No Fear!

By Curtis

I have always liked how this phrase sounds. It speaks of strength and assurance, confidence and competence. It speaks of exceptional bravery by those who are the cream of the crop.

However, it has recently taken on a new meaning for me. As we see the scenes unfold before us in dealing with the horrendous results of the recent earthquake in Haiti, I have come to a new appreciation of the phrase “No Fear”.

It goes beyond the absence of fear. It involves the triumph over our fears and in spite of our fears. It’s more than idealistic to say that we don’t have any fears. Many of us share the fear of speaking in public. Some say that stands at the top of most lists. We admire those who appear fearless when standing before us doing so effortlessly what makes many of us break out in a cold sweat.

Then there are those who have no fear in launching new endeavors or taking on difficult tasks. In this group I would include those who seek to make positive changes in the face of long standing traditions or accepted norms. It seems they must have nerves of steel.

But I have learned a new definition of “No Fear”. I saw it in the faces of the countless thousands who have literally lost everything. Yet, somehow, they lift their arms towards heaven and say “God, we love you and we still trust you. You are worthy of our praise”.

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for Jehovah, even Jehovah, is my strength and song; and he is become my salvation. Isaiah 12:2

Standing together in the middle of total destruction, a song will start from one lip to another. As on some practiced queue they take up a song of praise and hope. Although all around them there is nothing to give them a sense of a brighter tomorrow or a promised end of today, they sing. That’s a new “No Fear”.

I have seen it in the faces of the rescuers who have put their normal lives on hold to help those who they don’t even know. I have seen it in their actions when they spend hour after hour digging through rubble to do all they can possibly do to reach that nameless person whose only hope for life rests in their weary hands.

I have seen it in the faces of those who, one patient after another, deal with the most gruesome wounds and injuries. Yet they remain a beacon of all that is good and loving that is possible in the hearts of man. This is not how life should be. This is not how they imagined this day. Yet, they say, “here I am, use me”. That’s a new “No Fear”.

I need that kind of “No Fear”. I am reminded that it’s not the absence of fear that indicates the time to move forward. Instead, it’s in the midst of our fears that we must move out and take on the tasks we have each been given by God.

One day, hopefully sooner than later, we will truly know and experience a life without any fears. Until then, let’s push through, do what we can, makes things better not for just ourselves, but for those we minister to.

But I am like an olive tree
       flourishing in the house of God;
       I trust in God’s unfailing love
       for ever and ever.

 I will praise you forever for what you have done;
       in your name I will hope, for your name is good.
       I will praise you in the presence of your saints. Psalms 52: 8, 9

Haiti – What Can You Do?

By Curtis

The more we see about the earthquake in Haiti, the more we realize that this tragedy is bigger and more horrific than we first imagined. Words like “surreal” and “unbelievable” help summarize the reports we see and hear from the eye witnesses on the ground. For those who died in Haiti, the world did come to an end.

People and organizations are marshalling their efforts to try and help in this far-reaching catastrophe. The help needed is beyond the scope of cookie cutter relief efforts. Compounding the challenges of providing medical help, food relief and shelter is the logistical nightmare of doing it in the midst of the cruel tombs of those who have perished.

Our hearts are correct when they say we must do something to help. Those impulses we feel within us for helping in this crisis are the promptings that give nobility and brotherhood to mankind. But what can you do?

Today, we are limited to our prayers and our financial donations. Both are greatly needed. All of us can contribute in those ways. We may not have much money to give but whatever it is will help someone who needs it much more than we do. Give something, please.

Another thing we can do is to resist the urge to find a justifiable reason for what has happened to Haiti. For some reason, many feel the need to explain these events as a divine sentence from God because of some inherent evil either in the country or the people of Haiti. How sad that we have room in our hearts to think in these ways during times like this.

The question of calamities being the result of divine retribution is not a new one. It has perplexed man throughout the ages. Even in Christ’s time, many were confused in their theology concerning unusual tragedies:

Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” Luke 13:1-5 NIV

If we all simply took an honest inventory of our own lives, or own failures, our own tendencies to do things we know we shouldn’t, we would not have the arrogance to differentiate between ourselves and those less fortunate. That honest introspection should lead us all to say “if not for the grace of God”.

What can you do? Do what you can. Anything is better than nothing.