Fear Not

The world is currently running around in a panic because of the Coronavirus, but those who know the Lord shouldn't be afraid.

Psalm 23:5 - You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.

Even surrounded by our enemies, the Lord can prepare us a table. If He can provide while we're surrounded by people who are actively trying to do us harm, can't He do the same when there's a sick bug around that doesn't even have a will of its own? Of course He can!

Isaiah 41:10 - "Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you. Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."

Psalm 91:1-7 - He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust!" For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day; of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not approach you.

Psalm 91:9-10 - For you have made the Lord, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent.

Psalm 91:14-16 - Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name. He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With a long life I will satisfy him and let him see My salvation.

Psalm 121 - I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is the shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever.

John 10:27-28 – "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of my hand."

John 16:33 - "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."

Do all these scriptures mean that nothing bad will ever happen to Christians? Stuff happens to everyone. The difference is God is with us. In Genesis Joseph was thrown into a pit, sold into slavery, falsely accused and jailed, and then forgotten for two years while he was still in prison. These may seem like bad things, but the ultimate purpose saved all of Egypt and Joseph's entire family from the famine that came upon the lands. God will only allow those things to come upon us that He can use for a purpose.

Romans 8:28 – And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Jeremiah 29:11 – "For I know the plans that I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."

Sometimes the things that come upon us aren't for us but for someone else, so when they speak about troubles they're going through, we can say, "I've been there, and God got me through it. He can do the same for you."

There are times God lets us go through big problems so when the little things show up, we can ignore it because we've been through worse.

People in hospitals (doctors, nurses, and patients) might need to be witnessed to. And how can you witness to them outside the hospital? God may send you there because they are the ones who need help. Keep your good attitude and show them through your example the changes God has brought to your life.

There will be challenges and testing to be sure, but they won't compose our life indefinitely.

Our Problems are Temporary

God never intended us to remain in our problems. In order to go through something, you start on one side and keep going until you come out the other side. It doesn't mean to sit down and make camp in the middle of it and say, "This must be God's will for my life." When God allows things to come upon us, they aren't supposed to last forever. We get finished with them, and move on. Even life itself is like a job, and when we finish our work, we clock out and go home.

Psalm 23:4 - Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Psalm 30: 5 - For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.

Unlimited Power

God has made numerous promises to those who follow Him. Is God limited by our circumstances or the condition of our world? Of course not, so why should we live as if our situation is a problem for the Almighty?

The sun always shines. Although the clouds may prevent us from seeing its brightness, the sun is unaffected. In the same way the Son is not affected by the obscuring darkness of this world. No matter what worry may try to cloud our eyes, the Son is still there. Whatever our current troubles, be it disease, solar radiation, corrupt government officials, or anything else you can name, God's power is not affected by them, but those things are most certainly affected by Him.

Romans 8:35-39 - Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, 'For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.' But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor power, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Where it talks about being sheep to be slaughtered, don't take that to mean it's our destiny to die and we serve our purpose in that way. Some people are under the mistaken impression that we are the devil's chew toy until he gets tired of us and kills us, then we go to heaven and get our reward for enduring to the end. That simply isn't true. When it talks about being put to death all day long, it isn't talking about physical death, but the death of the fleshly nature.

Galatians 2:20 - I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

God gave us fun things to do here, but they must be secondary to God's will. The devil will sometimes try and get you involved in things that aren't bad, they just aren't what you're supposed to be doing. They're a distraction from your ultimate purpose and are getting in the way. Keep God first, and other things will fall into their proper places.

We are all going to leave this life at some point, but that much was certain from the moment we were born. It's only a question of how and when. There's no point in worrying about it before it happens, and once it does happen, it's too late to worry about it, so why worry at all? The devil will try to worry you into an early grave with what might be, the vast majority of which will never even happen to you. Don't worry, trust. Have faith in God that He loves you, wants good things for you, and will see you through all the things that do happen.

Many Christians use this reference of being 'sheep to be slaughtered' as an excuse to wallow in suffering rather than moving on. Some think misery is a virtue. It isn't. It's only a challenge to be conquered. When a sheep was slaughtered in those days, every part of it was used, the wool, meat, bones, everything. So when the scripture says we are sheep to be slaughtered, it means God wants to use every part of us for a purpose. Have any talents or hobbies? God can use them. If you have a voice or hands, God can use them too. Ask for His direction, and follow where He leads.

If you think you don't have anything to offer, remember God made the universe out of nothing. Bring Him your nothing and see what He can do with it.

Some may believe themselves too damaged or lacking sufficient faith to be accepted by God, but He never turns away any who honestly seek Him.

Isaiah 42:3 - A bruised reed Hewill not break and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He willfaithfully bring forth justice.