Fear

These last few months have been particularly hard for many of us. Lives have not just been disrupted, but severely curtailed. Old people have been shut in for months, parents have had the burden of home educating their children and keeping them occupied often in very limited circumstances – not everyone has a garden and a car. Some have lost jobs and liveliehoods, people have died, important lifesaving treatments have been stopped, and the ongoing mental health and economic toll from this mess will be staggering. It is easy to feel lost or even fearful in the face of all this.

One psalm that I am particularly fond of is Psalm 11. I looked at it again the other day. It is really helpful.

Verse 3 says, “when the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do.” Whist our foundations are not being destroyed, they are certainly getting a good shaking at the moment. So what can we do. Many people walking the streets and in the supermarkets are living in fear. It is visible in their eyes. When everything is being shaken what can we do?

The answer is in the next verse – “The Lord is in His holy temple, The Lord is on His heavenly throne”. (NIV) It doesn’t matter what is going on, God is still on His throne. No one has moved Him over and taken His place. So that means He is absolutely in control. My dad is still in charge! And that means there is absolutely no reason for me to fear or panic.

I rather like The Passion Translation of Psalm 23 – the bit we all know as “I shall fear no evil…” It goes like this; “Lord, even when your path takes me through the valley of deepest darkness, fear will never conquer me, for you already have”. Because Jesus has already conquered me with His incredible never ending, all encompassing, totally extravagant, relentlessly pursuing love, I have no need to ever fear anything ever again.

Our times are in His hands as it says elsewhere, and His hands are good and safe hands because His intentions toward us are always good.

In Psalm 139 (TPT) it says “You have gone into my future to prepare the way, and in kindness you follow behind me to spare me from the harm of my past”

There is a lot of meaning in this verse, but for now the important thing to see is that there is a future, and hope because God is already there in our future getting it ready for us.

So, do not fear, pray, listen to Him who loves you so much and each day ask Him what He wants you to do that day. And most importantly, since you have no need to fear, who can you bring reassurance and comfort to?