I very embarrassingly told you in the last post that I feel like a mouse a lot of the time. Just forget I said that. What I meant to say is that I am a strong and brave little mouse.

At least I am becoming braver, I mean.

Here’s why.

Don’t panic. I’m with you. There’s no need to fear for I’m your God. I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you. I’ll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you. The Message

Three reasons why we should let go of fear and embrace strength instead are (1) We are not alone. (2) We have help. (3) We are on the winning team.

We are not alone in our suffering. Every single human that we brush shoulders with on the subway, invite into our home, or see on TV is suffering, will be suffering, or has suffered. God allows this. To suffer is to be human. Can we trust that as we lean on God for help in our suffering, He will transform even this, and He is making us stronger?

Have you ever seen a bird peck out of its first home, the shell? It is agonizing for humans to watch. We could help them, which would take only a second of our time. But for the little chicks, it takes hours of exhausting struggle. But when people help little chicks by opening the shell at the first peck, the little chicks died. Every one. The struggle made them stronger.

Secondly, we have help. God has helped me several times to avoid difficult circumstances or keep me safe. I can share some of those stories another time. But stories of God‘s providence, of guiding the saints around difficult challenges, both biblically, and from accounts that have surfaced from the saints of previous generations, speak as a testimony to this guidance, that sometimes God provides.

Sometimes he helps us by calming us instead of the storm. This has been a testimony in my life as well. His presence calms us even as the presence of a parent calms a child undergoing a medical procedure. He is the Father of all comfort. Here’s an example from my life.

What does it mean to be on the winning team? Christians are the most persecuted religious group of people on the planet.

When my daughter was in middle school she enjoyed gymnastics for a year or two. She was in a group with many girls who had been doing competitive gymnastics for a decade. One day there was a show for all these kids to show off their skills. My daughter’s somersaults could not compare with the backflips and front handsprings that the winning competitors were displaying, to our delight.

And yet, after the show, our daughter was the only one who ran up to the gymnastics coaches and hugged each one. She wanted to say thank you. She was on the winning team. Similarly, despite what it seems, God’s kingdom is breaking in every time we bow the knee to Jesus, and ask him to lead us, despite our fear. In this way, we are always on the winning team. It’s just that we are on a different team than the ones the world can see.

So carry on dear fellow warrior mice!

We can choose to let go of fear and embrace the One who will strengthen us as we lean on Him and ask for His help and guidance.

In the quiet and stillness, ask God: What may I not be reaching for, that you are calling me to, because of fear? What is the next step? Will you help me, so we can take this next step into what you are calling me to, together?