“It’s time for the verse of the day!” the radio DJ announced. “Isaiah 41:10: Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee…” The local Christian music station was my constant companion on my delivery drives, but until the DJ’s voice piped up, I’d barely been listening. Too many thoughts filled my mind. All the work I needed to do before my wife and I went away for the weekend.
If I could just get rid of my fears. I’d recently taken over the family business, a machine repair shop, and things hadn’t been going well. First, an employee brought a frivolous lawsuit against us, which crippled our finances. Then my shop manager and right-hand man had a heart attack. While he was recovering, I had to handle everything on my own. The stress and worry were eating me alive. I prayed, but was anyone listening?
My wife was convinced a weekend getaway to a scenic mountain town in North Carolina would help me relax. “It’ll be good for you, Jeff,” she said. I couldn’t imagine how. Not when the machine shop was on the edge of disaster.
After a few songs, the DJ spoke again. “For you listeners who missed it, the verse of the day is Isaiah 41:10: Fear thou not…” He read out the verse a second time. That was odd. I’d never heard them repeat the daily verse before.
Over the next few days, I struggled to figure out how to keep the business afloat. Soon the weekend arrived, and my wife wouldn’t let me back out of our plans. So we went. The mountain town was peaceful, but I’d lost the ability to relax. My wife and I ducked into a gift shop, and while she looked at postcards, I half-heartedly browsed the aisles, wondering how I could cut our trip short.
I stopped in front of a display of small cards. Each one was printed with a different name on the front and a different Bible verse on the back. Curious, I thumbed through and found mine. Jeffrey. I pulled it from the box and flipped it over.
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee… Isaiah 41:10.
My fears lifted then. I knew I we would be okay, no matter what. I was listening now.
