Fears & Anxiety

The Bible is so rich. I love the Israelites revisionist memory of what they wanted from Moses. When they get scared in the desert, seeing Pharoah's army approaching upon them, they cry out to the Lord. “They said to Moses, ‘Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, ‘Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.’” Exodus 14: 11-12 NRSV

I’m this way today because I can’t see all the details of our impending move to Oregon in place right now. I’m heading down Anxiety Lane toward the freeway to Fear City. The rich stories in the Bible remind me that our forekindred also struggled with anxiety and fears. Just as for them, God will provide direction when it is needed. I need only continue on the path God has already laid before me.

God,

Help me to quell my anxieties and fears.
Touch me with your spirit,
that I might trust you.
For you are a trustworthy God,
who has never failed me.
Open my heart and ears that I might,
perceive your lure today and tomorrow,
trusting that the path you have set me on is the path for me.

Amen