Afraid of the Thunder!

This week Kim and I have been caring for Odin, Joanna and Dan’s greyhound. He’s a really good dog, but has one major issue that sometimes makes it a bit hard to care for him: he’s deathly afraid of the sound thunder—or fireworks or any other loud noises for that matter. Our dog Sadie gets nervous at such sounds, but not like Odin who will end up shaking in a corner and/or simply freeze. At that point, he won’t eat, sit with us, or go for a walk. The poor dog becomes completely dominated by his fear and anxiety.  

Odin chilling..no thunder!

In fact, just yesterday morning as we were waking up, a thunderstorm rolled in. Predictably, with the first clap of thunder, Odin ran up the stairs and ended up in our bedroom in a panic. It is always so sad to see how frightened he becomes. Again, Sadie is as well afraid and will start to pant a bit, but Odin was shaking and would not move. Thankfully, the storm didn’t last long and we were eventually able to calm him down enough for him to eat and be walked. 

We all have our trigger points—i.e., specific things that can cause fear or worry or anxiety to rise within us and possibly even send us into a panic. And, what may affect me in this way, may not be the same for you and visa-versa. But none of us can say we are never afraid, never worry, and never feel anxious. It’s part of our human makeup to experience these kinds of emotions when we feel threatened, when life seems to be spinning out of control, when the unknown is on the horizon. What we don’t want, however, is for these kinds of emotions to dominate our lives. We don’t want feelings of fear, worry, and anxiety to send us into a panic, shaking in a corner, causing us to freeze in place such that we can no longer move forward with life. 

The Bible gives to us a pretty good prescription for those times when we do begin to fear, worry, or become anxious. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7 – NIV) The Apostle Peter wrote, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7 – NIV) 

The answer for our fear, anxiety, and worry is not to deny how we are feeling or the reality of the situations we are facing, but to face them head on and then bring them to God in prayer. As we do, we believe that he hears our prayers, will take care of us through every situation, and will fill our hearts and minds with his peace. In fact, God knows all that you are facing today. He understands how you are feeling. And he invites to you bring it all to him believing that truly, “he cares for you.”  

“Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you….” (Psalm 55:22) 

Have great day! 

- Pastor Tim Harris