When Mikail was about 4 years old and Olivia was about 2 years old, we lived in a basement apartment as part of our transition to Ontario. It was a two bedroom apartment so the kids had to share a room. This made bedtime a bit of a ‘whack-a-mole’ game. So, one night after we’d gone through the I need to pee. I’m thirsty. I need another hug scenarios, Mikail came running into the living room saying, Olivia says she is scared. So we encouraged him to go back to bed and repeat his memory verse from Sunday school to her. Off he ran (clearly not tired at all), and we could hear him saying, Whenever I’m afraid, I put my trust in You. Psalm 56:3 Hammer time. Doot doo doo doot doot doot doo doo! Since that day, whenever fear begins to creep its way into my mind, I am immediately brought to this 80s throw back version of Psalm 56:3.

When thinking about the hard things God asks us to do, I often hold back because of what will others say? What if they disagree? What if my inbox fills with critical emails after I write a blog entry? What will others think? These what ifs can be paralyzing and keep us from what God has for us. Research says that one negative comment takes ten positive comments to offset the negative one. I can definitely attest to this.

What would happen if, instead of asking all these paralyzing what if questions, we would put our trust in God instead? Why don’t we put our trust in God, whose word we trust? What can mere mortals do to us, if we trust in Him? (Psalm 56:4) I am guilty of putting far too much weight into what others may think or say. Yes, I will most likely continue to experience fear, because this is one of my greatest downfalls–the thorn in my side. But it is in these moments that we must trust and have faith. God will lead and one day, when looking back we will be able to say that Not one word has failed of all the good promises He gave. 1 Kings 8:56