“Don’t be afraid, my love is stronger; my love is stronger than your fear.” These words from John Bell and Graham Maule (MV90) have been ringing in my ears as I’ve been reflecting on the life of Job (scripture for Sunday). It has got me thinking about our heads and hearts: how they are each affected differently by bad news, suffering, shock, anxiety, fear, conflict … and how we use each of them differently to get by.
There are times when we shut one off and rely only on the other to survive; because to keep both open might generate too much all at once that we can’t (or don’t want to) cope with.
The book of Job is a difficult book and explores the age-old question of the suffering of pious (insert positive adjective here) people. And we read it at a time when it feels like the news is giving us lots to be anxious about; to fear; to worry about. This is a prime time to tuck our hearts away and protect them. But, I wonder if what we might learn from exploring Job is that the call of Yhwh is to do the opposite – to keep our hearts open; to foster a working relationship between head and heart in order to cope with whatever moment in time we find ourselves.
“Don’t be afraid, my love is stronger, my love is stronger than your fear. Don’t be afraid, my love is stronger; and I have promised, promised to be always near.”
See you Sunday.