A friend was telling me about her baby who doesn’t like loud noises. When he hears something loud, he will start making worried sounds and look at her. She assures him it’s okay. Sometimes that helps, and sometimes he decides it can’t be, really.

He has been okay with dogs until recently. On a walk, a very large dog came along and barked at him in the face. That was too scary and surprising, and he has been fretful of dogs since.

“It didn’t help,” said my friend, “That he wasn’t looking at me. He usually looks over at me or I’m holding him, and that helps.”

That made me think of our relationship with Jesus. There are all sorts of scary looking and scary sounding things out in the world, but He encourages us, “Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. Don’t worry about tomorrow, don’t fear those who can slay the body, but after that can’t touch you.”

Sometimes we listen, and sometimes we fret anyway. What helps, though, is to look at Jesus, focus on Him.