A common phrase that is used as an attempt to comfort someone is “waiting is the hardest place to be.” There are some who will actually say that bad news is easier to deal with than no news.

Aging opens opportunity for dread. Will I be able to do activities of daily living? What if I end up alone with no one to call? What if I run out of money? What if my memory fails?

Faith responds with declaring there is nothing to fear. This is an easy statement to make but embracing it as experience requires trust. It means that I say “Amen” to the promises of God. It also means that I carefully discern what these promises are.

Where does this leave us with our practical challenges? Do we pray with the man who said to Jesus, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief?”

A few years ago I had an experience that has potential to disempower dread. I was the object of a search by police in a country where Christian teaching by westerners is illegal. The police believed I was breaking this law.

Because the protocol for justice in that environment was not trusted, the decision was made to hide me. The police were persistent in their search and were closing in on my hiding place. My heart was pounding so hard than I thought it wouldn’t matter if I were captured, as I would die from fear anyway. At the very moment that I was discovered, I was filled with a sense of relief. The story goes on but I’ll save that for another blog.

In reflection on my capture, once released and in a safe country, I wrote in my journal. “That which I dreaded I need dread no more for it was now a reality.”

Please don’t read this as meaning all your fears will be realized, but rather borrow the wisdom of Corrie Ten Boom who said, “You’ll get the ticket when the train comes.”

Most of the things we dread will never happen. Those that do will be accompanied by the power to respond to them in ways that make you wonder why you gave fear so much space in your life.

I invite you to benefit from my experience. “That which I dreaded I need dread no more for it was now a reality,” and with the reality came empowerment.

Let’s honor God’s promises by saying Thank You today for what we trust Him to do tomorrow.