Matthew 10:5a,
21-33 –
Fear. What
is it? FEAR is "False Evidence Appearing Real". And
Courage? Courage is fear that has said
its prayers.
In most
marriages, there is the need for both the nerd and the free spirit. The Free
Spirit will jump without thinking, The Nerd is always thinking, always
double-checking, always asking questions. “And
then what?” “And what if that doesn’t
work?’ “Have you ever considered this
happening…Or that happening?”
There is much
for us to fear these days. Our farmers must now wait as crops mature and grow.
But how about the weather? You cannot control it. And the markets. You cannot
control them either.
Whether it’s
the student starting out for the first time to new ventures or the couple
contemplating the next phase of their lives the future can be a little bit
scary, a lot more scary - a combination of frightening and alarming.
Some of our
fears are legitimate and justified. You can fret and worry about your family,
your health, your employment, your future. And now a global pandemic. Need we
express fear as in genuine concern – yes…Panic, of course not.
At times,
our fears are simply unreasonable. Paranoid.
Irrational. Uncalled-for. Fear can make us feel powerless. You can talk
all you want about the futility of fear. It does not make fear go away.
Your
feelings are sometimes deeper that any rational arguments. So how do we deal
with this emotion of fear? Faith that deals with this basic feeling is the cure
for fear. Address your fears. But trust
also in Christ. It is faith that conquers fear. Faith conquers fear because…
Faith is
certain we shall overcome – Fear God and you lose the fear of judgment for sin.
Jesus tells us, “A disciple is not above
his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to
be like his teacher, and the servant like his master.” Vv. 24-25
Pain,
prison, and death are not the greater dangers after all. But disobedience and
conformity to this age are the great dangers. Jesus loves you so much He was
willing to suffer for you, that you might have faith to suffer with Him.
When He
suffered for you, He gave what you needed to suffer with Him. He gave you
forgiveness for your sins. "This is
my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of
sins." Matthew 26:28
Your guilt
before God is gone. God is on your side. And, since God is on your side, what
can man do to you? Jesus has loved to suffer for you, that you might have faith
to suffer with Him.
Fear cannot
be totally eradicated. It cannot be stripped from the human psyche. Fear is a
part of our make-up. It’s a question of what and whom do you fear. Trust Christ
not man. When Christ is feared, all other fear disappears.
O Lord, whose gracious presence never fails
to guide and govern those whom You have nurtured in Your steadfast love and
worship, make us ever love and adore Your holy name; through Jesus Christ, Your
Son, our Lord, who livers and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now
and forever.
Prayers from Lutheran Service
Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis
Consider the Birds of the Air,
copyright © Ed Riojas, Higher Things
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