December 17, 2021

                                                         Week Three / Friday

Overcoming the Fear of…

Losing Someone You Love

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”  - Revelation 1:17-18

In June 2010, our son Allen graduated from Air Force pilot training with his flight wings after a long, hard 16 months. At this ceremony in Texas, we learned he was assigned to a plane called a U28 and would be relocating to Hurlburt Field in FL for further training. None of us knew much about the U28 plane except it was part of the Special Operations fleet performing classified missions. Soon after Allen began training in FL, we learned he would not be permitted to share information about the plane nor the location of his upcoming deployments! These deployments, lasting 3-4 months over a period of 10 years, allowed very little ability to communicate due to remote base locations/different time zones/secrecy restrictions. It certainly created quite the atmosphere for worry!

Even as we spent time together prior to these initial deployments, we were all filled with anxiety. We did our best to keep a “stiff upper lip”, reassuring him (& ourselves) with some lighter moments & prayer time & scripture cards to take along, like Joshua 1:9 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

After he left to wherever he was going, not knowing if we would ever see him again, here came the waves of fear/anxiety/worry! I found myself plodding throughout the days imagining the worst scenario. After spending many days in this state, I finally prayed to our gracious God to take this fear away & replace it with trust - trust that He would protect Allen. And, if the worst happened, we were so thankful that Allen knew the Lord as his Savior!  We trusted that God would bring him back, which He did again and again, and it strengthened our faith of God being the great provider & protector - in control of every circumstance. Hallelujah!

In what ways do you fear losing someone you love?                  

 

Read Revelation 1:17-18 one more time.

• What does this scripture tell you about God?  

• What does this scripture tell you about your fear?

Prayer for Today:  Dear Gracious Lord, we are so thankful for your protection over our son, Allen, and all of our military men/women, as they selflessly serve our country. Please draw us all to you with increased faith & trust! Amen

Written by: Ann Wallace

NextGen Team, Women’s Ministry, Small Group Leader