In the times that we now live, many are in fear and anxiety. Just about all conversations centre on our present national dilemma on safety of the vaccine, limitations of travel, whether we will be able to get essential supplies, family differences between the vaccinated and the un-vaccinated, bringing disagreements and even hatred and separation. But within those conversations, often times one can detect fear and anxiety.
This doesn’t only relate to those people who do not profess any Christianity, but even Christians are fearful and wondering about the outcome of all this. Yes, we as good Bible students know all about the Sunday Law coming, but this pandemic strike and the restrictions that are going with it, has come at us from the left field – from an unexpected quarter.
As I was talking with a friend of late, he made an interesting comment. “We are too concerned about and focusing on the devil, who is just a big bully pushing us around and creating fear in the hearts of people.” And he is most probably more correct than many of us realise. I mean, what makes us fearful? If we are professing Christians, children of God, then why fear?
Turning from the bully who generates fear and who is ultimately out for our death – eternal death, wouldn’t it only make sense to concentrate and focus on our God, who takes away all fear, restores the soul and offers eternal life?
The word ‘fear’ appears in the Bible 385 times – and it encompasses many meanings, such as “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” —Matthew 10:28. However, the words ‘fear not’ with that very meaning, to fear not, appears 91 times. Doesn’t that tell us that repeatedly God has our well-being very much at heart? Just take note of the following verses in Matthew, “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.” —Matthew 10:29-31
Would it not be sensible to come to Christ to get away from the bully? He is offering you to, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” —Matthew 11:28-30
He is offering more than just coming to Him in times of distress, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” —James 4:7,8
“The people of God must be prepared to withstand the wily foe. It is this resistance that Satan dreads. He knows better than we do the limit of his power and how easily he can be overcome if we resist and face him. Through divine strength the weakest saint is more than a match for him and all his angels, and if brought to the test he [the weakest saint] would be able to prove his superior power. Therefore Satan’s step is noiseless, his movements stealthy, and his batteries masked.... Man is Satan’s captive and is naturally inclined to follow his suggestions and do his bidding. He has in himself no power to oppose effectual resistance to evil. It is only as Christ abides in him by living faith, influencing his desires and strengthening him with strength from above, that man may venture to face so terrible a foe. Every other means of defence is utterly vain.” —The Faith I Live By, p.318
God is in Control
So as we face the trauma ahead of us, never forget that God is still in control. Yes, there will be difficulties we have to work through, but if we put our whole trust in our God, He will never forsake us. ”Through centuries of persecution, conflict, and darkness, God has sustained His church. Not one cloud has fallen upon it that He has not prepared for; not one opposing force has risen to counterwork His work, that He has not foreseen. All has taken place as He predicted. He has not left His church forsaken, but has traced in prophetic declarations what would occur, and that which His Spirit inspired the prophets to foretell has been brought about. All His purposes will be fulfilled. His law is linked with His throne, and no power of evil can destroy it. Truth is inspired and guarded by God; and it will triumph over all opposition.” —Acts of the Apostles, p.11,12
Our God has not left His church abandoned. Don’t ever think as the pressure comes upon you personally that God has left you. Even though through all the persecution in the past centuries it seems like God had just walked away and left the world in darkness – the dark ages – don’t take of that spirit. He is with us now just as the quote above states.
In saying that, as the pressure comes on us, it will start testing the ‘metal’ that we are made of. As a Christian, we should know full well that the only way we will get through what is ahead is in Jesus Christ. I really admonish you, get to know your God – personally – get to know Him well.
Look at one who knew God in a very intimate way. “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life. (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.” —I John 1:1-4
Here John is introducing his readers to One he knew personally. He knew the One who was from the beginning, he had heard Him, he had seen Him, looked upon Him, and handled Him – He was (and still is) the Word of Life. John is saying, we witnessed that life and we want to declare Him to you, that you, the one reading this account, may enjoy the same fellowship as we have had, because without a doubt, our fellowship is with the Father and Jesus. John says, ‘I am writing this that you may have joy to the greatest capacity.’
He goes on to say that you will not only have Jesus Christ in you, but the light that He has will be in you and we will have sweet fellowship. Even more than that, if we apply the blood of Jesus, we will be cleansed of all sin.
In this little book of I John, the word ‘love, loved, loveth’ is written 46 times, 27 of them in chapter 4 alone. One of those verses that glow in midst of all the others is verse 18. “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” —I John 4:18
Read this verse well, memorise, then apply it. This would be one of the most significant verses to know by experience. Don’t let the devil steal the peace that God is offering you, even through the current pandemic threats. Don’t let him hatch and breed the fear that is prevalent in our society at present. Don’t buy into it. Focus on our all-powerful God, invite His presence into your life, connect with Him every morning and enjoy His presence all day long.
