When I Am Afraid, I Will Trust in You

When my oldest son was a very little boy, he had a terrible anxiety about storms. It started when we lived out in the country and a tornado ripped through a nearby town, leaving in its path a trail of destruction.  When he saw the sheared off trees and the splintered piles of wood that used to be homes, he was overwhelmed that a storm could do that.

Try as we might, there was no convincing him the type of storm that wipes out an entire town is not the typical type of storm that pitter patters on your roof.  When lightning struck and thunder boomed, he was thereafter terrified.

One night, when he was five years old, a storm came in the middle of the night.  When I heard the first roll of thunder, I laid in my bed, wondering if it had awakened him.  I could hear a slightly muffled voice coming from his room, so I got up and silently made my way down the hall.  I could hear him whispering over and over and over,

"What time I am afraid I will trust in thee. Psalm 56:3."

"What time I am afraid I will trust in thee. Psalm 56:3."

"What time I am afraid I will trust in thee. Psalm 56:3."

Just as I reached the doorway of his room, the lightning exploded in the sky and I could see him sitting under the covers in his bed.  The thunder crashed loudly and he screamed, "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.  Psalm 56.3!!!!!"

I remembered that story today as I was thinking about Boston.  About how to respond to the evil in this world.  And Zack's prayer came to my mind.

What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.

All that to say, I will not fear.  But I will trust and I will pray.  Come, Lord Jesus, Come.