By: Dale Weckbacher
2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given
us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
NKJV (1)
Most will agree that we live in a world dominated by
fear. Even in Paul’s time, fear was
prevalent which is why he included this instruction to his pupil Timothy about
the source of fear. Paul understood that
Timothy, as a young preacher, would encounter many fearful things and found it
important to instruct him about the source of fear. We too must understand the source of fear and
not dwell in the fear farm but instead move into the faith farm.
In today’s fear farm there is much to fear:
1)
Physical harm or death – Since 9/11 and even
before, the fear of physical harm is very real.
This is why we lock our doors and why many carry guns or some form of
weapon to protect themselves from physical harm. However, since 9/11 this fear of physical
harm has expanded from being something individual to something national as we
now live with the fear some terrorist or group of terrorist may attack us and
kill thousands of innocent people as they did on 9/11. This very real fear is why securing the
borders and maintaining a strong military is important to a majority of
people.
2)
Poverty or losing everything we have worked for –
The economic collapse of 2008 caused many to lose their wealth as they saw
their 401K turn into a 201K or worse.
They also saw the value of their real property decline to where many ended
up upside down owing more than the value of their property. This problem was then compounded as many lost
their jobs or businesses, their source of income, and actually lost their
property through foreclosure. This very
real economic collapse has caused many to live in fear of losing all and being relegated
to living a life or poverty and dependence, something many are already having
to do as record numbers of individuals have dropped out of the workforce and
live on some form of government entitlement.
3)
Pandemic – As Ebola has now left Africa and
arrived in the United States and Europe, we now live with the very real fear of
a global pandemic killing thousands as Ebola has already done in Africa. Even though I live in the United States,
which has what I believe to be the best, healthcare system in the world, there
is still much to fear. There is no cure yet
for Ebola and even the best healthcare system in the world can become
overwhelmed and run out of resources in a pandemic.
Jesus encouraged His followers in John 14:1-4 when he said:
"Let not your
heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father's house are many mansions; if
it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I
will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be
also. 4 And where I go you know, and the
way you know."
NKJV (1)
Jesus wants us to move from the fear farm of this world and
join Him in the faith farm where we can have:
1)
Protection – Jesus said He would never leave us
or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5) (1) . In fact, even in death He promises to be with
us (Psalm 23:4) (1) . Our God is a mighty fortress of protection (Psalm
18:2, 31:2, 3, 71:3) (1) . However, even the best fortress of protection
is useless unless we come into the fortress.
If you have not done so already, I encourage you to enter into the
fortress of God’s protection by accepting God’s free gift of salvation by
making Jesus Christ Lord of your life (Romans 10:9-10) (1) .
2)
Provision – Jesus promised that all of our needs
would be met through His riches in glory (Philippians 4:19) (1) . Since God created everything we see and have,
this is a very real promise because God, unlike any person or government, has
the resources to provide whatever we need.
However, just as we must climb into the fortress of God’s protection to
have protection, God’s provision hinges on our pursuit of the Kingdom of God
and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33) (1) which includes
giving of our tithes and offerings to him (Malachi 3:10) (1) .
3)
Physician – We can have access to the great
physician who demonstrated his ability to heal during his earthly ministry
where he healed many sick (Matthew 4:24) (1) . This promise of healing was then extended to
us all through the stripes Jesus bore when he was whipped (Isaiah 53:5, 1 Peter
2:24) (1) . This does not mean Christians are immune from
death for all people have an appointment with death (Hebrew 9:27) (1) but for those who
have chosen to make Jesus Lord of their lives, death is not something to dread
but means that we are transferred from this world dominated by fear into the
presence of God (2 Corinthians 5:8) (1) . In Christ, our death will come at a time
appointed by God and not at the hands of some pandemic like Ebola unless that
is God’s will for our lives. We can
therefore live in faith that if our appointed time of death is not due to
Ebola, God will protect us from that pandemic and miraculously heal us if we contract
Ebola and it is not his will for us to die that way.
There is no need for us to live in the fear farm dominated
by physical harm, poverty, and pandemic for we can, through a relationship with
Jesus Christ, enter into the faith farm of protection, provision, and access to
the great physician. Join me in moving
from the faith farm to the fear farm.
1. Bible Gateway. Passage Lookup. www;biblegateway.com.
[Online] Bible Gateway. [Cited: October 11, 2014.]
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/.
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