The Fifth Week of Easter: From FEAR to BELOVED
STEP ONE: BREATHE
Take a deep, cleansing breath. Allow the air to fill your lungs and expand your body. Exhale and empty yourself into the room. Repeat three times - once for the one who Created you, once for the Incarnate One who walks beside you, and once for the Spirit whose life fills your being.
STEP TWO: DWELL IN WORD
“When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him. “
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FEAR NOT - Some things to try out
Ending each week of this devotional, there will be a collection of practical suggestions on how you can FEAR NOT. As pastors we know the importance of bringing the abstract ideas of faith down to earth. What can I do in the face of fears? Here are a few suggestions from the pastors who wrote this week’s devotions. Try them out. Allow them to spark other ideas within yourself.
“In the moment that I notice fear or anxiety arising in me (usually somewhere between my chest and my gut) I have taught myself to hit the pause button by taking three deliberate breaths, as we do at the beginning of each of these devotions. Rather than try to figure out what is wrong I welcome the fear and embrace it. Because I am steeped in the good news of God’s unconditional love I notice a shift. I remember that all I have is a perception problem. I have only forgotten that God is in charge. God’s promise is true. Nothing is missing and all is well. I just forget that sometimes. So the practice is breathing into the awareness of God.
It is a psychological fact that if nine good things happened to us and one bad thing, we will remember the bad thing and dwell on it. That is why it is recommended by many that at the end of the day we remember and even write down something good and affirming that happened to us that day and in our prayers give thanks for that affirming word or deed. We are beloved but often we try to convince ourselves otherwise.””
“It is more than okay to voice your fears, pains, uncertainties, and frustrations. Saying them out loud doesn’t make them worse. For most of us, saying them out loud helps us get them outside of ourselves, it helps give perspective, it helps us release the agitation involved. No, it doesn’t automatically fix anything, but it does lighten the burden. The secret is to have someone who can listen without leaping ahead to fixing it and someone who won’t then internalize what you’re letting go. If you’re not sure who can be your listener, journaling and prayer and also ways to experience the needed release.”
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“When you see someone else - maybe a member of your family, close friend, or neighbor - struggling with their own identities, consider blessing them with seven simple words: “You are a beloved child of God.” In doing so, you will also affirm that you, too, are beloved and claimed by God.””
STEP THREE: PRAY
God who will not stop loving, you persist in holding me close as your child. Even when I forget who I am and whose I am, you don’t waver in your love for me. I am your beloved. Give me wisdom and insight to live in your love and to see others through the same lens through which you look at me. Allow your steadfast love for all your creation, inspire me to try others as beloved. Through Christ, amen.
Today’s prayer is by Pastor Walt Lichtenberger