Fear Not

We so easily worry over many things - things that we fear will happen; and we fear that if they happen... well, we don't know what, but surely it will be a bad thing, if they happen. Unknown situations that we have not been in before, and how will we handle them? Or we fear that if a current situation that is uncomfortable is not resolved soon, then we won't be able to keep dealing with it.

We think that for us to have joy or peace or stability, we "must have" that job that is so needed, or that child we desperately long for, or restored health; or we fear that we will lose the job that we have, or the health of the present, or that the child we do have will be taken from us.

But we aren't supposed to know ahead of time, what exactly will happen in our lives, and how we will handle it. God decides that. Instead we are to rest in knowing Jesus. Knowing that He who "loves us and freed us from our sins by His blood", still loves us and is waiting for us in the unknown future, to walk with us there as He does in the present.

God knows, and we usually forget, that this world is but His training ground for the real Life to come. That what is seen is not lasting reality, but what is unseen. That the development of our souls is what matters more than that job, or that child, or our health. For those who love Him, He is their loving Father who truly does have their good in the works.

Yet even when we remember that He "works all together for good to those who love Him", we think we need to worry anyway, because we don't trust that His plans will be what we want, and we fear that He will put things in our lives that we don't like. We think we know better than He does, what is good for us.

But if we really love Him who died to save us from His own wrath over our sin, who by His death brought us peace with God (how amazing!), then we will have peace in leaving our unknowns in His hand too. We will believe that He who did the greatest thing - giving up His life - will surely do the lesser things for us too; that He really does love us and desire our ultimate good, even when we cannot see how the present (or the feared future) could possibly do us good. We will rest in that love of Jesus toward us.

And is He not enough? To have Jesus, the One who loves us and makes us able to come to God without fear (though with godly fear) - this is greater than poor health, or unfulfilled longings, or meager finances. When Jesus is everything to me, then I can sing with Habakkuk, that though all my circumstances seem to be against me and I cannot see a way out,

yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
GOD, the Lord, is my strength...

... and He would have me rest and rejoice in Him. "Perfect love casts out fear."

(verses quoted: Rev.1:5. Rom.8:28. Hab.3:17-19. 1Jn.4:18.)