When Dread Departs

Dread is a form of fear. The slow dull kind of fear.

It hangs around like a dust bunny. Sometimes it goes unnoticed in the background. Sometimes we catch a glimpse of it scooting around in the wind. Sometimes it gets caught in the corner, begging to be swept out.

We all experience dread. Little dreads like the wait until the first ding on a brand new car. Big dreads like watching a chronic disease slowly progress. Bigger dreads like wondering how you will live without the person you just laid to rest.

The fascinating thing about dread is that it departs the moment the thing we dread comes to pass.

One of my longest running dreads was the 19 years between my mother’s breast cancer diagnosis and mine. But that dread got up and departed when it was replaced with the reality. When dread departs, it can be replaced with even greater fears. But its departure can also bring relief because fighting can beat dreading.

A man named Job knew dread. He lost almost everything precious to him in increasing order. First his material wealth, then his kids, and then his health. And he summed up his despair with:

For the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me. [Job 3:25 ESV]

When the thing happens, we no longer have to fear that it will happen. And dread departs.

I suppose it would be even better to sweep the dread dust bunny out of the corner long before it has a chance to depart on its own. Some form of “Do not fear” appears in the Bible over 350 times. When I read these instructions, I usually think of the more intense fears, like worry and panic. But at least once, God specifically included the dread form of fear.

‘Hear O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them, for the LORD your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’ [Deuteronomy 20:3-4 ESV]

If there is a dread blowing around in your world, don’t BE in it. Don’t stay in it. Give it a flick. And know that the LORD your God goes with you. Dread will usually depart eventually, but it can leave even sooner as we walk with Him.