If we walk with God "whom shall I fear?". For like Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, God makes it evident that He is in control. Do we know Him well enough or do we let these turbulent times bring us anguish and despair? We do not know what is to physically come tomorrow, and it can indeed be crippling and terrifying unless we hear the voice of God. "And my sheep shall hear my voice." I do not know about you but I do not like scary. I want more than ever to hear His voice, to receive His peace in these unnerving times. "Be anxious for nothing..." indeed seems to be a very tall order for today and there is only one way it is possible, and we all will and do choose each and every day. Easier said than done? "Oh ye of little faith" we indeed are! We have grown up in the land of plenty and we claim to have trials and hardships but we have not ever known what is yet to come in the immediate future. If you study God's word you know full well we cannot even imagine what is to come, it will come and it too shall pass. We are seeing things progress as it is written and we are part of the story. The story we are a part of has been written by God, it is in His hands and that is where our peace lies as well. Our problem is that we want to change the script to suit us at the moment. Like letting a small child pick out his clothes for the day, God lets us try this and that just to find out we know nothing! I am so amazed at how easy it is to get puffed up in ourselves and think we had every thing to do with our success and knowledge. To write it sounds so ridiculous yet that is exactly what we so often do. The story is in God's hands and that is where our peace lies as well. I want to physically put myself in His loving hands each and every day but as Paul wrote "yet I do not do the thing I want to do and I do the things in which I do not want to do." If God my Father is not directing my path and consuming my heart it is a dark and dreary day filled with doom and gloom indeed. The kicker here is that it is also filled with counterfeit light and lies that trip us up time and time again. Bright shiny objects calling out solutions, instant gratification, and quick fixes. So tempting that by the billions we run to these false hopes again and again. God our Father is a patient God, but His word is also holy and true. It will indeed come to pass as He has written and there is a point where the sobering truth must come and grip us to the very core. The fear - the very real fear we face in the truth of the Word - is the beginning of a very real faith! "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" I do not like scary but I do thank God that there is one way and one way only to conquer my fear. I must look fear straight in the face with the truth of God's word knowing full well He alone is in control. Being honest we want both the bright shiny objects, the comfortable quick fixes, and the peace our Savior has to offer. If we refuse to be broken bread and poured out wine we will not know a life fulfilled, a "well done my good and faithful servant." Our hearts will indeed miss the joy our Lord died to give us. These are sobering words indeed to ponder and yet they are life. Jesus came to die upon the cross. "It is finished." We have no excuses to keep taking Him down off that cross. We must face the fact our sins put Him there, and we are not exempt by being a good person. We desire holiness only by His willingness to crucify our sin. We live in the land of plenty and what we do with our portion matters. The times are indeed unnerving - so many people without jobs, people who never dreamed they would find themselves in this present crisis. In the bible, story after story, God's people faced famines, floods, and countless other hardships. Just look at Job. Yet they are indeed the greatest stories ever told. We need to learn from their journeys. Look at the life of Daniel. This is how we are to walk through our uncertain times and the peace of Jesus will be ours despite our circumstances. It is all we need and if we are honest, it is all any of us have. Someone has said "you won't know that Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have".
Heavenly Father
I pray we may see these false shiny bright lights for what they really are. I pray our spiritual eyes will be sharp and focused on You alone so much we do not even give the slightest tilt of the head to the counterfeit light. May we faithfully hold on tight and serve You our mighty God and King. May you alone be our God and may we indeed have no other gods before You. In Your Son's name our Lord and Savior I pray amen.
Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)
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