Heart Check 4: A Cure for Fear

• Q.  Where is God? A. God is everywhere.
• Q.  Can you see God? A. No; I cannot see God, but he always sees me.
• Q. Does God know all things?A. Yes; nothing can be hid from God.
• Q.  Can God do all things? A. Yes; God can do all his holy will.

As you prepare to teach your children this week’s collection of lessons, take some time to meditate on Psalm 139, the passage from which our memory verses are taken. It’s a wonderful thing to realize God’s surrounding and sustaining of us.

The verses which most stood out to me are 15 and 16:
“My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

As I write this, we’ve just celebrated the 2 year anniversary of the stillbirth of our 3rd daughter. Even now, the memories of that day are vivid and painful. But as much as I still grieve her death, there’s such comfort in knowing that God ordained her days. Even before she was conceived, He knew that she would only live a brief 8 months.

And it’s not just her life and death that are in His hands. My life, my husband’s, my other children – all of them are secure in Him until that day of their death comes. It won’t come before He ordains it. As a consummate worrier, I have a tendency to imagine worse case scenarios for everything. Every business trip I wonder if my husband will make it home. Swimming with my children, I fear for their safety. And since my daughter’s death, these morbid worries have increased.

But as I read Psalm 139, those fears are brought back in check. I cannot protect my family from everything. Danger, sickness and even death will someday befall them. Yet their days ARE ordained by God and until He calls them home, they are safe in His  keeping.

What about you? What lessons does Psalm 139 speak to your heart?