When Jesus comes back to redeem His faithful, John in this same small book, tells us how we will relate to our coming Redeemer. “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.” —I John 2:28. How will God’s faithful people have such confidence and not be ashamed of Him coming? Because they have spent the time with Him now, getting to know Him, like John, experiencing His presence.
John adds to that just a couple of verses further on, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” —I John 3:2,3
We will not only welcome Him confidently, but we will have the confidence that we will be like Him. That means those who remain faithful will not only have spent time with Him, but have studied and applied His character and made it our own. Isn’t that something to look forward to – to be actually like our Saviour?
Less Focus on Self, More on Christ
So instead of spending our time examining the daily news, being influenced by the media channels and having our conversation controlled and absorbed in the pandemic, let’s spend more time on the solution. “If we thought and talked more of Jesus, and less of self, we should have far more of His presence.” —Steps to Christ, p.102
While that is so true, we do need to realise the devil has power, there is no doubt about that. But on the other hand, we encourage all to lean on Jesus Christ, our Saviour. “We must inevitably be under the control of the one or the other of the two great powers that are contending for the supremacy of the world. It is not necessary for us deliberately to choose the service of the kingdom of darkness in order to come under its dominion. We have only to neglect to ally ourselves with the kingdom of light. If we do not co-operate with the heavenly agencies, Satan will take possession of the heart, and will make it his abiding place. The only defense against evil is the indwelling of Christ in the heart through faith in His righteousness.” —Desire of Ages, p.324
Focus on the power of One mighty to save. “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth…Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you… These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world… I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” —Matthew 28:18, Luke 10:19, John 16:33, Philippians 4:13
In relation to these texts, we add these quotes to add power to these promises.
“Christ guarantees that He will make a man ‘more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.’ All power in heaven and on earth is now given to the Prince of life; yet He does not for a moment forget His poor disciples in a sinful world, but prepares to return to them, that He may impart to them His power and glory. Thus did the Redeemer of mankind, by the sacrifice of Himself, connect earth with heaven, and finite man with the infinite God.” —SDA Bible Commentary, vol.5, p.1150
“Shall we not strive to use to the very best of our ability the little time that is left us in this life, adding grace to grace, power to power, making it manifest that we have a source of power in the heavens above? Christ says: “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.” What is this power given to Him for? For us. He desires us to realize that He has returned to heaven as our Elder Brother and that the measureless power given Him has been placed at our disposal.” —Testimonies for the Church, vol.9, p.186
“Thank God, we are not left alone. He who ‘so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life’, will not desert us in the battle with the adversary of God and man. ‘Behold,’ He says, ‘I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.’ Live in contact with the living Christ, and He will hold you firmly by a hand that will never let go. Know and believe the love that God has to us, and you are secure; that love is a fortress impregnable to all the delusions and assaults of Satan. ‘The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and are safe.’ —Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p.119
“Avoid running into temptation. When temptations surround you, and you cannot control the circumstances which expose you to them, then you may claim the promise of God, and with confidence and conscious power exclaim: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” There is strength for you all in God. But you will never feel your need of that strength which alone is able to save you, unless you feel your weakness and sinfulness. Jesus, your precious Saviour, now calls you to take your position firmly upon the platform of eternal truth. If you suffer with Him, He will crown you with glory in His everlasting kingdom. If you are willing to sacrifice all for Him, then He will be your Saviour.” —Testimonies for the Church, vol.3, p.45
“We cannot have a weak faith now; we cannot be safe in a listless, indolent, slothful attitude. Every jot of ability is to be used, and sharp, calm, deep thinking is to be done. The wisdom of any human agent is not sufficient for the planning and devising in this time. Spread every plan before God with fasting, and with the humbling of the soul before the Lord Jesus, and commit thy ways unto the Lord. The sure promise is, He will direct thy paths. He is infinite in resources. The Holy One of Israel, who calls the host of heaven by name, and holds the stars of heaven in position, has you individually in His keeping.... I would that all could realize what possibilities and probabilities there are for all who make Christ their sufficiency and their trust. The life hid with Christ in God ever has a refuge; he can say, ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.’” —Selected Messages, vol.3, p.364
His Strength is Sufficient
The devil will do all he can to arrest your focus, that your focus be on him to get your attention. He will bully you and coerce you. It may be through government agencies, through the media channels, or perhaps through community groups, church leaders or members, even through family members. All this will do is build fear, fear without a solution, fear without an intercessor, fear without hope of salvation.
So every morning, get on your knees, connect with heaven, invite the Lord Jesus into your day and stay with Him all day. This pattern will give you a great peace as the storms of destruction rattle around you. His grace will be sufficient for all your needs.
“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ” —II Corinthians 12:9
