You Get to Choose
By Ken and Jan Merop
Cleveland, Tennessee
I was afraid. No doubt about it.
Alone in my house with my infant son…with the grim prospect of separation and divorce looming; yes, I was afraid.
Checking all five doors several times and looking in on my sleeping son for who knows how many times, I padded into my now single master bedroom for that first night as head of household.
Not a title I chose nor one I would have ever wanted for myself.
Yet, here I was.
My happily ever after no longer existed. Instead, loneliness and the unknown future pressed down hard.
That was about 50 years ago. And, yet, when recalled, I can still see myself as a young mother with my baby son and the effect that fear could have had on us both.
I had a choice. And only recently I heard someone say that faith and fear ask us to believe in something we cannot see. You get to choose.
Fear would have robbed me of my joy in the Lord, the joy I had in being a mother to my precious son, and the overall joy of life itself.
My faith, on the other hand, was firmly anchored in Christ. He promised to never leave me or forsake me. He was changeless even amongst the changes happening in our lives. Faith in God’s unfailing love beckoned me.
Though I hadn’t heard that saying then, I am so glad that I chose faith.
Psalm 56: 3 & 4 NLT says “But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?”
Was that the end of my fear? No. Other challenges and hurts were hurled at me over the years as well as feelings of inadequacy. Yet, at every hurdle, fear had to face the God I know (as a contemporary song says), and his presence and promises, his care and provision always came through.
A famous passage of Scripture, Isaiah 40: 28-30 reminds us of the strength God gives. It enables us to act in a moment of crisis by giving us the power to do what needs to be done.
It also declares that He will prove sufficient under the weight of any battle. In other words, you will have whatever you need, whenever you need it, and wherever you need it.
So, keep your eyes on Jesus with expectancy. Faith or fear. You get to choose. Selah
Barnyard Quilt
On the Quilt Trail in North Carolina,
nature’s downy blanket of yellow blooms
exquisitely displays God’s homespun creation.
“Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow…
If God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers…
He will certainly care for you.”
Matthew 6:28 & 30
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After six years in the mountains of Avery County, Ken and Jan Merop are now living in the hilly Tennessee countryside of Cleveland, TN…just outside of Chattanooga. Ken’s photos can be seen at kenmeropphotography.com.
Read more Christian news from Ken and Jan HERE.
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