Have you ever been afraid? I don't meant the "I hope I do well on the surprise quiz!" kind of fear, but rather the intense, paralyzing fear of impending doom. It is no fun to be afraid. People who live their lives in fear have a miserable existence.
Consider a chronically abused spouse who is expected to meet unrealistic standards of housekeeping, appearance, food preparation, accomplishment, earnings, providing or some other task. Failure brings immediate verbal, and often physical, abuse. Past transgressions are never forgotten and are often used as a stick to beat them, constantly reminding them of their perceived shortcomings.
Also, we have read about the person who after being bullied incessantly reaches a breaking point where they decide that they are not going to be afraid anymore and commit an act of extreme violence against their tormentor(s) and innocent bystanders.
Another all too common experience is the person who is battling a life threatening disease...and losing. Tremendous Fear often affects not only the person who is ill but their family and friends as well.
Is there any hope in times of fear? The answer to that question is an unequivocal "Yes!" How many times do we read in the Bible "Fear not...!" Jesus taught that we should NOT FEAR what we will eat, what we will wear, where will we live. Jesus taught that God provides all these things to His natural creation AND God loves us so much more.
Jesus also taught FEAR NOT those who can only harm the body in the here and now but rather FEAR Him who can destroy both the body and the soul for all eternity.
Christians are not immune from suffering. In fact, Jesus taught that His followers, AKA Christians, would suffer in THIS world. BUT He also taught DO NOT FEAR FOR I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD!
So when the cares of this world press in on you, FEAR NOT! Nothing is going to happen to you absent the will of God. Nothing is going to happen to you that will separate you from the love of God. Nothing is going to happen to you that surpasses the power of God! Remember God's love for you is infinite! BELIEVE IT!
WE HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR...REALLY? YES...REALLY!
Such a nice post today as we watch a dear friend move a step closer to slipping into the loving hands of God.
ReplyDeleteGerry - this was a very touching post. As you know, in our line of work, we both have seen certain types of fear - the abused spouse (who is sometimes a victim and sometimes a defendant depending upon what happens), the defendant that realizes that he may go to prison forever (or a really long time, where he may be victimized by other inmates). I have also seen the person that is scared because the family member is a slave to a substance - drugs, alcohol - and has seen that person deteriorate so badly that each second may be their last on earth.
ReplyDelete:)
Hope that retirement is going well...sounds like you are having a lot of time to think and relax - always a good thing,.