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There’s something to be said for the crippling effects of fear. We all have days when fear reigns supreme in our lives, and as I sit with my morning coffee and peruse the global news headlines, I become anxious. As I think of family and friends who are going through rough times with their health, careers and finances, my heart aches with worry. Frankly speaking, life as we know it is fraught with circumstances that cause us trepidation and a myriad of butterflies in our collective stomachs.
As a believer in Jesus Christ, my soul tells me not to worry because of what the Lord says in the book of John. “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many sorrows.” (John 16:33 NLT) But wait, there’s more…
The first part of this verse means that with Jesus at our ship’s helm, that our lives and hearts should be filled with peace despite the sufferings we face on this earth. The Lord openly acknowledges that life isn’t always going to be that proverbial bowel-of-cherries that we all prefer it to be; that with God and the gift of his only-begotten Son, we are not to fear our life’s circumstances. God reminds us that he is moving in our midst’s and that we are simply to trust and be filled with His infinite peace.
So, why then am I sitting here at my kitchen table stewing and fussing and distressing over things I have no control over? The world as we know it can be a very big and very scary place at times, and if you’re anything like me, it can become a significant challenge to control an overactive imagination. As I pour a second cup of coffee into my, ‘PAPA BEAR NEEDS A COFFEE’ mug, I habitually realize that I’m completely and totally ill-equipped to solve the jitters that invade my thinking. Let’s face it—heebie-jeebies in one’s heart and mind is no fun indeed. Am I right?
Now check out the last nine words of John 16:33. “But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (NLT)
Jesus is telling us that we need to take heart because He alone is in complete control of this troubled planet and every detail on it—that by already paying the price on the cross for my sins and yours, that we truly need not fear. Personally, I’d rather a heart filled with God’s peace than one filled with distress and nerve-shredding fear.
As I write these words and listen to my church’s online worship service, a familiar bible verse pops into my head during one of the songs. “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10 NLT)
With the divine understanding that there is simply nothing better than Jesus, I implore you to lay all of your messy baggage at the foot of the cross, that the God of our highest mountain experiences is also the God of the deepest and darkest valleys we can ever go through. So, you see my friend—we need not be afraid. Why? Because God has you and me and everything that exists in this chaotic world, squarely in the palm of his hands. Remember that everything going on in your life and on this planet has already passed through his very capable hands.
What can you and I do when fear reigns supreme? We need to surrender ALL to JESUS and exchange WORRY for HEAVENLY PEACE.
Paul Smyth
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