FAITH VS. FEAR

By Ada Brownell

The gondola swung over the chasm while I and our two older children peered down.

My husband stood on the edge of the canyon holding our younger daughter’s hand. He hadn’t been about to go.

I considered why I didn’t fear this ride that terrified others. We couldn’t see them as we rode, but I knew huge cables held the gondola. We could see automobiles slowing crossing the Royal Gorge Bridge below. It was a long ways down. To me it wasn’t much different from riding an elevator or sitting in a Sunday school classroom in the basement while a crowd of heavy people sat above me.

I trusted the cables to hold.

In life I’ve had many situations where I could not see God’s ear listening to my prayer or His hand holding the future. But He was there.

An abnormality showed on my lungs. I’d had horrible bronchitis for many weeks. The pulmonologist did all sorts of tests and prescribed two different inhalers. They were expensive and he said I’d have to take them the rest of my life because I had asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. I took one of the inhalers, but the cough and wheezing became worse.

In church I went forward for prayer more than once and prayed at home. Usually I do what the doctor orders and practice faith and works as St. James teaches. In other words, believe, pray, and do what I can for myself. We’re blessed with health care in America, and I believe it originated from God, who said in the last days before Christ’s return knowledge would be increased. Yet I knew I needed to quit the inhaler because the problem worsened. Immediately the cough and wheezing disappeared. Two other doctors told me I don’t have asthma or COPD (emphysema).

We’ve had numerous miracles like that in our family, but we lost our oldest daughter to cancer. That’s when I discovered God’s hand still holds when your worst nightmare becomes reality. He gave peace beyond understanding as His Word says.

You can’t borrow that peace in advance by dreaming up things that could happen. It’s only when you need it you can look up and notice you might be hanging over a chasm, but above the cables of God’s love hold.

The Word says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

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