Do Not Be Afraid
Ever since I was a kid, I battled anxiety. In retrospect, there was always something big weighing on my mind. Around the age of four, I can remember having recurring nightmares of being kidnapped. As one of the smallest and most bullied kids in my class from elementary all the way up to high school, I carried a lot of stress surrounding my significance and social standing in my community of peers. As a traveling musician and videographer in college, I had this looming fear that I was going to die in our fifteen passenger van. And now as a husband and father who’s had deathly ill kids, deep ministry hurt, and more house moves than we can count…forget about it - the awareness of the fragility of what we hold dear, our financial stability, and our very mortality can still overwhelm me.
The truth is, bad things can and DO happen. The idea that Christianity is somehow a formula to escape suffering is a massive twisting of scripture, and actually, only leads to more disappointment and anxiety. The Bible tells us literally HUNDREDS of times not to be afraid, which can sound like a tall order given the idea that we can’t see around the corners of life. But the Bible isn’t asking us to FIGURE OUT what’s around the corner and to therefore be unafraid, it’s asking us to TRUST. But rather than trust, many of us, myself included, tend to try and white knuckle control of it - which is probably why we’re reminded so many times! God knows our tendency to be fearful, and rather than trust in ourselves or our own circumstances working out, He wants us to trust His Son to not only save us, but to carry us along through life until we’re with Him. We find in scripture that truly letting go and trusting Christ is the only place in the universe where true peace is found. But actually trusting…that’s the hard part.
A deep conviction for me lately has been from the words of Jesus in Matthew 6. He says, “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” The rhetorical nature of this question begs for the answer to be, “none of you.” Like, ZE-RO ability to worry and then gain time back for doing so. I don’t know about you, but I’ve found that the more I feel the need to control things myself, the more anxious I become. So rather than trusting ourselves, who actually have no control, we need to learn to trust the total and true sovereignty of God. It’s a soft pillow that we can rest our heads on when we’re afraid, and a truth we should rehearse when we’re not. It’s like my four-year-old daughter clinging to the pool ladder. She’s wearing a life jacket, but more importantly, her father WON’T let her go, but yet, the control and fear she maintains keeps her from enjoying the security she actually does have.
In the same way, He is truly a good Father. The best Father. We may not be super comfortable with the idea at first, but when you begin to see in scripture how truly GOOD God is, being in His hands isn’t a scary thing. Not only did He plan to save us through Christ on the cross before the world was even formed (Revelation 13:8), but our days were meticulously planned out before we were born. We find in the book of Job, when discussing the frailty of man that, “his days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass…” We tend to worry about our lifespan, but Biblically, not one of us will breathe one less breath than God has already determined. Your heart will not beat one more or one less beat than He has already ordained. We are not in control of that, so worry, then…actually becomes idolatry.
To be very real, most of my life has been idolatry - me trying to control my own life out of fear. Rather than fearing the Lord in reverence and awe for who He is, most of my life has been striving to look around the corners and make determinations on what’s going to happen. When you think about that Biblically and factually, it’s silly. We have the God of the universe personally telling us not to be afraid, and as a thirty-something year-old creature…sure. I know best. Haha! The truth is, any control I have is an illusion and when understood as such, is FREEDOM. So today, breathe out! You don’t have to shoulder the weight of your own life. Accepting that you’re not in control is a BLESSING once you can place your trust in who is. The day in which you die is already ordained by God Himself and if you are in Christ, you will be ushered into the Kingdom of heaven forever.
He WILL do all of it. Faithfully. Trust Him. Not one path of a single atom is unknown to God. He is seated. He’s not worried. He’s at peace. We should be too. Live your life. Get to know Him more. Be grateful for what He’s given you and cast your cares upon Him for He cares for us! Each day is a blessing. His promises are all true. Ask Him to help your unbelief. He will.
Do not be afraid.
