Psalm 27:1
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
Fear had gripped my mother and it had a profound effect on her life for a number of years. My parents were victims of the notorious “silver gang” that was responsible for a string of burglaries that plagued a suburb of Washington, DC in the mid 70s. My mother kept a rather predictable routine each day, one the gang must have observed over time in order to plot when they would strike. Watching for when she left the house, they entered, collected Mom’s considerable collection of silver flatware and serving pieces, as well as jewelry, electronics and other odds and ends, and then made a quick retreat out the back door when they heard the garage door open. As a result of the trauma, my poor mother was beset by fear—especially fear of leaving the house—a condition that tormented her for years.
It isn’t unreasonable to state that at present, many in our society are also beset with fears: fear of getting COVID-19, fear of leaving home, fear of being with other people, fear of being alone, fear of touching anyone or anything, fear of not making ends meet, fear of failing one’s children with remote learning challenges, fear of being a burden to loved ones, fear that the election will not go a particular way, just to name a few. Fear can paralyze us from moving on with our lives. Putting it in more general terms, we are afraid of the “what ifs;” we fear for our future.
Webster’s dictionary defines “fear” as “an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, harm or pain; an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger.’ Fear is something that can beset anyone—the young or old, the strong or weak, the rich or poor, the believer or the atheist. There can be rational or irrational fears, but when fear grips the mind, reasoning jumps out of the window. My mother’s fear was a rational fear as an emotional response to having her home invaded but, the longer she dwelt on the possibility that it would happen again, the more irrational the fear became.
It is human for us to imagine a worst-case scenario occurring in the future—whether a pandemic, economic collapse or an election not going our way. However, fear can be a symptom of a lack of faith that God will be with us in that future. We can be encouraged by the fact that there are 366 verses that say, “Fear not” in the Bible. One can surmise that God knew we would have an issue with being afraid and that the reassuring words of Jesus who said, “Fear not” would be comforting to our hearts. And they SHOULD be comforting, for we are taught that, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
We may encounter intense storm waves, as frightening as what we read in Mark 4, of an evening when Jesus invited his disciples to join Him for a boat ride to “go to the other side,” Very soon a storm arose with waves crashing in, swamping the boat with water. The disciples became fearful, and there was Jesus, sleeping in the stern. “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” They asked. “Hush, be still” Jesus said and the wind and waters calmed. I have wondered if maybe He was also saying “Hush, be still” to the disciples! He then said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” What did Jesus say at the beginning of their journey? “Let us go to the other side.” He had already told them, assured them, that they would get to the other side. And He promises to be with us in the midst of any storm we may encounter—even pandemics and elections—and will get us to the other side.
Do you see only waves in our future? A sinking ship? Or is your attention fixed on Jesus who still rests in the boat? Fear for you might be imagining a future in which God will not be present. Even in a “worst-case scenario,” Jesus always shows up! No matter what occurs in this life, He always has a way of transforming the impossible to the possible, the chaos to peace, the crisis to calm. The God who has authority over pandemics, storms, trials, elections and fear, and has conquered death itself, promises to get us to the other side. Let us never allow our fear to rob us of our hope. This is a time for us to turn our unfounded fear into founded hope.
Heavenly Father, sovereign Lord over all we encounter in life, we praise You for Your Holy Spirit that calms the fear in our hearts and replaces it with hope. Forgive our lack of faith in the promises You have given us in Your Word that are meant to assure and comfort our hearts. Fill us with power and love and a sound mind, full of hope for the future. In the powerful name of Jesus. Amen
