We live in a time of anxious children.

This was true well before the time of COVID-19, and continues in this season of pandemic and protest, when the very ground under our feet seems to shift, almost by the minute.

Twelve years ago, anxiousness and panic often robbed our 12-year-old daughter of her sleep. Many a night, we would wake in the morning to find her sleeping on the floor beside our bed, unable to sleep without the protective presence of her parents in the same room.

At the time, we grieved for the limits these fears placed on her life, and the involuntary physical responses they brought with them. Her life became small, cocooned in the safety of our home, so that she was always within earshot of someone to reassure her. In our house, “you’re going to be all right” became the mantra of that time. Unable to enjoy overnights with school friends, or mission trips with her church youth group, she couldn’t spread her wings and fly on her own, at the very time God had designed for her to become her own person.

Fast forward to today, when anxiety and fear are consuming everyone, even the adults. The Bible is full of verses telling of the power and might of the Lord, of His comfort for those who rest in Him. For some reason, Psalm 4:5-8 resonated the most with our daughter during her anxious years (yes, years), and therefore is on our list of most impactful verses in the Bible for our family (so far):

Many are asking, “Who can show us any good?”

Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord.

You have filled my heart with greater joy

Than when their grain and new wine abound.

I will lie down and sleep in peace,

For you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. –  Psalm 4:5-8

I offer this now for the young person, maybe just graduating high school or college, who can’t make sense of what is going on around us. It’s for the protester, who can’t understand why they still don’t have peace after tearing down a century-old monument. And the older “children,” like me? We wonder what this all means, and what this world will be like for our grandchildren.

Aren’t we all children, seeking someone who can comfort and reassure us?

For all of us, that Someone is the Lord Jesus Christ, who doesn’t wish anyone to be condemned, but for all to repent of their sins and come to faith in Him (2 Peter 3:9). I hope you will accept His peace, today.