can be paralyzing.
Thanks for such a wonderful post regarding something we all struggle with. When my daughter moved from Virginia to California 24 years ago, I was deathly afraid of flying. The first time I flew out to visit her, I was a ball of tension. Then when I got there, I kept praying that I would get back home before an earthquake struck. On the third trip, I sat beside a military pilot who gave me statistics about flying safety. Knowing that if I wanted to see my daughter, I would be on many airplanes, I gradually came to peace that God is in charge, I had lived a great life, raised both of my children to adulthood, and was ready if my time was up. Now, after many enjoyable trips, I no longer think about airplanes crashing or earthquakes.
The statement you’ve included from your characters reminds me of the movie 13th Warrior that we recently watched. Whenever the fearless Vikings were asked why they weren’t afraid to go into battle, they replied, “The skein of my life is already woven.” The same thought from a different religion.
Thanks again!
Ooo I love the viking quote. I will have to use that. Thanks for sharing your story.
Lynn, great post. And the book sounds wonderful. I’m trying to be more fearless these days. The scripture sure backs that up and helps in that area.
God will help us be fearless if we trust him. Keep walking fearlessly, Lenora.
Wonderful post, Ms. Austin. And reminders about how to live, especially in these present times. I’m looking forward to reading your book!
Hey I’m reading your Christmas book right now. Hope the launch goes great.
Thank you for this inspiring post. I lead a once-a-month Ladies Prayer Group at our local Shoney’s, and try to think of things to help them out with problems I might not know about. I am going to share this with them next time.
I used to have a friend who was so afraid of just about everything, and had brought her children up to be just like her. And she was a pastor’s wife! I just never could understand how she could believe the Bible and God’s promises and live like this. Sure, there will be things that will happen that might give us a reason to have a time of fear, but it should not last a lifetime.
Andrea Fortner
You’re so right, Andrea. The more we really know God the more we will trust him. Thanks for sharing.