Luke 12:32,
Matthew 25:34; Psalm 103:3-5; Matthew 28:20b – The hymn of the Day is “Have
no fear, little flock”– {LSB 735} As the Easter season draws to a close, we
have no fear as our Lord and Savior
lives and reigns through all eternity. He has promised to send us His Holy
Spirit. Thus this new hymn reminds us that we are safe in His almighty hand.
The person who wrote those words was Marjorie Jillson.
She had multiple health issues, including a severe heart condition. She had
endured deep struggles of health and faith in her life. I did not know where
she lived, but I had a sense of connection with her because of her own
vulnerability. She, of all people, knew fear and pain, and probably experienced
loneliness as a result of her own condition. Instead of praise, she could have
fallen into response of anger toward God, and it would have been
understandable. Instead she expresses faith and thankfulness to God.
“Thankful hearts raise to God; thankful
hearts raise to God,
thankful
hearts raise to God.”
This one whose heart is severely damaged, speaks of
hearts that are thankful to God for being present with her in the midst and
through the dangerous condition and procedures she faced in life. The Good
Shepherd “stays close beside you, in all
things works with you.”
Each of us may be facing Marjorie Jillson-type
challenges in our lives, and God’s good news for us is that in the face of our
fears and doubts, God does not abandon us. The second verse of the hymn says,
“for the Father will keep you in his love forever.” May this promise give you
hope today.[2]
[1] Image of the Ascension of Christ by Salvador Dail, copyright © Google images
[3] Collect for Easter 7, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St, Louis
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