Loved: How to Face the Worst without Fear

Jerusha: I’m delighted to introduce you to Angela Ruth Strong, my friend and fellow teaching expert in the Write That Book educational subscription group for writers. Angela is giving away a free digital copy of her fun cozy mystery to one of you! Simply leave a comment below to enter the drawing!

By Angela Ruth Strong

I visited The Tenderloin as part of a mission trip with my son a few years ago. It’s not the area of San Francisco you see in movies or on postcards. In fact, its name came from the way police could be bribed with tenderloin steaks. Gangs and drugs are rampant, and, though it varies, more than 4,000 homeless people have been counted living within one square mile.

We stayed at City Impact, a ministry founded by Roger Huang. They’ve grown from sandwich distribution out of Roger’s trunk to five locations, including a school, soup kitchen, rec center, consignment shop, and worship facility. As preparation for serving at City Impact, we had to learn about the fear that rules the area.

The director started by asking us, “If I was a landlord, and I said you could rent an apartment from me if you promised to pay me back a favor whenever I asked, what would you say?”

“No,” we answered unanimously.

“What if…,” the director paused, “you had the choice of renting the apartment from this landlord or being thrown out on the streets with your family?”

This answer wasn’t as clear.

The director went on to explain that success in The Tenderloin means one thing: getting out of The Tenderloin. All the positive role models leave. The only leaders who remain are criminals who use fear to exploit the residents.

This is their reality. And it was evident when we went out on the streets.

The homeless people were even afraid for us. They’d see me and look around to make sure I had a man in the vicinity watching out for me. They’d tell stories of stabbings and warn us away from specific streets.

There was even a zombie-looking man holding a brand-new crowbar overhead as he made his way past us. The drug dealer I was talking to at the time motioned me away from him.

But you want to know something crazy? I wasn’t afraid.

We’d prepared for this situation with the scripture Matthew 10:28.

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Only this kind of holy fear can help The Tenderloin residents choose righteousness over giving into the gangs and drug lords and the mentally ill homeless woman who yelled about setting someone’s house on fire. But God doesn’t stop there.

Matthew 10:29 continues with:

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. – Matthew 10:29-31

Jesus basically says, The only thing you have to fear is God, but hey, you don’t even have to be afraid of Him because He loves you.

This is what I felt in The Tenderloin. God’s love turned those dirty streets into streets of gold. I seriously couldn’t sleep at night, and it wasn’t because I was in a sleeping bag on the floor with sirens blaring outside the window. It was because I was overcome with love.

I had love for the charming little Hispanic drug dealer on his BMX who wanted to talk about the way his grandma took him to church.

I had love for the drugged-out guy named Joe who didn’t remember me from day to day but whom I prayed for and will never forget.

I had love for Cathy who “used to” be a man and liked talking about his menstrual cycle that I’m pretty sure didn’t exist.

I had love for the guy who wasn’t wearing pants when he opened the apartment door to accept the meal we brought him.

I had love for the woman who collected stuffed animals in her cart for her two daughters who’d died in a fire when they were young.

I had love for the woman who dressed like a gangster and spoke like a comedian.

I had love for the homeless man who looked like Santa Clause but said he’d cut his hair if his wife were still alive.

I had love for the guy whose fingernails we painted at the rec center after he showed us his bullet wound from the “gay pride” parade.

This was a life-changing experience for me, and it taught me more about fear than I’ve learned through my own challenges. It showed me from the outside looking in that no matter what mess I get myself into, I don’t have to live in fear of the worst that could happen.

Because even if the worst happens, and sometimes it does, I am still loved.

This is powerful stuff. This is the kind of perfect love that casts out all fear. This is why we are called to love.

No matter where we are at, fear can make us live like we are in The Tenderloin.

No matter where we are at, love can transform our world.

Has your fear made you live in a dark place? Have you seen how love can free you and others from fear? Please share!

Photos by Michael Fenton, Jon Tyson, Daniel van den Berg, and John Moeses Bauan on Unsplash. Original graphics designed by Jerusha Agen.

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Angela Ruth Strong sold her first Christian romance novel in 2009 then quit writing romance when her husband left her. Ten years later, God has shown her the true meaning of love, and there’s nothing else she’d rather write about.

Her books have since earned TOP PICK in Romantic Times, been optioned for film, won the Cascade Award, and been Amazon best-sellers. She also writes non-fiction for SpiritLed Woman.

To help aspiring authors, she started IDAhope Writers where she lives in Idaho, and she teaches as an expert online at Write That Book. Find out more or join her newsletter at www.angelaruthstrong.com.

You can also connect with Angela at her website and on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads.

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Angela is giving away one ebook copy of A Cuppa Trouble to one of you! Leave a comment below for your chance to win! (Giveaway ends July 15, 2019. Winner will be notified here and via email.)

A Cuppa Trouble

Can a couple of baristas chase down a car thief without spilling a drop of their favorite drink?

Plans for a Valentine’s Day grand opening of a small town coffee shop go awry when the first customer is killed. Evidence points toward the victim being mixed up in a car theft ring, but shop owners Tandy and Marissa have reason to believe he was framed.

An assortment of suspects–from a pink-haired heir to Tandy’s charming ex–all seem to know a little too much about grand theft auto. Without approval from either their boyfriends or the gum-chewing FBI agent in charge, the shop owners go on stakeouts, plan stings, and pursue justice in a high-speed car chase.

If they don’t find the killer soon, it might be more than their love lives in trouble.