Do not be afraid

In the age of COVID, a new presidency, a shift of power in the United States Congress, there is much uncertainty, and from that comes much fear. Fear of loss of health, fear of the mobs, fear of loss of finances, fear of loss of freedoms. We (Elizabeth and I) have had to deal with fear as new parents in all of this, and we have been scared for Abigail as she has been getting over her first cold this past week. She had a fever of 103 the first night, and we were afraid of it going higher and taking her to the ER. She still isn’t completely over it, but God is good and she is much better than she was.

As we look at our own lives and fears, keep in mind Scripture has much to say about fear and what we are to do with it. I haven’t had time to count it all out myself, but there is a popular devotional making its way around the internet that says that the phrase “fear not” appears 365 times in the Bible, so they made a devotional calendar out of it. We have all heard the saying about if God repeats something, then we should really pay attention. How about repeating 365 times? Let’s focus on that, and you can each apply it to whatever current events are concerning to you.

Joshua and Caleb – Numbers 13:26-33

We see what happens when people allow their fear to stop them from following God’s commandments. Look at the Israelites under Moses when they made it to the promised land. As Moses led the Israelites to the promised land, he sent out men from each tribe to scout the land that they were to inherit. When the spies came back, they were afraid because they saw vast armies and giants wandering the land. Only Joshua and Caleb believed they could take the promised lands for themselves.

Then the spies riled up the community and they started to complain and rebel against what God had commanded. They wanted to have died at the hands of the Egyptians, instead of taking what God had promised them. It took intervention from Moses on behalf of the Israelites to God to keep the Israelites from getting wiped from the face of the earth.

The Israelites were shaken by reports from people, immediately forgetting what God had done for them previously, and what they were promised. How easily are we disturbed by reports in the news today and we find ourselves shaken? What was your reaction when COVID 19 made its way to our shores? What was your reaction when your candidate lost their election (not necessarily this one)? Jesus said it best that his kingdom was not of this world (scripture source), and that this world is destined to be reborn (Revelation). I see no problem in keeping track of current events and working to bring about good, but keep in mind the final prize, and that God has seen all of this coming.

Esther - Esther 4:14

How about Esther? My dad and I have discussed this book a little (it controversially does not have a direct interaction between God and anyone in this book), and it is a favorite of my wife, (ask her about her favorite Christmas present that Santa brought her this year). Esther may be one of the best analogies for the past year. She was thrust into a situation that she had no control over, and she finds herself caught between a rock and a hard place.

Esther finds out that the right hand to the king, Hamon, is planning to wipe of the Hebrew people, but she has to find a way to convince the king to save her people, but appearing before the king without a summons from him meant death (great marriage right?). Esther wanted to just bury her head in the sand and let someone else take care of the problem, but Mordecai gave her a grave warning. God would surely bring help from somewhere else, but Esther and her family would surely be killed if she did not follow what God was asking of her. Mordecai also provided encouragement to Esther, for who knows if you were made for such a time as this? Esther, who purpose in being thrust into being queen may have been God positioning one of His children to save the rest from this evil plot.

What are you doing in the face of your fear? Are you just waiting for someone to come and rescue you/those around you? Or are you doing what you can to try and relieve your neighbors’ suffering? I know many of you are in a vulnerable place in terms of your health and getting out and about may not be an option, but just calling and checking on people is enough.

Jesus – Matthew 26:36-46

I don’t know if can explicitly say that Jesus experienced fear, but he definitely wanted to check out and let God take over like Esther wanted to do. Don’t believe me? Look at Matthew 26 when Jesus goes to the garden with the disciples. “And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” Jesus knew what was coming and asked for God to give him a way out. However, Jesus knew that he had to go through what he did, which I imagine would terrify any one of us if we think about it. Yet despite it, Jesus suffered and died because he knew what was required of him. I don’t think it is wrong to ask for God to spare us of a particularly nasty ordeal like with Abraham and Isaac, but we must be prepared for it to be hard to the point of death.

Conclusion

We are instructed in James about being joyful when it comes to trials and tribulations, and we are told that we are not given a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power and truth in 2 Timothy. So we need to expect to have problems, but God has provided us with the means to make it through. Paul learned this in his ministry, that he learned to be content in God through all of his phases of being rich/poor, sick/healthy, and free/imprisoned.

No matter what we are facing, let us trust in God that he has our best in mind and is working to bring about good. So how do I go about planning to give my fear to God? Let’s be quick to listen, wise in our response, and slow to outrage. Too often have I seen people go ballistic about something in current events, only to be eating shoe leather a few days later (Nick Sandman case against CNN). Take the time to listen to a news story in its entirety, and maybe find a few different sources so we have multiple points of view. Most people who are demanding our response on social issues are trying to get us into gotcha moments, so be wise and try to figure out what game they are playing. Let’s not get tossed by every wind and wave and keep our eyes on Jesus. Let us pray.