May 2, 2016

Safety Comes With Jesus

So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

-- Isaiah 41:10

There’s a lot to fear in this world. I know. We’re not supposed to be afraid. It shows a lack of trust in God. Yet fear remains.

I think the reason we are told not to be afraid -- like 365 times -- is because God understood we would have a problem with fear. He wanted to reassure us that He is near and in control.

Fear can be about so many different things. Every day I pray for a baby I do not know, a tiny little guy fighting for his life in Boston. He’s only five months old and has already dealt with so many health issues. I can’t imagine the fear his parents feel, fear that they will lose him, fear that there won’t be enough money to sustain them as they stand vigil so far from home.

So I pray, as do countless others. Because I know that God is there with them. I know that God will carry them through this unknown journey.

An elderly couple in a neighboring county were recently targeted, assaulted, robbed. Finally, the men have been arrested. But where is our sense of security? When did things like that begin happening in rural areas where most everybody knows everybody else?

Maybe these things have always happened. It’s just that now, because of instant news access and social media, we just know so much more. Sometimes that it good. Sometimes it isn’t.

Another sweet couple struggled after both of them lost their jobs. They were within one payment of losing their home. Their kids were afraid, asking their parents where they would live. Finally, one of them got a job and their home was saved.

The fear remains deep inside. They’ve learned that you can do everything right -- no credit card bills, no debt beyond a mortgage, savings to last a few months -- and still have your financial world fall apart. They never expected both of them to be laid off at the same time. They never expected to have so much trouble getting another job. They know it could happen again.

And, yet, God is ever present. The couple with the baby? An anonymous donor paid the $25,000 cost to fly their son -- on life support at the time -- to the special hospital he needed for surgery.

A reason to smile, to hope, to believe, in the midst of a fallen world. God is with us. Yahweh. Lord. Savior. King. Jesus wins. We’re safe because we rest in His arms.