Be Not Dismayed

I thought I knew what this blog would be about.  But in the middle of writing it, something happened....

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." – Isaiah 41:10.

When my husband and I decided to move last year, I thought I was ready for a big move. I was ready to stop having to constantly deal with stairs, not only in the house, but also the stairs I had to climb just to get into our house. I knew I was ready to downsize most areas of our home while upsizing the library. I knew that with just a little help and careful planning, we could have a smooth transition.

I was wrong. Our smooth transition turned into a long, hard grind. When pipes burst and flooded our newly renovated basement, I wasn't even surprised. It was just another problem to overcome. And when my author's copy of my latest book arrived with its interior printed upside down, I actually laughed.

2025 has now rolled into 2026. The new year has brought ice storms and snow, which are unusual weather events for us here in South Carolina. On a personal level, I have had a difficult talk with my book publisher and canceled a radio interview about one of my books that I was really looking forward to. Then came an unexpected request to teach a class on spiritual gifts, and all I could think, at first, was, "Lord, this is an inconvenient time."

2025 was a time of slogging through one thing after another, like trudging through deep, loose sand at the beach to get to the packed sand at the water's edge. Nothing particularly overwhelming happened, but my husband and I faced a constant, wearing struggle against persistent hindrances.

My constant prayer was, "O Lord, give me strength; O Lord, give me a persevering heart. Let me not be dismayed but let my hope and expectation in You stay strong."

But then, the season suddenly changed. In some ways, it was a wonderful, exciting change. I was asked to teach a class on Genesis, which disrupted both my schedule and my assumptions on what God would have me do. This class on Genesis became a joy. Frankly, it has been fun and exciting to discover the subtle, Scriptural truths that neither I nor the class had gleaned previously. Since then, I have also been asked to teach a class on ministering spiritual gifts, which has also been a privilege and blessing.

Yet, amidst joy of these little breakthroughs, there has been great sorrow and pain. Death has stepped in to steal the lives of two people who are dear to my heart. One was my brother-in-law, who courageously fought cancer for three years. He blessed so many by sharing his battle; I know of at least one person who accepted the Lord because of his honesty. Yet his physical death tore at the hearts of us who knew him.

And now, another beloved one has also been taken, unexpectedly and violently, leaving behind shocked and grieving family and friends.

How can joy exist when evil has stolen the lives of the kind and gentle, the gifted and encouraging? How do we keep breathing when all breath seems to have been sucked out of us?

In the midst of anguish, we must choose. When wrenching things happen, we can wail and get angry, or we can run to Father and let the Spirit within us cry out with words we cannot express.

 "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed." — Psalm 34:18

We cling to this truth in the devastation of shock and horror. We hold tight to our Lord. I found myself meditation on what I often sing from Psalm 61:

 O God, listen to my cry! Hear my prayer!
² From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed.
Lead me to the towering rock of safety, ³for you are my safe refuge,
a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me.
⁴ Let me live forever in your sanctuary, safe beneath the shelter of your wings! 

 I remember the promises of Psalm 34:18, that, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." I chose to believe that "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." [Psalm 147:3].

I tell my faltering self, “His word is true. He does not lie. He is holding us even now.”

My heart hurts. I know my heart will hurt more as I pray and look for ways to help others who grieve. But I choose to trust God. I choose to believe that God will redeem the suffering, bless and succor [help, assist, relieve] His children, and hold those whose hearts are broken.

Some may say I—and other believers—are delusional, that in our grief we are thinking irrationally. But I believe in God's promises. We—you and I—can cling to God and the promises of Scripture even as we cry. We can choose to hope even as our hearts break.

⁵⁰ What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.

⁵¹ But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! ⁵² It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. ⁵³ For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.

⁵⁴ Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:

"Death is swallowed up in victory.
⁵⁵ O death, where is your victory?
    O death, where is your sting?"

⁵⁶ For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. ⁵⁷ But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. [1 Corinthians 15:53-56].

I can't explain why those I cared for died. Only God knows the why. Maybe someday in eternity He will explain such things. I just know for now, for this moment, I am so thankful that the story of their lives—and mine—has not come to an end.