The Seventh Week of Easter: From FEAR to LIFE

STEP ONE: BREATHE

Take a deep, cleansing breath. Allow the air to fill your lungs and expand your body. Exhale and empty yourself into the room. Repeat three times - once for the one who Created you, once for the Incarnate One who walks beside you, and once for the Spirit whose life fills your being.

STEP TWO: DWELL IN WORD

“What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

— Romans 8:31-35,37-39

“FEAR NOT” - Imagine Life

Over seven weeks ago, at the beginning of this Fear Not devotional series, none of us were sure of where we would be when the series came to an end. We were painfully aware that finding joy and hope in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, with our church doors closed and pews empty, was going to be a challenge for us all. Fear, not joy, was the prevailing sentiment of the day. We felt it. We were pretty sure we weren’t alone.

But, as people of faith, claimed by the Holy Spirit and marked by the cross of Christ forever (God’s loving action, not ours), we also knew that scripture and tradition offered an alternate narrative to fear - trust in the promises of God the creator, through Christ, by the unending and ever-present work of the Holy Spirit.

In the face of the present fears of our day, God’s promise continues to be simple, straightforward, and comforting: fear not.

Fear not. Do not be afraid. These are words that the gospel writers tell us Jesus used time and time again to help others deal with the real fears of the day. And, today, no matter what we may fear - loss of cherished rituals and practices, loss of income or place, loss of control and certainty, loss of identity, or even loss of life - none of these things have the power to separate us from the love of God through Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit. Because God has declared it. God has claimed you as a beloved child. God has promised it to you. And God’s promises never fail.

For who will separate us from the love of God in Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (Or, for that matter, economic hardships or viral pandemics?) (Romans 8:35)

Nothing. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

STEP THREE: PRAY

God of all, through Jesus you tell us to fear not. Yet fear remains. Fear of losing our cherished rituals and practices, loss of income or place, loss of control and certainty, loss of identity, and even loss of life. Help us to trust that fear cannot hold us, or separate us, from your presence, your love, your promise. Amen.

Today’s devotion is by Pastor Scott Simmons.