Trust overcomes fear

Jesus brings hope and healing to a woman begging for her daughter’s mental and spiritual health (Mark 7). She is desperate– she will sacrifice anything to convince Jesus to heal her daughter. Jesus suggests that her request for healing cannot be a priority for him. We learn that her faith is strong not because she believes he can heal, but because she pushes aside common “tribal” prejudice and demands compassion with justice. Jesus is delighted by her passionate wisdom and proclaims healing.
Then, friends bring a man to Jesus who cannot hear or speak. They beg him to heal their friend. He takes them to a quiet place where he prays, sighs deeply, and offers healing for the man. Jesus brings salvation to him as well as the woman and her daughter.
Jesus fulfills Isaiah (35)’s words: “Say to those with a fearful heart, ‘Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. . .He will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and thirsty ground, springs of water.’”
Perhaps we fear a decline in physical or mental health, or financial trouble, or even that this fall, the “wrong” candidates will win the election.
We can find strength and courage in quiet prayer, by giving ourselves to God. Hopefully, we find friends close by, who have suffered as well. Such prayer is not a quick fix, but assurance comes with the passing of time. Even when that which we seek slides from our grasp, we can surrender ourselves, in sure hope, to the mercy of God.
Such hope comes only by prayer. And many have found that this path alone can free us from bitterness, deep disappointment, and despair.
Ah, for grace to rest in prayer and find faithful friends. Amen.