Fearful of the World?

 Even when I must walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no danger,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff reassure me.

Psalm 23:4 

 

 There was a program I used to watch that always began with the creepy voiced presenter, Vincent Price, asking, "What are you afraid of?"  Then there would be 3 vignettes consisting of tales meant to scare the viewer.  As a child, their ply worked!  I would hide under my bed, that is, until one of the tales included a critter crawling out from under the bed to wreak havoc. Yet, I was right there every Friday evening watching this program and getting scared again. Perhaps there was something wrong with me that I kept going back to the source of my fear instead of remembering it was merely a television program. 

 

Now, this is NOT a political commentary, I write this solely to present some points to ponder.  If we look at our nation, we begin to fear the future.  We seem to be tearing our nation apart.  Night after night there are riots and there seems to be no end to the violence.  But WE have a choice, we can hide under the bed or we can kneel before God.  Sometimes, in the midst situations we see on the news and social media, it's easy to wonder if God knows what's going on.  Let me assure you, not only does God know what's going on, He already had a plan in place before time began for just such a time as this.

 

We NEVER read in Scripture where God tells us that we will have a nice, peaceful, uneventful stay on this planet.  In fact, over and over we are reminded that while we are here we WILL have trouble; we WILL have trials; we WILL have tribulations!  But best of all, we ALREADY have God on our side walking with us through this dark valley of chaos.  And you what? That fact ticks our enemy off!

 

Let's do something: When you see something on the news that is frightening, stop right at that moment and talk with Abba! "I don't know why this is happening, Abba, but I am trusting YOU to deal with the situation. Take my fear, my worry, my stress, my anxiety and fill me with the peace beyond understanding YOUR word promises. I leave it in Your hands."  

• When you see a Law Enforcement Officer, smile and pray for them right then and there! 
•  When you see children, pray for them right then and there.  
• When you see someone in need, help them if you are able and pray for them right then and there.

When we learn to pray immediately for others, we will find our fear disappearing and we will see God moving!