Page 7 - Jigsaw June 2020

.......................................................................................................................................
St. James’ Church
St. Nicholas’ Church, Islip Holy Trinity Church, Denford Rector: Reverend Nolan Robson
e: nolanrobson@me.com t: 01832 734614
w: www.tdichurches.co.uk
A short thought... first published on 22nd April when everyone was still in lockdown. King Saul was out to kill David, so David
ran towards Gath, thinking it would be less dangerous there than in Israel. But Gath was a Philistine City, they were long standing enemies of Israel and having got there, David’s life was no safer. A person has to
be very scared to think they’d be better off with their enemy and now David remained at risk and remained afraid. Which reminds us that fear is a normal and natural reaction to danger, even for believers. It is not wrong to fear. But the question is, what do we do with that fear, because there are many ways we might respond.
We can try to drink fear away with alcohol. We can try to distract fear away by filling our mind, or vision, or life with so much, that we don’t have space to think about it. We can try to ignore fear away by never mentioning it and hoping nobody else will bring it up. There are lots of ways to handle fear, but thankfully David paused long enough in Gath to tell us what the believer does with fear in Psalm 56, verses 3-4:
When I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?
What did David do when he was filled with fear? He turned to the Lord, he cried out
to God in prayer, he went to God’s word, knowing it was praiseworthy and reliable. When everything looked fearful before him, David knew it was time to remind himself about the eternal, life giving, relational God. Why? Because when our trust is in the
one who sits enthroned in heaven, there
is nothing ultimately to fear, even in fearful times. Faith does not remove fear, trusting the Lord does not stop us from being afraid, but it does make it possible to live with fear, because we have a God and a hope that is far greater.
The church buildings continue to be closed (1.5.20) until further notice. Sunday services have moved online and you can watch the most recent service on our website at: www.tdichurches.co.uk
For those needing spiritual, pastoral
or practical help phone our coronavirus pastoral support number on: 07492 575243 or email: tdichurches@gmail.com
As a church family we are aiming to support one another and serve the wider community in appropriate ways, providing what is reasonable and possible under the circumstances. May the Lord be with you.
TURN TO THE NEXT PAGE NOW
FOR FUN WITH MRS JOLLY...
7