Fear Not

Isaiah 41:10 (NIV) "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." This verse became the theme for the team of people from our church who went into a psychic fair for the very first time. Yes, you read correctly, we went into a psychic fair. We were taking Isaiah 41:10 to the people we met but it turned out the verse was as much for us as it was for the people we met at the fair. We went, not knowing what to expect but with the belief that it was what God wanted us to do. Our goal at the fair was simple, we were to share God's love and encourage people to let go of the worries and stress in their lives. For over a year our church has been praying and planning for the fair. People in our church donated money so we could book the stalls, people gave their time to make knotted bracelets, (which had the Isaiah verse on them) another person made a mountain of cross-stitch crosses. A person in our church is a reflexologist, (This person had the original vision) and was able to teach team members how to massage. Many people prayed. It was a church effort! For us, as a church, it was a new and unknown step. We didn't know what to expect or what the outcomes would be. There were uncertainties and doubts and even fear at times. We didn't know if people would come to our stall or not. We didn't know if people would want to talk to Christians. We didn't know if we would say the right things. We had to trust God. We were amazed at the response. People came for massage, for healing, for prayer, for answers and for a listening ear. They wondered why we would want to be there and not make money - everything we offered was free. They were surprised that the church had a spiritual element and wasn't just a charity. They were confused that a church would give massages. They were open to love of God. We trusted God. It seems that whenever we try to bless others God blesses us as well and if the blessing we feel as a church is any indicator of how blessed people felt after visiting our stall then I think we were able to achieve our goal.