One summer when I was a little girl, I was playing inside with three other children when a thunderstorm rolled across the skies above us. In Florida, afternoon thunderstorms are common, but this particular storm was huge. Even though we were inside, the wind was whipping, and the thunder was booming. As the youngest, I was exceptionally scared. My older sister and her friend made up a song to calm me. They put a tune to the Bible verse which says, What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. Soon I found myself not so afraid; the storm shortly passed, and the skies grew sunny again.
This verse, even for the young child, holds so much wisdom. In the decades since that storm, I have had many times in my life when I have been afraid. When my husband and I started dating, I was afraid of getting hurt. During that time, God led me to another powerful verse. II Timothy 1:7 says, For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. I was able to cling to that verse and remember that the fear I was feeling was not from God.
Other times, my fear was so big that I turned to Psalm 56:3. I was reminded of this truth: What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. Four years ago, on September 1, I went to the doctor for what was supposed to be my thirty-five-week ultrasound for my son. When they did the ultrasound, they immediately realized there was a problem. My fluid was dangerously low, and my son (whose growth we had been monitoring) was not growing as he needed to be. I was sent directly to the hospital to deliver my son. I was filled with fear as I wondered if I would even hear him cry when he was born; I was worried about whether or not he would be okay. At that time, I was grateful for Psalm 56:3. My son was born crying and then was rushed to the NICU where he stayed for nineteen days. He is now a happy, healthy, and rotten kindergartener. Every year, however, I find myself revisiting that time when I did not know if he would make it. I then remember how God calmed my fears through a frightful time.
I have thought often of that little tune put to a verse which holds so much power. I am so glad we have a God Who tells us, “You don’t have to be afraid; but if you are, you can trust in Me.” I am so glad I serve a God I can trust with my fears. I can trust in Him while I also give Him my fears. I can trust that He will do what is best for me, no matter how big the storm.
by Vicki Voorhis