The following blog contains some excerpts of a presentation I created that was used at a variety of political events and also high school graduations.

God IS with you. Wherever you go. University. College. Work. Travel. The roads. The trails. The cities. The towns. In all your comings and goings (Psalm 121), God is with you. God will be with you. Wherever you go.

But you’re scared. You won’t admit it. You fear. You get discouraged. So do I. And so do all of you. That’s OK. God knows that.

God says, “Don’t be afraid. Don’t be discouraged. Don’t fear!” Depending on your Bible translation and the words “fear not” or “don’t be afraid” or “do not fear,” God says this to you and to me between 80 to 100 times in Scripture. We’re scared. We fear. We mask our fears. We hide our fears. We don’t admit our fears. Because that would make us weak. Fear can push us into doing things we should. Fear can push us into doing things we shouldn’t. Fear hovers over us. Fear looms around us. Fear wants to beat us. Fear always seems to win.

Well, I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t. In the end, it won’t. Cuz Fear is weak. Fear is a liar.

The passage from Isaiah 41 shared in yesterday’s blog is one of those many ‘do not fear’ reminders. “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.” (Isaiah 41:10).

Do not fear. Do not dismay. Two strong imperatives. Fear? Don’t go there. Dismay? Don’t go there.

But we do go there at times don’t we? Fear. Fear is a liar. Don’t believe it. Yes, we get scared. Yes, we get discouraged. That’s why we get the reminders. Many reminders. But the reminders come with promises. God promises us and God promises Zach, “I am your God. I will strengthen. I will help. I will uphold. I will.” From imperative to affirmative. God will be with us. Wherever we go.

Today’s Updates:

Zach had a relaxed day today with the help of the ventilator and his sedating meds. Right now, he’s receiving minimal pressure support from the ventilator, but he still needs the ventilator to regulate the size of his breaths and ensure he’s breathing frequently enough. Zach’s blood gas levels have improved since he was intubated, and his oxygen and carbon dioxide are both in good places.

The chest x-rays show that Zach’s pneumonia has gotten slightly worse in his right lung from this infection. He is leaking a bit of air out of his chest through the hole where his right chest tube was removed. He also still has the dead space in his right lung from his necrotizing pneumonia. This means that he’s at a higher risk of developing a pneumothorax (air collection around the lung) on his right side again. If he remains on the ventilator for a longer time, they’ll likely have to insert a chest tube there again. Please pray for healing and strength in Zach’s lungs, especially on his right side.

This doctor wants to avoid doing a repeat tracheostomy unless absolutely necessary. They will only do another tracheostomy if Zach has a lot of trouble clearing out his secretions on his own, or if it looks like he’ll need the ventilator into next week. The doctor is optimistic that Zach may be able to go off of the ventilator and be extubated within the next few days. Please pray that Zach’s breathing may continue to improve so that he will not need the help of the ventilator anymore.

Zach is still receiving quite a bit of sedating medications to keep him relaxed and prevent his heart rate from going too high. He also needed an increased amount of blood pressure support meds overnight. As of this evening, he no longer requires blood pressure support medications. Praise God that Zach is able to maintain his own blood pressure even while he is so sick. Please pray that God will allow Zach to come off of his main sedating meds soon and remain calm so that he can continue to heal.

Please keep Zach and the family in your prayers as he faces this setback. Pray that God will grant him the strength he needs for his body to heal, especially his lungs. Pray that God will preserve his brain through this time of sickness as well. Pray that Zach’s brain will recover and that he will regain awareness and be able to communicate with us again.

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1)

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)