What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee

My guilty pleasure is watching The Graham Norton Show clips on YouTube. They’re short and sweet but usually incredibly funny. And they feature the oddest pairings of celebrity guests. 

One of the clips that stood out to me was an interview that he did with Hollywood actress Margot Robbie. She casually told the story of her Australian upbringing, where snakes are apparently a part of households there, in the way lizards and ants are here. Australians learn early how to safely remove snakes from their homes. Yes, I am horrified. 

As a teenager, Margot was the consummate chatroom girl who, one day, ignored her mother’s pleas for help. Eventually, Margot investigates, discovering that a large python was tightening its grip around her mother. Eek!

Margot then relates how she easily handled the situation, explaining that one has to coax a snake away from its victim onto a separate item for it to wrap around (like a broom).

“It wasn’t a poisonous snake, but they do strangle you!” she cheerfully stated, as Graham and his audience laughed. 

But it led me to think about fear, and it dawned on me.

Fear is relative. 

Fears, safety and risks are not fixed universal constants. They depend on a person’s individual perspective, past experiences and mental state. 

As Margot relayed her story, I was hyper-focused on her interactions with the snake, my knees shaking at the thought of having to extract a large python from someone I love. But it was clear that for Margot, the snake was no more consequential than a cockroach. Behind the laughter was the fear of almost losing her mother, causing her to commit to never ignoring her again.

Fear is a flexible personal experience that changes based on how an individual perceives danger. 

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7

Most Jamaican house designs embrace the reality of our environment by creating multiple security layers between the outside and the front door. But a recent murder down the road made Mark even more apprehensive about his security. He was doing poorly in school because he could not sleep at night. Desperate, Mark called on God, praying for peace for his neighbourhood, and peace for his nervous system. He asked to enter the shelter of the Hollow.

Mark told us in his testimony that he felt like a blanket of peace was placed over his house. The stillness was palpable. Mark slept soundly until daylight. Mark wondered why he was never able to replicate that feeling of deep peace again.

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

Since fear is relative, the only constant is the trust we should have in God that He will provide us with the means to tackle our fear. A lot of fear is rooted in a lack of information - if snakes had been part of our reality, we would be cavalier about them too!

For Mark, trusting in God made him accept the things he could not change, allowing him the respite. 

And should I ever encounter a loved one in danger of being strangled by a python, I trust that God has now equipped me with the knowledge to respond appropriately, despite my fear. 

Here's the clip of Margot Robbie on the Graham Norton Show: