Dear Friends and Family of RRUMC,
Well, I have now had my second COVID shot. I have had zero side effects from either one of my COVID vaccines. Thank you Lord.
As I reflect back, I had COVID at the end of December and into the first part of the new year and now I have had both of my vaccines. I feel set free. I feel like I have this wall up around me to protect me and it has the ability to cast out my fear. I have a confidence that I did not have before, a peace if you will. I am not telling people to get or not get the vaccine, I am simply telling my story in regards to it.
We have just completed a sermon series in April called, “No Fear.” For the last 14 months, the whole world has been living in fear. I understand it and I too was living in fear of COVID. Even with that fear and all the precautions I and my family were taking, my wife and I still got it. Once I had it and was able to conquer it, my fear of it was gone. It is a strange feeling to go through it and to feel that on the other side. I know others, many others, were not as fortunate as I was with my symptoms, but it is a strange feeling on the other side of having this thing that is casting fear into the hearts of people all around the world.
That peace and confidence and freedom is exactly what we are offered when we trust in our faith in Jesus Christ as opposed to succumbing to fear. We always have a choice in what path we will take. Will you walk the path of fear or the path of faith?
Life calamities lie ahead of you no matter what path you take. How you go through, survive, and learn from those calamities is dependent upon which one you choose. You cannot choose the faith path if you have no idea who Jesus is. If you do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ, do not know him as your Lord and Savior, it will always be very difficult to trust him.
We already know what the path of fear gives us. It is a life a heartache, pain, uncertainty, anxiousness, and worry.
The path of faith, no matter what we face, always gives us the peace that Jesus talks about in the gospel of John, chapter 14 when he says, “My peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
Which path will you choose the next time you are faced with fear?
Peace and Blessings,
Rev. Dan