Courage in Spite of Terrifying Circumstance
Written by Sheila Schuller Coleman
"You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you." -Psalm 91:5-6, 9-10a
As a young wife and mother, I found myself terrified from time to time. There was the time when my three-and-a-half-month-old son was diagnosed with spinal meningitis. I was terrified when they wheeled him into the pediatric intensive care unit (he completely recovered - praise God!).
I was terrified when my husband and I were hit with an unexpected bill from the IRS that we did not have the money to pay. (Thankfully, we were able to get a loan and pay it off in time.)
I was terrified when my husband and sons were late coming home some evenings (prior to cell phones). I imagined them dead at the side of the road and often worked myself into nearly a panic attack.
I was terrified when I received a phone call in the middle of the night telling me my father was in a coma and in brain surgery in Amsterdam - they didn't know if he would survive and, if he did, what shape he would be in for the rest of his life.
Some of my fears were rational and some were not. Nevertheless, I learned this through the terrors that I have encountered in my lifetime: Terror is a frame of mind - not a state of being!
That means that terror is an attitude - not a circumstance. This means that terror is merely a response. I can choose how I will respond to any circumstance. I can choose courage just as I can choose terror. I can choose to cry out to God when I find myself in a terrifying circumstance. When I do, God will deliver me - and He will deliver you, too - from the terrifying feelings and the terrifying circumstances!
* * *
PRAYER:
Lord God Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, I cry out to You when I am afraid. Deliver me from my terror and deliver me from my terrifying circumstance. You are my strong deliverer. I praise You and thank You for what You are doing for me -today and every day. Amen.
