I have read that the most frequent command issued in Scripture is some variation of do not be afraid/fear not/do not fear. Seems that fallen mankind has struggled with this since, well, the fall. Thankfully, the command not to fear (whether personally directed to an individual or more general) is often accompanied by a reason not to fear. "Do not be afraid, FOR..." and then comes a reason. (Though not all of the reasons are introduced by the word "for.")
What are some of those reasons? Read below. These are admittedly snatched out of their contexts, but I'm including the references if you'd like to dig further and see that others before you have had reasons for fear too. But as David Powlison notes, though we do have reasons for fear, we have greater reasons to not fear. Here are some of them. Do not fear, for...
Lots of good comfort there and that's not all. Do some of your own digging and you may find more, find repeats of some of these, and don't forget to look for the places where the assurance precedes the command not to fear. May God give us grace to trust him and take him at his word.
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At least I'm consistent.
I started writing this post about David Powlison's article, "Peace, Be Still: Psalm 131" from his book, Seeing with New Eyes. In it, he explains that short, 3-verse Psalm in a way that helps us come to grips with what might be keeping us from peace. I commend the article to you. You may not agree with everything, but I think it will stir you to think and God may well use it to help you move from a noisy soul to a more quiet soul. I started to type out his translation of Psalm 131 alongside what he calls its "anti-psalm." It is a helpful way of considering the sources of noise and stress and anxiety in our lives and our need to rest quietly in God's faithful hands. But as I was typing it, I decided to do a search of the blog to see if I had done this before. Sure enough, I found this post from 2013. So click on over if you're trying to diagnose the noise and lack of peace in your life and maybe you'll find some help. (I'm not the first to be helped by Powlison's work on Psalm 131. This is from Justin Taylor back in 2009.) Welcome to the new GBC website! We've done a refresh on the site. Most of the content is the same as or similar to what was here before. But the design and the way some things are arranged are new. You'll find the menu in the upper right and it should stay visible as you scroll down the page. There's also a footer at the bottom of each page where you can navigate to different pages on the site.
Here are a few highlights:
So have a look around and see what you think. Not everything is complete, but we're working on it. If you have any comments, ideas, or suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comments below. A huge thanks to Ben Hueni who donated his time and expertise to help us update the site! May it be used for the glory of God and the good of the church! Isaiah 26:3 "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."
Philippians 4:8-9 " Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me-- practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you." Simple enough. Keep my mind fixed on him and think on what is good. So why am I not at perfect peace? Why does it too often seem like the God of peace is not with me? Turns out it's easier to keep my mind fixed on other things. Two hour movie - check. Baseball - check. Mindless social media scrolling - check. But you know what cuts through even sports and entertainment for me? I can focus laser-like on suffering and anxiety or the two combined. I can think about my suffering and misery and be afraid all through the day and wake up thinking about them at night. If I would fix my mind on Jesus like I do on my anxiety, I imagine I'd be a lot closer to the realities described in Isaiah 26:3 and Philippians 4:8-9. In talking about fear and anxiety I've said this before:
That's really good advice, and I stand by it, but turns out it's really hard (which I actually talk about in that post linked above; I apparently need another reminder). With the sin remaining in my heart, it is still a battle to incline my mind toward the things I know to be true; to keep my mind fixed on God. It is easier to let anxiety and fear wash over me. It's easier to meditate on my suffering and wallow in self-pity and despair. So we find it's a battle to keep focus to pray. It's a war to read carefully God's Word. It's a struggle to meditate on the truth found in God's Word. It's hard to lay in bed and silently recite Scripture (not to mention memorizing it in the first place). The Bible talks about spiritual warfare for a reason. It's not just a neat metaphor for the Christian life. It is the reality of the Christian life. I'm realizing more and more that knowing the right thing to do doesn't make it easy to do. Lacking peace and rest in God? Me too. Let's go to battle. (And let's do it together. We weren't designed to do it alone.) I think most believers would generally agree that we have various roles and callings to fulfill in our lives, and those must be prioritized.
Some might combine 1 and 5 by working out at the local gym intentionally seeking to be a witness of Christ. They're stewarding their body; they're involved in the community and are following the command of Christ in the great commission. Another might focus in on 4 by leading a small group Bible study or discipling and mentoring younger believers, which also is part of category 1. Parents might serve at the school their kids attend in an effort to be good community members (5), to reach out to neglected children (1), and be a light for Christ (1). Someone else might give themselves to seeking freedom for women trapped in the sex trafficking industry (1,5). Some might use their extra time for volunteering at a crisis pregnancy center to help save unborn babies and give true support to moms facing painfully difficult decisions (1,5). A family might make the life-altering decision to enter the foster system and begin ministering to needy kids and their families (1,3,5). Or another family could pursue adoption of an orphan from another country or our own country (1,3,5). Still another person might advocate politically at the school board, local, state, or national level for policies and laws that will enable Christians to live peaceful, quiet, godly, dignified lives (1 Timothy 2:2) and against policies and laws that would work against that goal (1,3,5). And on we could go. (If I've left out your niche, sorry!) Isn't God good to give us such a variety of desires and gifts to be used for his praise as we walk through this world! In some ways, it might be great if we could all go all-in on all of those things and more we haven't mentioned. But the reality is that you and I are gifted differently and have finite amounts of time, energy, and resources. That means we can't do all of those things, and we shouldn't feel guilty about that. If you don't go to another country and tell people about Jesus, it doesn't mean you've violated Matthew 28:19-20; there are other ways to have a role in fulfilling the great commission. If you don't lobby for pro-life legislation, it doesn't mean you've broken the 6th commandment. If you don't adopt a child it doesn't mean you've run afoul of James 1:27. If you don't throw a block party it doesn't mean you've failed to love your neighbor. Not everyone will be able to give the highest emphasis to each of these areas. But they can participate in other ways that fulfill God's calling on our lives to preserve life, spread the gospel, love the orphan and widow, etc. Some will be all-in on one area. Some will be in at a certain level on various areas. But we can't do it all to the max. And that's ok. Now, if you have no heart for the widow or orphan or missions or evangelism or the preservation of life at every stage, that's not ok. But there are different Biblical ways to express that heart. Given those realities, here are a few suggestions on how we relate to and view one another in our various pursuits as we follow Christ.
