What does it mean to fear not?
It is not permission to glibly run red lights. It does not mean leaving your front door unlocked at night. It does not mean that the China Virus doesn’t know where you live. There are a lot of extremes that it does not mean.
It means,
(Psa 23:4 KJV) Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.It means staying out of downtown if you can. It means washing your hands, if you can. It means making sure you have gas, a fully charged cell phone and maybe some extra water before you start over the desert in summer. But notice that he is going through the valley, not around.
Many things require a healthy respect. Most of them also require to be kept in perspective. When I read the promises of God I realize that they include both a promise of His protection and a promise of persecution. The courage comes when you understand that He will be there to help you through the persecution. How? He has more ways to work it out than you have excuses not to live in faith. That is a lot. One of my favorites is,
(Psa 91:11 KJV) For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.Sometimes the help is obvious. I can remember when my dad put a credit card in my hand when I left on a trip. Sometimes it is simple and assumed faith. I remember the feeling of knowing my family would be there for me when I returned home with no job and a pregnant wife.
We are told repeatedly in the Bible to “fear not.” A quick search turned up 63 times in the KJV. There is one exception. We are told to fear God ten times. It isn’t a contradiction. Believing the second is the reason we can live the first.
homo unius libri
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are welcome. Feel free to agree or disagree but keep it clean, courteous and short. I heard some shorthand on a podcast: TLDR, Too long, didn't read.