10 Reasons You Should Not Fear
Reason #2 - God Cares
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
I Peter 5:7
Think about all the things going on in the world. Is there cause for alarm? Is there a basis for consternation? Is there a reason to be knotted up in a ball of anxious thoughts and feelings? Certainly, there is! However, sometimes it is not the big things that cause us distress. Sometimes it is the simple, daily things. Often we fear things that are not even real. We become fearful at the possibility of bad things.
If we let our minds go unrestrained, we are capable of dreaming up a multitude of scenarios that cause us to be fearful. Sometimes I fear that God will forget about me. God has given me some wonderful promises. But I’ve gone through a season where I’ve felt like Joseph in the prison. I have great dreams from God, but here I am, stuck in this prison. Will God remember me? Will He fulfill all He has promised?
In I Timothy 6:12 the Apostle Paul charges his spiritual son to, “Fight the good fight of faith.” Our struggle with fear is a fight. Fear can be a spirit. Overcoming this spirit requires active resistance. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (II Timothy 1:7, NKJV) One of the greatest weapons against fear is God’s Word.
There is power in declaration. It might help to have a book of promises from the Bible. I have one that my pastor’s wife put together, with Scriptures in it organized based on life’s various situations. A handful of times in the past I have held it in my hand, paced around the room, boldly declaring God’s promises for my life. At other times I just declare praises or Scriptures from my heart. I can feel my spirit being encouraged by the presence of the Lord.
Our thoughts can be shaky from day to day and our emotions can be up and down. But God’s Word is a sure foundation that never changes. Just as God is the same yesterday, today and forever, His Word never changes.
All of this comes down to one thing: God cares. He did not stop caring just because things got tough. He didn’t stop caring the day terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on 9/11. He didn’t stop caring because we’ve come upon difficult economic times. He didn’t stop caring because you made a mistake last year. Through all time, through every season of our lives, in every moment, every second, God cares. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)
Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” This tells me that no matter what is going on around us God still cares about the things that matter to us. When we delight ourselves in Him, He is still faithful to do what He has promised.
God’s promises do not change just because times are hard. You might think God is too busy with all that is happening in the Middle East to care about your broken down car, how you’ll pay your bills, or where you’ll go to college. Yet, we are still His children. God has promised to take care of our basic needs (Matthew 6:25-34) and even says He will “give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11)
No comments:
Post a Comment