Don't Be Afraid

I'm sure that most of you know what this is. It is a night light. Sometimes our parents put one of these in our room so that we won't be afraid. Are any of you ever afraid of the dark? When I was a boy, one of my jobs was to take out the trash every day. Sometimes I would put it off too long and I would have to take out the trash after it was dark. If I heard a strange sound, I would sometimes set a world speed record getting back to the house!

Are you ever afraid when there is a storm? Are you ever afraid of the thunder? One night last week we had a thunderstorm. The next day I was talking to one of my students at school and she told me that she and her brother had been frightened by the thunder so they went and got in bed with her mom and dad. I think that all of us have times when we are afraid. We have probably all gone and gotten in bed with our parents during a storm.

Sometimes there are dark and lonely nights in our life. We aren't sure what is ahead of us or what is behind us and we often feel afraid. Sometimes there are storms in our life and we are afraid. When we are afraid, we have a light to make us feel safe. That light is Jesus. The Bible tells us that "God is light and in Him is no darkness." The Bible also says, "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?" In the dark and stormy days of our life, we have Jesus to be with us. If Jesus is with us, we don't have to be afraid!

Dear Lord, help us to remember that when the dark and stormy nights come into our life, you are there, and we have no need to fear. Amen.