For those of us that do battle with fear and anxiety, here are some quick helps to fight the fear that so easily rises in our hearts. The thing is, I know these things, but sometimes still fail to make use of them when fear strikes (or lurks or operates at a low grade). So I need a reminder and thought I'd share it with you. These are not meant to be detailed; just a quick list of strategies, possible places to turn, and things to think about. You can dig further into them by reading the resources/authors noted, and for some of them I've linked where I've written about them in more detail. But remember that just knowing them won't help much unless we put them to use by God's grace.
Sources First a few helpful resources from which some of these thoughts are drawn. Men like Ed Welch, D. Martin Lloyd-Jones, my dad, and others have been a great help to me in understand how God's Word applies to my fear.
Fear Fighters
What would you add? The next time fear strikes, may we be ready to fight it off and not give in. I remember when my dad turned 40. There was a surprise party, some surreptitious doings to keep him from finding out, and (if I recall correctly) he was actually surprised. I don't remember if I thought then about my own eventual arrival at the age of 40. I kinda doubt it. I was 11. As they say, youth is wasted on the young, and I don't imagine I was far sighted enough at the time to contemplate the years intervening childhood and 40hood. I'm thinking about it some now though. Today is my 40th birthday. It's a bit surreal to remember a milestone like that and now to pass it myself.
But 40 is here, ready or not. And if the law of averages holds for me, I'm over half way done with life. Average life expectancy for a male in our country is 77.5 years (depending on where you look; that's CIA data for 2016). So anyone wanting to needle me for being over the hill, that ship has sailed. I went over the hill at 38.75 years, around May of 2016! What have I done with those days since my dad turned 40 (or since I was born)? In some ways a lot. In other ways, not nearly enough. So here are 40 thoughts for turning 40. Just kidding. That would be way too much. How about a few pretty miscellaneous reflections looking back over the past 40 years (or however much of it I can remember)...
The bigger question, the one I can do something about is: What will I do with what's left?
My dad isn't 40 any more, but he is still faithful to his Savior and has left in his wake a crowd of people who are the better for having known him. Including me. And my sons. And if, when my sons turn 40, the same can be said of me, I'll be grateful. I have a friend who has his pilot's license and a plane. One of my favorite things to do is go flying with him. We flew today, but it was different than before. For the first time, we were an Angel Flight. (Angel Flight Central's mission is to "Serve people in need by arranging charitable flights for health care or other humanitarian purposes.") We supplied the 2nd leg of a 3 leg series of flights to take a woman to the Mayo Clinic. What a cool experience, and I hope there are more opportunities in the future. Below are a few miscellaneous observations from our trip today (not all related to being an Angel Flight and not necessarily all spiritual).
Ever notice this about Hebrews 11:32-38? And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets--who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. There's a dramatic difference between the two parts of that list. As the author challenges the Hebrews with the need to persevere and not turn back, in chapter 11 he calls witnesses to the stand to testify to the reality and significance and possibility of enduring faith. But he doesn't have time or space to tell in detail about every person of faith in their history. So towards the end, he gives a quick summary of some others. That's where we find the shift highlighted above: his list goes from great accomplishments to great suffering.
What distinguishes the two parts of his list? Some might say faith. Christians with strong faith enjoy great triumph and success as they walk through this life. Christians with weak faith are more likely to struggle and suffer. But that's NOT it (proponents of the prosperity non-gospel and others to the contrary). You know what comes next in this passage? Hebrews 11:39 "And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised..." Fully receiving what was promised awaits the return of Christ. But for our focus in this post notice that faith is not what distinguishes those who are triumphing from those who are suffering. Both groups, rather, are commended through their faith. Some escape the sword (v. 34) by faith and others die by the sword (v. 37) by faith. Since faith, by definition, looks away from self to the Savior, there is no room for pride or a martyr's complex among people of faith. The one currently accomplishing great things by faith may not look down the one who is suffering great things by faith. The one suffering is not to be envious of the one triumphing. God calls different ones of his children to face different things, and they are all fully dependent upon the object of their faith. The ground at the foot of the cross is level. All believers must wake up in the morning and acknowledge that they can do nothing in their own strength. Whether intentional or implicit, the propagation of a view that says the distinction between suffering and triumphing is based on the strength of one's faith is dangerous and damaging. It can lead to pride and arrogance for those enjoying good things and despair and hopelessness for those suffering. The truth is there's great comfort here for sufferers. People of great faith have suffered greatly. And for those triumphing, the glory goes to God alone. God may call a person of faith to accomplish great things or suffer great things or somewhere in between or some of both. All of these are to be commended for their faith, and all can rest in and bring glory to the object of their faith: the faithful God.
All of these are people I am glad to say I knew to some degree or another. But they all departed this life too soon, all within the last five months. I was at three of the funerals and saw part of another online. The brief word given to each of them above can't begin to describe who they were. If any of them were your friends, you know that. The crowded churches at their funerals (in some cases, standing room only) tell you that. What can we say in the face of such loss?
I wish we didn't have to think about death. But praise the sovereign God that we have Christ Jesus the conquering Savior to give us hope as we face that last enemy. |
When I quote Scripture In this blog, unless otherwise indicated, the quotations are usually from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission.
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