DO NOT FEAR (Shirley Chacko, Arlington)
Published on 10 April, 2020
There is a story about Martin Luther going through a period of discouragement and depression. For days his long face graced the family table and dampened the family’s home life. One day his wife came to the breakfast table all dressed in black, as if she were going to a funeral service. When Martin asked her who had died, she replied, “Martin, the way you’ve been behaving lately, I thought God had died, so I came prepared to attend His funeral.”
Her gentle but effective rebuke drove straight to Luther’s heart, and as a result the great Reformer resolved never again to allow worldly care, resentment, depression, discouragement, or frustration to defeat him. By God’s grace, he vowed, he would submit his life to the Savior and reflect His grace in a spirit of rejoicing, whatever came.
There is one certainty regarding every trial we will ever face: God is still in control. We have not encountered the one problem He cannot fix. The seas still part and the mountains still crumble at God’s command. Remember that the Answer to Fear is found in Mathew 20:10 “Do not be afraid”. In fact, there are 365 FEAR NOTS in the bible, one for each day of the year.
Months after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, psychiatrists reported that people who lived thousands of miles away from those tragic events were still coming to them, unable to sleep and paralyzed by fear. We live in a world shaken by fear, apprehension, and anxiety.
After Jesus had been put to death, His disciples huddled in fear behind closed doors, filled with uncertainty and despair. But suddenly they found themselves in the presence of their living Lord, and at His first words their fears disappeared: Peace to you. — Luke 24:36
When we focus, instead, on the steadfast Savior, who ever lives and ever reigns. There is nothing to fear when our faith is in the One who controls it all. The answer to our individual fears is found in a personal faith in the living, glorified Lord.
And the answer to collective fear is a corporate faith in the living, glorified Lord. The answer to national and international tensions and fears is for the world to know Him who is alive forevermore. We do not worship a dead Christ. We worship a risen Christ, who has broken the power of sin and death and hell and is alive forevermore. Why then should we fear?
Even in the midst of the COVID 19 Pandemic, God is accomplishing miracles. God values our transformation. Until we are uncomfortable, desperate, and despairing, we don’t often recognize and seek His power. Romans 8:28 says – “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Some of us may wonder why our routine lives have been interrupted. The COVID 19 has affected the entire world, hundreds have died and many loved ones are sick. However, God is very much aware of what is happening in the world. When we have an interruption in our life, we have a choice to view it either as an irritation or view it as an opportunity.
When we view these interruptions as opportunities, it allows us to connect the opportunity with the mission of God. Much of Jesus’ life in the gospels was made up of interruptions. If you read in Mathew chapter 9 – when Jesus was teaching to a crowd, a synagogue leader interrupts him asking for his daughter to be brought back to life. Before Jesus could respond with a word, he was interrupted by the woman with the issue of blood who touched him for her own healing by faith. Her touch draws his power which interrupted Him again.
We see that Jesus’ first miracle was an interruption at the Wedding reception and He was interrupted by his own mother. But Jesus knew His purpose. He was to serve God by serving others. Jesus used these interruptions and used them as opportunities for healing and ministry. Interruptions were a source of fulfillment of ministry opportunities for Jesus where people’s needs were met.
Sometimes we think that we are in charge of our time. But when we gave our life to Christ, we gave him all the years, months, weeks and days and hours of our life. We gave HIM our time. God has a purpose for such a time like this. We need to connect our time with opportunities for God’s mission.
Couple of practical things that we can develop during this shutdown and staying at home is to -
1. Renew our Prayer Life and read the Bible more.
We should all pray for the virus to be contained and eradicated, and for the sick to be healed. We should hold up the grieving to feel comfort and the world’s medical staff to endure. We should also pray for hearts to change. There are several elderly parents in our country who are not able to visit with their grandchildren – so let us remember to pray for them. Let us pray for our younger generation and that many will rise up to be missionaries.
Let us remember to pray for our country America, we are blessed with so much medical help here. But there are many poor people in our motherland who are living in densely populated slums in different parts of our nation. 6-8 people living together in one room makes social distancing impossible with no running water, sanitizers and face masks.
Let us meditate on the Word more and more each day and claim His Promises.
2. New Outdoor Habits
This is a perfect time to begin new outdoor habits, develop a routine of taking walks. We all have outside settings available to us, but often we are too busy to use them regularly. With a flexible schedule, we can begin an outdoor habit and if we maintain it, I am sure it will produce huge rewards for our emotional and physical health in the future. Being outside also provides a tangible atmosphere of worship and praying as we walk. But we need to maintain social distance and use our masks too when we are outside.
3. Keep connected and renew our Relationships
This pandemic and social distancing has changed our mind sets. It reminds me how much we need meaningful, physical connection to the people we know and love. We can Face Time with loved ones on the phone. Let us encourage one another and stay connected. One way to connect would be to - Remember the number 311 – think of 3 people each day of the week, send 1 text to each of them at 1 pm in the afternoon and let them know that you are thinking and praying for them. This can cause a chain of connection to be built on a personal level.
