The Labor Liturgy.

Subtitle: "On fear, part II."
Sub-subtitle: "Today is my due date."

These are more excerpts from the piece of paper tucked inside my hospital bag:



"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!"

Psalm 34:8

"You are my hiding place...you surround me
with shouts of deliverance."

Psalm 32:8

"You strengthen me more and more;
you enfold and comfort me."

Psalm 71:21

"There is no fear in love...."

I John 4:18a

"[She] is not afraid of bad news;
[her] heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.
[Her] heart is steady; [she] will not be afraid."

Psalm 112:7-8a

"And he [Jesus] shall be their peace."

Micah 5:5a

"The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials."

II Peter 2:9a

"And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace
by those who make peace."

James 3:18

"Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost
those who draw near to God through him,
since he always lives to make intercession for them."

Hebrews 7:25

"Oh tarry and await the Lord's pleasure;
be strong, and he shall comfort your heart;
wait patiently for the Lord."

Psalm 27:18

"You are good and you bring forth good!"

from Psalm 119

These are all verses that the Lord himself has brought to me in His perfect timing over the past couple of weeks. I never searched the concordance for passages on fear--in fact, it never even occured to me--and yet He has been so faithful and kind to speak to my need from His Word until the fear was gone. I suppose it couldn't stay around anyway, because it is the antithesis of perfect love. Every moment I choose to let Love reign, the fear must flee.(What promise!) The struggle for me lies in the frequency of the confrontation between love and fear. It is a momentary battle to choose to trust; it is a struggle that seems to begin all over again a thousand times a day. But I rest in this promise: Love will win every time!