Don't Be Afraid

 January 9, 2024

Tuesday

Luke 12:32 (NASB 2020) 32 Do not be afraid, little flock, because your Father has chosen to give you the kingdom.

Doesn’t it seem that the Lord has to say “Do not be afraid,” a lot of times to His followers? That’s because we are afraid.

What is there to fear? If you listen to mainstream media, just about everything. There is the economy, the climate, the crime, the drug crisis, texting drivers, new illnesses and whatever else can be construed to cause us fear. Evidently, we gravitate toward this fear or the media would stop. Fear sells because we buy it.

Yet, the Lord is still our shepherd. He still loves us with an everlasting love. He still holds onto us through all our fears. He still sits on the throne. He is still more powerful than anything we can fear.

We are not going to receive safety in our circumstances. We can have peace and be ultimately safe in the Lord’s hands. We can walk through the valley of the shadow of death because He is with us. Even if we die, He carries us to Himself. Even if we receive word that our disease is terminal, His kingdom awaits us.

Sure, there are things that we will not like. I had a lady tell me that the cancer she had gone through with its many surgeries and subsequent pain was horrendous. She told me that it made her cling to the Lord. She said to me, “I don’t ever want to go through that again, but I, also, wouldn’t give up that experience for anything in the world.” Her walk with the Lord was so sweet, she didn’t want to lose it. She attributed the crisis as the impetus that drew her so close to her Lord.

So, it appears that we might have some bad days. We might have some things that will try to scare us. We need to look beyond them to see that the Lord has promised to give us the kingdom. It is an exchange beyond imagination.