by Scott Lowe

I recently took a personality test that revealed some things that I have been aware of for many years—I struggle with fear and anxiety. My fear can rear its ugly head in a couple of ways, such as rehearsing worst case scenarios and listening to negative thoughts that tell me I have very little value. At the end of the explanation of the personality test, the counselor said that the words most helpful for someone with my personality are “You are safe. Everything is going to be okay.” Whew-I could feel my shoulders drop when hearing those words. Yes, deep down I long to know that things are going to be okay. I long for security. I long to know my family is thriving.  I long for Grace Church to continually grow stronger as a community and in its understanding of the Gospel.

If you are like me, you long for these same things in your own lives. The season of Advent offers us hope in the midst of our worries, fears, and anxieties. Advent is the season to remind our forgetful hearts that, in Jesus, everything is going to be okay! When I want to run from my worries and fears, I am reminded that Jesus does not run away; He enters. God, in the person of Jesus, in a manger, and ultimately on the cross, enters our lives and promises to make everything that is wrong right.The hymn “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” says, “Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.” True peace comes as we are reconciled to our God and King through Jesus. And Jesus’ coming and entering our world tells us that God is serious about making wrong right. He is serious about bringing peace to our anxious souls. My prayer this season is for all of us to know more fully this peace that God offers. In Christ, everything is going to be even more than okay. He has entered our suffering,worries, and fears to give us His everlasting peace!