In the midst of everything let us be the church, be filled with faith and spread the hope of the Resurrection Power to those around us.
Her gentle but effective rebuke drove straight to Luther’s heart, and as a result the great Reformer resolved never again to allow worldly care, resentment, depression, discouragement, or frustration to defeat him. By God’s grace, he vowed, he would submit his life to the Savior and reflect His grace in a spirit of rejoicing, whatever came.
There is one certainty regarding every trial we will ever face: God is still in control. We have not encountered the one problem He cannot fix. The seas still part and the mountains still crumble at God’s command. Remember that the Answer to Fear is found in Mathew 20:10 “Do not be afraid”. In fact, there are 365 FEAR NOTS in the bible, one for each day of the year.
Months after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, psychiatrists reported that people who lived thousands of miles away from those tragic events were still coming to them, unable to sleep and paralyzed by fear. We live in a world shaken by fear, apprehension, and anxiety.
After Jesus had been put to death, His disciples huddled in fear behind closed doors, filled with uncertainty and despair. But suddenly they found themselves in the presence of their living Lord, and at His first words their fears disappeared: Peace to you. — Luke 24:36
When we focus, instead, on the steadfast Savior, who ever lives and ever reigns. There is nothing to fear when our faith is in the One who controls it all. The answer to our individual fears is found in a personal faith in the living, glorified Lord.
And the answer to collective fear is a corporate faith in the living, glorified Lord. The answer to national and international tensions and fears is for the world to know Him who is alive forevermore. We do not worship a dead Christ. We worship a risen Christ, who has broken the power of sin and death and hell and is alive forevermore. Why then should we fear?
Even in the midst of the COVID 19 Pandemic, God is accomplishing miracles. God values our transformation. Until we are uncomfortable, desperate, and despairing, we don’t often recognize and seek His power. Romans 8:28 says – “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Some of us may wonder why our routine lives have been interrupted. The COVID 19 has affected the entire world, hundreds have died and many loved ones are sick. However, God is very much aware of what is happening in the world. When we have an interruption in our life, we have a choice to view it either as an irritation or view it as an opportunity.
When we view these interruptions as opportunities, it allows us to connect the opportunity with the mission of God. Much of Jesus’ life in the gospels was made up of interruptions. If you read in Mathew chapter 9 – when Jesus was teaching to a crowd, a synagogue leader interrupts him asking for his daughter to be brought back to life. Before Jesus could respond with a word, he was interrupted by the woman with the issue of blood who touched him for her own healing by faith. Her touch draws his power which interrupted Him again.
We see that Jesus’ first miracle was an interruption at the Wedding reception and He was interrupted by his own mother. But Jesus knew His purpose. He was to serve God by serving others. Jesus used these interruptions and used them as opportunities for healing and ministry. Interruptions were a source of fulfillment of ministry opportunities for Jesus where people’s needs were met.
Sometimes we think that we are in charge of our time. But when we gave our life to Christ, we gave him all the years, months, weeks and days and hours of our life. We gave HIM our time. God has a purpose for such a time like this. We need to connect our time with opportunities for God’s mission.
Couple of practical things that we can develop during this shutdown and staying at home is to -
1. Renew our Prayer Life and read the Bible more.
We should all pray for the virus to be contained and eradicated, and for the sick to be healed. We should hold up the grieving to feel comfort and the world’s medical staff to endure. We should also pray for hearts to change. There are several elderly parents in our country who are not able to visit with their grandchildren – so let us remember to pray for them. Let us pray for our younger generation and that many will rise up to be missionaries.
Let us remember to pray for our country America, we are blessed with so much medical help here. But there are many poor people in our motherland who are living in densely populated slums in different parts of our nation. 6-8 people living together in one room makes social distancing impossible with no running water, sanitizers and face masks.
Let us meditate on the Word more and more each day and claim His Promises.
2. New Outdoor Habits
This is a perfect time to begin new outdoor habits, develop a routine of taking walks. We all have outside settings available to us, but often we are too busy to use them regularly. With a flexible schedule, we can begin an outdoor habit and if we maintain it, I am sure it will produce huge rewards for our emotional and physical health in the future. Being outside also provides a tangible atmosphere of worship and praying as we walk. But we need to maintain social distance and use our masks too when we are outside.
3. Keep connected and renew our Relationships
This pandemic and social distancing has changed our mind sets. It reminds me how much we need meaningful, physical connection to the people we know and love. We can Face Time with loved ones on the phone. Let us encourage one another and stay connected. One way to connect would be to - Remember the number 311 – think of 3 people each day of the week, send 1 text to each of them at 1 pm in the afternoon and let them know that you are thinking and praying for them. This can cause a chain of connection to be built on a personal level.
In the midst of everything let us be the church, be filled with faith and spread the hope of the Resurrection Power to those around us.
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