“Anxiety is not a sign of weakness. But anxiety does weaken us. . . . Yet help is here. You have at your disposal the surest antidote for trepidation. The Holy Spirit. His is the calming presence of God in the world today. He will help you defy the voices of fear and draw nigh to the presence of peace.”- Max Lucado
“I am leaving you with a gift — peace of mind and heart! And the peace I give isn’t fragile like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”- John 14:27 (TLB)
In Chapter 6 (“Calm This Chaos: The Spirit As a Dove”) of Help is Here, Max Lucado talks about what he calls the safest place on earth – Svalbard, Norway. One of the coldest and most northern places on the planet, Svalbard commonly experiences below-zero degree weather.
Hence, Svalbard serves as the home of the Global Seed Vault. Above all, this ultrahigh security and ultralow temperature bank vault possess the capacity to house seeds of every plant we eat. More than 4.5 million of them. In addition, the underground concrete bunkers protect the seeds from floods, fires, nuclear attacks, and global warming.
Certainly, Pastor Lucado notes, most of us can’t hide out in a bunker. Although threats of calamity make such bunkers wishful thinking. Thus, powerless to calm this inner storm, we need the calming presence of God. The surest antidote for trepidation – the Holy Spirit.
And in that moment of primal frenzy in Genesis, we see the Holy Spirit’s inaugural experience – “hovering over the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2)
In conclusion, Max notes, the word hovering rarely appears in the Bible. However, in Deuteronomy 2: 11 (NKJV) it’s used again in the context of chaos. Here Moses described God’s relationship to ancient Israel as a hovering, protective eagle:
“As an eagle stirs up its nest, / Hovers over its young, / Spreading out its wings, taking them up, / Carrying them on its wings.”
Today’s question: How do you see the Holy Spirit as the surest antidote for trepidation? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “The cleansing element – praise”
