Like a star shining in the night

Sometimes fear makes us forget that we can come to God anytime.

Holly Backus

Fear, confusion, and loneliness. Sometimes these can be things that run through your head after a nightmare. All you want to do is forget the scary things that woke you up and go back to sleep.

It’s natural to be afraid when you’re alone, especially when it’s dark and you can’t see anything. When I was younger and I awoke from a nightmare, I would have a routine. I would sit up, turn on a light, and read for a while so I could fall back to sleep. I read so I could forget all the things that popped into my head.

One night, after waking up from a nightmare, I sat up like usual. I looked around my dark room and started to head toward my light. But before I got there, my eyes caught a glimpse

of something else. My window was open, and a slight breeze came through. I looked out and saw the stars and moon in the dark night sky. All of a sudden I didn’t feel so alone. I felt comforted. I continued to look outside until I thought of something better.

I folded my hands and prayed. That night I fell back asleep quickly and happily.

Sometimes when we’re afraid, we forget that God is there watching over us. This even happened to Jesus’ disciples. They forgot Jesus was watching over them when a storm threatened their boat (Matthew 8:23-27). They had forgotten about trusting Jesus. They became afraid. When they finally woke Jesus, he scolded them for not trusting him. Then he calmed the storm. Even when the disciples were with Jesus and had seen what he could do, fear still got in the way of their faith.

We can be forgetful like the disciples sometimes. We all believe God is there, but fear can make that faith blurry and unclear. We can be foolish and forget that Jesus, who died for our sins, is and always will be there for us.

God will always be there like a star in the night sky. “God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?’ ” (Hebrews 13:5,6).

We can be confident that God will always be there for us. Like a star, he guides us out of the grip of fear and darkness. God shines through the clouds and lights up the night sky. God is there for us and always will be.

Now every time I wake up in fear or loneliness, I can look outside and remember to pray to my Lord. I know he’s there and always will be there for me like a star shining in the night. So now when I sleep, “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8).

Holly Backus, a sophomore at Manitowoc Lutheran High School, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, is a member at St. John, Newtonburg, Wisconsin.

Author: Holly Backus
Volume 104, Number 2
Issue: February 2017

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