Fear is commonplace in our emotions in these days of civil unrest, riots, fires, natural disasters, an election year, and Covid-19 with social distancing and wearing masks and economic instability. We fear the unknown future, losing our job, physical harm, and the results of all of these changes in our “normal” way of life.
The only way to overcome these fears is to draw near to God, resist Satan’s attempts to steal, kill and destroy us or our way of life (John 10:10; James 4:7), and to enter God’s rest as we wait on Him during each moment of our day (Hebrews 4:9-16). His faithfulness knows no bounds.
When we are lonely, we do not need to add things to our schedule to stay busy. We find it more effective to turn our focus to Christ in us and to enjoy His presence in us that is sweeter than any relationship we can have outside of His companionship.
Trials are opportunities for God to show Himself strong for us. There is no need to preoccupy our focus with concern about our future. God cared for us through every single trial we ever walked through – even if the outcome did not go the way we wanted it to play out (Psalm 23:1; Galatians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 2:4).
If need be, God will send the birds to feed us, or He will cause our pantry and freezer to remain full, or to never run empty (1 Kings 17:4-6; 8-16). However, if we experience a major illness, or our life on this globe ends, we will still be in the loving arms of our amazing God of grace for eternity (Romans 8:35-39; 2 Corinthians 12:8-10).
God is even there in us when lies from satanic forces attempt to convince us that we are broken, insufficient, all alone, rejected and disapproved of by our significant others (John 14:23; Romans 15:7; Ephesians 1:60). We never need to fear any evil that comes upon us, because God is walking through it with us (Psalm 23:4).
Prayer:
Father God, the all-sufficiency of Your Trinity within us destroys our self-centered fears that our success in life depends on us. You are divine love, which we see manifested in the life of Christ for 33 years, culminating with His crucifixion and death to pay the penalty of our sins for us. If we keep our focus on You, and not on our circumstances, Your perfect love for us defeats our fears (1 John 4:8, 16, 18; Isaiah 26:3).
Remind us that we are not a part of this world (Galatians 2:20; John 17:16-26; 1 John 2:15-17). We are simply sojourners and foreigners, living in these bodily “tents” for a season of our existence (2 Corinthians 5:1). Our real life begins with our immortal body and our service to You for eternity (1 Corinthians 15:53-55). This realization gives us peace, fulfillment and security as it helps us to remain faithful to You and Your Word throughout our lifetime on this earth.
Thought for the Day:
God will never leave or forsake us; even if our behavior grieves Him, He will simply discipline us back to the straight and narrow road; we can walk in His peace and joy regardless of our circumstances, because no trial is too debilitating for His presence within us to diminish; therefore, we walk in Your truth and overcome fear in every trial.
- Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 28:20
