Jesus Tells Us that prior to his second coming men’s hearts would be failing them for fear. So then should we expect him shortly? Today we find that men are full of fear. SARS disease, terrorist alerts, homeland security, nuclear bombs in North Korea, chemical and biological weapons, you name it. Men are full of fear. Just yesterday it was on MSN that the World Health Organization issued recommendations to postpone non-essential travel to Beijing, Shanxi and Toronto and this will be in effect for at least three weeks, twice the maximum incubation period of the SARS virus. Thousands of residents were reported to be fleeing Beijing, jamming the airport and train stations. Major League Baseball warned its teams and players competing in Toronto against signing autographs, riding transit or visiting hospitals. Alarm in Singapore was growing over an outbreak among vendors at the city-state’s largest vegetable market, and people violating a quarantine will get 6 months of jail without trial. Beijing’s Ditan Hospital was sealed on Friday, its workers under observation for the SARS virus. The Ditan was the third Beijing hospital to close in recent days. The closures were among the latest action this week — along with the closing of public schools, and a mass quarantine of 4,000 more people.
Well, at the moment not only SARS is creating fear in man. We live in a world that is filled with crises that generate many forms of fear: war, terrorist threats, natural disasters, death, loneliness, shaky marriages, divorce, illness, accidents, robbery, and abductions. Abductions for ransom seem to be the order of the day in our beloved Guyana. Even the Chief of Security for the US embassy was kidnapped recently for a ransom. Guyanese are living in fear; fearful of being kidnapped, robbed or killed.
So what is fear? Fear is a state of mind. Sometimes we are fearful when there is no danger while at other times we are calm when really we are in great danger but are unaware of it. Many people are afraid to fly but feel comfortable in the boat, however, where do they meet their disaster? Right in the boat. Why? Because the boat had a faulty bottom; they weren’t aware of that.
Now, really and truly, as soldiers of Christ are we supposed to be fearful? If God be for us who can be against us? The Bible tells us in Romans 14:8, “Whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore or die, we are the Lord’s.” All parts of our life are under God’s oversight and supervision. Nothing will ever happen to us that is not permitted by God. David said that “the Lord is on my side, I will not fear” (Psa. 118:6).
All this being true, why should we fear anything that concerns our personal safety? This doesn’t mean that we are justified in doing something that is foolish like running into an oncoming vehicle. Caution is a fundamental part of our makeup and it is highly critical to our survival. Without caution we would all likely kill ourselves as children doing foolish things. We teach our children how to be careful and cautious. Our teaching prevents them from doing foolish things such as running into a busy street, touching a hot stove or putting metal objects into electrical outlets. As we use our common sense and caution if disaster strikes, we must remember that if God is ready for us to rest, nothing can prevent the hand of death. Peter was miraculously brought out of prison by an angel of God the night before he was to be killed. However, as we are led to believe, he was later crucified with his head down. God does not always intervene, but all things are working together for our ultimate good. He knows what’s best.
It is true that we fear many things such as war, terrorist threats, natural disasters, death, loneliness, shaky marriages, divorce, illness, accidents, wicked people, robbery, and abductions. Whenever we do, we must remember to pray, to have courage, to have faith, and to love God. Jesus said in Luke 12:32. ” Do not fear little flock.”
Of course, Jesus was not telling us that we must not fear God. Jesus didn’t want us to be fearful of man or natural things. Ecclesiastes 12:13,14 tells us: “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every work into judgement, including every secret thing, whether it is good or whether it is evil.”
If man should fear the Lord, then we will have no reason to fear war, terrorist threats, robbery, abductions, etc. Proverbs 8:13 tells us: “To fear the Lord is to hate evil.”
Here are some valuable verses of scripture that mention fear.
“The fear of the Lord is wisdom, and to turn from evil is understanding” (Job 28:28).
“Fear the Lord, all you his holy people; for those who fear him lack nothing” (Psa. 34:9).
“The fear of the Lord is life; he who is full of it will rest untouched by evil” (Prov.19:23).
The life of Jesus Christ is the perfect example of how we should fear the Lord. He lived a sinless life; he was untouched by evil. He was not fearful of man. Matthew 26:36 to 39 tells that while he had natural concerns and feelings and apprehension, yet he did not fear. He was confident in his Father’s power and purpose. “For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross” (Heb. 12:2). He displayed ultimate trust in God his Father. What an outstanding example Jesus is for us.
Jesus was not afraid to give up his life for us. As we reflect now on that sacrifice, let us be reminded that we should always fear the Lord, especially in these difficult and fearful times.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One