Some people think of Christianity as being a shelter from the storms of life instead of a compass to guide us safely through the angry waves that batter our little ships. I don’t know how so many people have come to believe that religion is a place of refuge instead of “a way.”

The word “refuge” appears 46 times in the Bible, and not always in the context of God being our refuge. The word “way” appears more than 600 times.

God will not forsake you. He walks every dark road. He knows every heartache. If you will take him by the hand and walk through life with him, you won’t be afraid.

Norman Vincent Peale related this story in one of his sermons to his congregation in Marble Collegiate Church in New York City. He was talking to Howard Chandler Christy, an artist painting his portrait. Peale said, “Howard, you impress me as being about the happiest human being I have ever known. Aren’t you ever afraid of anything? Have you no worries?”

“Not on your life,” Christy replied. “I did worry once, but one day 25 years ago, I changed all that.” “Tell me about it,” said Peale

“Well,” Christy began, “I have always wanted to enter into all the rich experiences of life, and I noticed that many of my friends worried so much of the time that I thought I must be missing something. So I found the most expert worrier I knew and I asked him to tell me what I was missing in this business of worrying. My friend replied, ‘Well, you ought to be worried. What is the matter with you?’ I asked him to teach me to worry, and he gave me a few pointers.

“I decided to set aside a day when I applied all the knowledge I had picked up about how to worry. The night before, I went to bed early because if you have a lot to worry about, you should get a good night’s rest.

“Next morning I got up and ate a magnificent breakfast, because nobody ought to worry on an empty stomach. Then I read the paper to help me get a good start, and I worried my head off for about four hours. I couldn’t make any sense out of it, so I gave it up as a bad job and I haven’t worried since.”

Peale suggested to his friend that he must have oversimplified the thing. “You must have some fears!” “I do not have a single fear,” Christy replied.

Here is the secret of his full life: “I spend fifteen minutes every morning and every evening filling my mind full of God. Then I have the time of my life all day long. You’ll only have in your mind what you put in there. If you put fear in, you’ll have fear. If you put God in, you won’t have fear — you’ll have God.”

Later on, Peale wrote that when he learned that Howard Christy was going to die, he went to see him. As he sat by his bed, Christy said, “They told you I am going to die, didn’t they? Tell me the truth.” “Yes, that’s what they told me,” Peale replied. “Well, I’m not afraid. I have lived with our kind father for years, and he is going to take me across to the other side, and I am going to be with him forever.”

Some things will happen in your life that you will not like, but if you will fill your mind with God and walk with him, you won’t fear.