by Pastor Douglas Brauner

No Need to Live in Fear

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“Mightier than the thunders of many waters,
mightier than the waves of the sea,
the LORD on high is mighty!”
Psalm 93:4 English Standard Version

I grew up next to the Willamette and McKenzie rivers in Oregon. Not at anytime of the year, not even in a season of drought, could you walk across these rivers. So, it was an adjustment to move to Colorado Springs where what’s called a “river” looks much more like a creek.

I’ve learned to respect the power of fast moving water. It can sweep a person away in a moment. It’s this power that has caused many people to be afraid of water, refusing even to drop their head below its surface.

There is another kind of fear that is sweeping the world, fear of a virus. Even though many people suffer from influenza every year, this virus, the Coronavirus, has caused panic in many parts of our world. It seems that we are powerless against its spread.

The psalmist reminds us that whether it’s a virus or the rushing waters, “the Lord on high is mighty.” This is not a promise that bad things won’t happen to us, but that if and when something bad does happen, God is mightier.

His might is seen in weakness. His overcoming of the thundering waters of sin, death, and hell came through Jesus’ death on a cross. Yet, it is in this death that we see God as powerful, as mighty. He has dealt with those things that cause us to be most afraid.

He has won.

May you know that whatever is causing fear to invade your life, “the Lord on high is mighty.”

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado