Devotion: Naturally Fearless
Take a moment to read this weekend’s scripture: Psalm 91
When you walked into the Worship Center on Sunday, you saw it had been transformed into a rainforest in preparation for this week’s Vacation Bible School.
A rainforest makes for an interesting backdrop for VBS. In a real rainforest, you’re likely going to encounter bright birds, waterfalls and unique flora. Then you remember what actually lives in one. It’s dark down on the floor, because the canopy swallows most of the light. It’s loud in a way that never quite stops. And an impressive number of the locals are venomous, very large, or both. The rainforest is beautiful. It can also be wild and even scary.
Our VBS this week is called Rainforest Falls. The kids will find out who God is one day at a time. Midweek, the kids land on the same truth Pastor Greg talked about in his sermon, Naturally Fearless: God is our refuge. In a way, our sermon series fits nicely with VBS as kids will be in a setting that isn’t always safe.
This week’s scripture opens with someone who “dwells in the shelter of the Most High and rests in the shadow of the Almighty”. This passage doesn’t pretend the wild isn’t real. It names the scary stuff. The terror of the night. The arrow that flies by day. And it promises a covering.
That’s the thing about a rainforest. Even with some danger, there is a canopy. You are always covered. And that’s what God is for us, even when it gets wild. Fearlessness was never our nature. It isn’t about grit or working up your nerves. It comes from who we’re standing under.
And that’s true a long way from our rainforest set, too. This week, our church is partnering with Mosaic, which walks alongside people with disabilities. Beyond Nebraska, Mosaic serves children and families in Tanzania, kids the world too often overlooks or hides away. Tanzania has real wild in it. So do those kids’ lives. The offering our VBS kids bring this week goes to them. And they’re learning the very same thing ours are: you are seen, you are not alone, you are covered. His shadow stretches over all children of God in Moshi and here in Lincoln.
Dear God,
When the world feels wild and dark, remind me that I am never out there uncovered. Help me walk into this week unafraid, not because the danger is gone, but because you are with me. Amen.
Written by Randy Hawthorne
Randy is a connector at his core, with a deep network and a personal mission to level up the people and projects around him. When he turns his attention to something, positive change tends to follow. He enjoys mentoring students and entrepreneurs, occasionally makes his way to a stage, geeks out on local history and loves a great dining adventure.