Devotion: Fear
Fear
Jesus Appears to the Disciples
“When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
John 20:19-23
I am a worrier.
It also may not surprise you to know that I am a six on the Enneagram – “the skeptic”. I prefer “loyalist,” but that’s a story for a different day. Worry, I would argue fear, is not a trait I particularly like about myself. But when there are unknown challenges or hurdles ahead of me, my immediate reaction default is fearing for the worst.
Back in March, early in this pandemic, I was watching too much news, reading too many stories from the newspaper and simply worrying or fearing what that would eventually mean for me and my community. Oscillating between fear and grief, as more and more events were slowly dropping off of the calendar and more and more cases were being reported in the U.S. I felt it in my whole body. I did a pretty good job of getting myself worked up over the unknowns.
But in the early parts of April, something shifted. I was reveling in how the new normal, this pandemic, had allowed me to be in the world. I was loving shepherding the online worship, seeing the Sheridan community come together in this new way. I cherished daily walks with my husband, something that I wouldn’t have made time for before. I loved seeing the community coming together (figuratively, of course) to protect and serve others by wearing masks, making chalk art, decorating windows in homes. I felt like it was Jesus calming me, saying, “Peace be with you,” just like he had said to the disciples after he appeared to them. They were afraid; but then they saw Jesus and were filled with joy.
I, too, am filled with great joy. I can’t wait to go back to working in the office and seeing my coworkers every day and not have to wear a mask to the grocery store and to not have so many people out of work and to get to celebrate and worship together. But, strangely, this new normal has given me an opportunity to feel peace.
In this new normal, may you find opportunities to move from fear to peace and being filled with great joy.
Heavenly Father,
May we know of your presence with us every day. Help us to move from our fears to peace, to being filled with great joy. May we go out into the world, filled with the Holy Spirit, to continually love and serve others. Amen.
Written by Amy Wagner
Amy has been on staff at Sheridan since 2007, and currently serves as Communications Coordinator.
When she is not in the church office, Amy enjoys traveling, working out, serving others, leading some of the Sheridan Habitat trips and being outside in the sunshine.
Amy and her husband, Brent, love the community of Sheridan and are blessed to call this place their church home.