Fear Is Not My Future…God Is

Written by World Relief Chicagoland Director of Operations, Isoken Aiwerioba

Fear is not my future, Sickness is not my story, Heartbreak’s not my home, Death is not the end, You are (Jesus).. A friend recently reminded me of the lyrics of the song Fear is Not My Future by Maverick City.

When we sang it in church months ago, we sang with naïve confidence that we were children of God and had no fear, no sickness, no heartbreak that could be bigger than God. Afterall, He said he is the God of all flesh and nothing is too hard for him.

Fast forward to June, rumors were whirling around of a possible sending of the National Guard and ICE agents for raids in Chicago. A city known as a place of refuge waited and prepared.

First, we heard the ICE agents were around but in far suburbs. The city roared with joy at the news that the National Guards were no longer coming. Yes! God has done it! Then came the stories of ICE agents being in multiple suburbs, then the city, on multiple streets, everywhere all at once! People said they waited at immigrations meetings to pick up people before they could see judges, went to stores, and were even rumored to be on buses.

As the rumors grew, so did the panic, a blanket of fear had come upon the immigrant communities, documented, undocumented, black, brown, and even white. There seemed to be no pattern to the chaos. Neighbors rallied round to help, sightings were being passed around. The tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife.

The next rumor was that green card holders and citizens were being carried along with undocumented people because the ICE agents did not ask when breaking down doors to an apartment building. Citizens who were not native English speakers were afraid that they would not be able to explain before being whisked away. A Pastor advised his congregation to stop coming to church as they did not know when they will be raided. ICE agents in full militia outfits were seen on the streets. It felt like a movie about a war-torn country.

A lot of immigrants are refugees of some sorts. Some are refugees for obvious reasons like war and displacement. Others are refugees for more covert reasons like the economy and the search for a better life.

America was and is seen as the ultimate place to go to when fleeing a home country that no longer functions properly. It was Utopia, the land of the free, the ultimate dream. For many immigrants, settling here not only created a better life for them but also for their families, villages and countries.

For the refugees, that journey is harder. They have fled from persecution, from pain, from fear and sometimes the gruesome death of loved ones. Many, before their own eyes. They waited for months and maybe years in a country different from theirs before being settled in America. Tears flow copiously as they hug loved ones or total strangers who have come to the airport to pick them under a banner of welcome. Fathers see adults who were children when they last saw them, having been separated for years and sometime decades.

Now that fear has returned with vengeance. Will they be sent back to their home countries? Will their documents be taken back from them? Will the new lives they have been blessed with vanish into thin air?

As the fear continues to squeeze our hearts every morning, we put on a smile and remind ourselves that the earth is the Lord and the fullness thereof, the people and they that dwell therein. Surely the God of the poor and the foreigner, sees. Surely, he will come through for them.

For those who remain silent as these things go on, there is an African parable that says, “he who throws stones in the market does not know if it will hit his relative”. Somehow, somewhere, there is a connection.  Whether a friend, a neighbor, a fellow church member, the mother of your daughter’s friend in elementary school or even the girl your son fell in love with, there is a connection.

Hello peace, hello joy, hello love. Hello strength, hello hope, It’s a new horizon. Those are lyrics of the same song. It’s a new horizon not because anything has changed, not because we know what tomorrow holds but because we know the one who holds tomorrow. There is a peace that comes from knowing God is still in

control, that slowly but surely chips away at the fear until all of it is gone. Replaced by a peace that God gives and no one can take away.

Hello peace, hello hope, it’s a new horizon.