Whoever believes should not panic!

A lama stood in the main wading pool on the creek and refused to move even when our vehicle splashed muddy water on his shaggy coat. So Janet and I took the four grandchildren downstream a hundred yards and turned them loose where no Peruvian beasts of burden stood guard.

The two wandering lamas should not have been on the farm this spring. They belong to a neighbor who bought them as a breeding pair when prices soared and left them mostly unattended when the market collapsed.

The lamas, together with a rattlesnake, two raccoons, a skunk, and a curious jack rabbit, were part of a menagerie that fascinated the grandkids between picnics in the creek bed and wagon rides through the pastures. The most frightening moment came, not with wild beasts, but with the herd of Dorper ewes and lambs who thought we were about to feed them. They surrounded the wagon, black faces bleating loudly for food, and scared the children half to death, especially Jackson, age 5.

Jackson’s rendition of John 3:16 should calm our nerves: “…whoever believes in him should not panic but have everlasting life.” Substituting “perish” with “panic” may not convey the same meaning, but it stays true to the intention of faith. Panic is generally the emotional response when we have lost control of a situation. Faith informs all situations with this truth: God is in control.

The birds, said Jesus, have a lesson to teach us. Failing to sow or reap or store their food in barns they still enjoy the provision of the Father in Heaven. Therefore, “do not be anxious” (Matthew 6:31). Believing is the cure for panic.

Next time your heart takes off without permission and your startled body starts to hyperventilate remember these words from Undine Zengel, a relatively new believer in our church:

It is an amazing gift to be in God's Kingdom here on earth and to feel like one belongs no matter what the physical circumstances. Clinging to the living Word shields from all of life's storms so that they do not destroy us even if they do some damage. There is a part they can never reach.

Whoever believes should not panic.