Faith

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Fear not,
for I am with you
[Genesis 27: 24]
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"Lord, what do I do
when the wolves
come sniffing around
my door?"

"Read My Word, child."

"You're not a very
good psychiatrist, Lord.
Aren't You supposed to
say: what wolves?"

"I am your Lord, child."

"Sorry', Lord.
I guess You already know,
huh."

"I am waiting, child."

"For what? Oh.
Yeah, okay. Sure,
I'll just look up
'fear' in the back
of this Bible. There's
got to be somethin'."

"Ah, yes. This is your
study of My Word,
beloved."

"Hey, that's not true,
Lord! You know
I've read the book
of Jonah cover to cover!
And, once for that Bible study,
I read the whole Book of Esther!"

[SOLOMN NOD.]

"Anyhow, Lord,
here's something:

Fear not,
little flock,
for it is your Father's
good pleasure to give
you the kingdom.
[Luke 12:32]

I don't what this means,
Lord. I don't want a
KINGDOM; I can hardly
manage keeping up
that teeny tiny front lawn."

[PATIENT NOD.]

"Let me look for
one that's more
understandable:

The Lord is my light
and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
[Psalm 27:1]"

"Finish it, child."

"Oh, okay.

The Lord is the stronghold
of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
[Psalm 27:1]

Isn't a stronghold like
a fort, Lord?
Like a well-armed fort?"

[NOD.]

"Yeah, but suppose
you're way OUTSIDE the
fort - in the middle
of the desert - and
surrounded by a
bunch of hungry wolves?"

"Have you ever seen
a hungry wolf, child?"

"Well, not exactly; at the
Denver zoo, there's
a great wolf exhibit.
But, their wolves look
pretty well-fed, and content."

[SMILE. NOD.]

"Anyhow, back to this
fort thing, Lord: how do I
get inside of it,
and feel safe?"

"Tell Me, child.
Tell Me."

"Eh, wait a second.
Let me look at the
back, under f-e-a-r,
again."

"No, My little one."

"No? Uh, You want
me to start reading
It, cover to cover.
Don't You?"

"Have you finished
reading Matthew, child?"

"Oh, Lord.
You know I don't
like those bad parts
at the end! Then,
there's all that
red between 23, 24,
and 25; it's real
hard to read."

[RUMBLE.
MORE RUMBLE.]

"Okay! I WILL!
Don't get
MAD! Hey, come on!
You know I've
read a lot of It, Lord!
And anyway, I don't
understand how that's
gonna' help me with
these fears; and,
I mean the HUNGRY wolves -
not those real
cute ones at the
Denver zoo."

"Do you want Me to come
down, and show you,
child?"

"NO. Heck, no!
I'm gonna' get right
on it; I promise, Lord.
I'm gonna' start with
the red parts, right now.
You bet."

"Good."

[SILENCE.]
"Well?"

"Oh. You want me
to stop typing,
and start reading."

[SILENCE.
RUMBLE OFF
IN THE DISTANCE.]

(stop.)
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Heaven and earth
will pass away,
but My Words
will not pass away.
[Matthew 24: 35]

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