I Put Aside Fear

God prunes my heart.

Once he took my friends,

That I might find peace in his company.

He removed my strength and health,

That I might rest.

He then removed unshaken conviction,

That I might find reality beyond human reason.

Departing from centuries of tradition,

I chose my questions over ancient creed,

Putting fear aside, in search of God.

Now poverty and illness, uncertainty and failure

All question me with prodding, painful jabs.

I cannot tell what I ought to do,

But God’s loving presence surrounds me like a warm embrace.

“The Kingdom of Heaven is within you,” Jesus said;

“It grows like a grain of mustard seed.

“It is like treasure hid in a field.”

Heaven is when the presence of God so satisfies,

That I put fear aside, to seek him further—

That I put fear aside, to show others kindness—

That I put fear aside, finding peace in uncertainty.

Looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of faith,

Knowing that pain preludes purpose,

and that light dispels darkness,

I put aside fear.