Few things delight a pastor more after giving a sermon than the feeling that someone truly heard what he said. During my message yesterday I said, “Worry is an unproductive reaction to a valuable resource: Vulnerability. Vulnerability makes our relationship with God real.” And yesterday evening I received the following from one of our members who heard that statement and connected it to a post he’d received from a friend.
Me: Okay, God, here’s the thing. I’m scared. I’m trying not to be, but I am.
God: I know. Want to talk about it?
Me: Do we need to? I mean, You already know.
God: Let’s talk about it anyway… We’ve done this before. [God waits, patiently, unhurried, undistracted, never annoyed.]
Me: Okay. So, I’m afraid I’ll do everything I can to protect my family and it won’t be enough. I’m afraid of someone I love dying. I’m afraid the world won’t go back to what it was before. I’m afraid my life is always going to feel a little bit unsettled.
God: Anything else?
Me: EVERYTHING ELSE.
God: Remember how your son woke up the other night and came running down the hall to your bedroom?
Me: Yes.
God: You were still awake, so when you heard him running, you started calling out to him before he even got to you. Remember? Do you remember what you called out to him?
Me: I said, “You’re okay! You’re okay! You’re okay! I’m here.”
God: Why did you call to him? Why didn’t you just wait for him to get to your room? Me: Because I wanted him to know that I was awake, and I heard him, and he didn’t have to be afraid until he reached the end of the dark hallway.
God: Exactly. And I hear you, my child. I hear your thoughts racing like feet down the dark hallway. There’s another side to all of this. I’m there already. I’ve seen the end of it. And I want you to know right here as you walk through it all, you’re okay. I haven’t gone to sleep, and I won’t.
Me [crying]: Can we sit together awhile? Can we just sit here a minute before I go back to facing it all?
God: There’s nothing I’d love more.
May your vulnerability lead you to the experience of God’s embrace today and in the week ahead.
“Cast all your anxiety upon Him because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
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