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Monday, 3rd Week of Advent: "Fear Not"

It's Monday, the third week of Advent.
In my reading this morning I could not help but notice a familiar set of words coming from the angel of the Lord to various individuals:

Luke 1:13
13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

Luke 1:30
30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

Matthew 1:20
20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

Luke 2:8-11
8  And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9  And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.
10  And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
11  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Fears...our Fears...We all have them, and have to learn to live with them.
Advent reminds us that we all have fears.
We have to decide what to do with those fears. Do we live in a way in which they dominate our thoughts leaving us anxious, or angry? Or do we look at them and in each instance realize I cannot control this, but I can trust God in it.

My friends, what we cannot control, we should not want to.

You and I cannot control the world around us; but we can control the world within us.

I pray it so often: "Lord, I trust You"

Peace

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