All Fear Is Gone
I had three experiences between my childhood and teens that taught me about how God can work through music. This is one.
When I was a child, I was terrified ... of a lot of things.
The dark.
Heights.
A bomb being dropped on us. (You want irrational?! I had it! This particular fear, by the way, began after reading a WWII novel set in China. The novel was for 9-12 year olds, but I was probably 8.)
That first fear -- the dark -- was about to become more than a little problematic in my pre-teen years. We used to let our dog into the house for the night, to keep him from barking at the moon. At night, an old, ratty comforter was spread over the floor for him. In the daytime, it was folded up and hung up on a clothesline.
A clothesline that happened to be closer to the woods than the house.
It wasn't actually that far from the house -- we lived on a one-acre plot back then, and so when it was dark, and you turned on the outside lights, the clothesline and the dog blanket were still in sight, just barely out of the comforting circle of yellow light on the lawn. Plus, the woods in question were actually more like a strip of trees and brambles between us and the neighbours. No big deal. Or, at least, it shouldn't have been. But, to me ... it was scary. It was scary to be outside the circle of light, even if only for less than a minute.
The funny thing about fear is, it's completely irrational. No matter how much my parents assured me that I would be fine, I was still scared.
One day at a New Year's Eve service at church, someone requested that we sing, "Because He Lives." It was the first time I'd ever heard the song, and I didn't know -- wouldn't realize for a few more years -- that traditionally, it's an Easter song. All I knew was that the chorus said, "Because He lives, all fear is gone." And I knew that was what I needed.
So from then on, when I had to go get the dog's blanket at night, I would sing that song. (Loudly! I wanted to be sure to scare away the coyotes I was convinced were lurking around. Only later did I learn that the neighbours were listening too.)
With time, I began to sing other songs into the dark as well. No longer to ward off fear, but because I wasn't afraid anymore.
Today. a lot of people are terrified ... of a lot of things. Particularly COVID-19. Maybe you're one of those people.
If that's the case, I'd like to share this song that helped set me from fear.
When I was a child, I was terrified ... of a lot of things.
The dark.
Heights.
A bomb being dropped on us. (You want irrational?! I had it! This particular fear, by the way, began after reading a WWII novel set in China. The novel was for 9-12 year olds, but I was probably 8.)
That first fear -- the dark -- was about to become more than a little problematic in my pre-teen years. We used to let our dog into the house for the night, to keep him from barking at the moon. At night, an old, ratty comforter was spread over the floor for him. In the daytime, it was folded up and hung up on a clothesline.
A clothesline that happened to be closer to the woods than the house.
It wasn't actually that far from the house -- we lived on a one-acre plot back then, and so when it was dark, and you turned on the outside lights, the clothesline and the dog blanket were still in sight, just barely out of the comforting circle of yellow light on the lawn. Plus, the woods in question were actually more like a strip of trees and brambles between us and the neighbours. No big deal. Or, at least, it shouldn't have been. But, to me ... it was scary. It was scary to be outside the circle of light, even if only for less than a minute.
The funny thing about fear is, it's completely irrational. No matter how much my parents assured me that I would be fine, I was still scared.
One day at a New Year's Eve service at church, someone requested that we sing, "Because He Lives." It was the first time I'd ever heard the song, and I didn't know -- wouldn't realize for a few more years -- that traditionally, it's an Easter song. All I knew was that the chorus said, "Because He lives, all fear is gone." And I knew that was what I needed.
So from then on, when I had to go get the dog's blanket at night, I would sing that song. (Loudly! I wanted to be sure to scare away the coyotes I was convinced were lurking around. Only later did I learn that the neighbours were listening too.)
With time, I began to sing other songs into the dark as well. No longer to ward off fear, but because I wasn't afraid anymore.
Today. a lot of people are terrified ... of a lot of things. Particularly COVID-19. Maybe you're one of those people.
If that's the case, I'd like to share this song that helped set me from fear.
And if you want to learn more about how Jesus can set you free from fear, check out my newest blog page here.
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