Fear And Trust

We are told to cast all our anxiety on Him because he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). While it is nice to be loved, it is who loves us that can make all the difference. If it is someone who can not protect me, the fact that they love me does not ease my anxiety in the face of danger. To be loved by a pauper does not relieve anxiety over financial distress. Health can decline, but unless the one who loves you can heal you, your anxiety over your sickness is not reduced. The relationship between anxiety and caring is affected directly by who it is who cares for us.

When the One who cares for me is able to protect me and shield me from harm (Psalm 11:1; 32:7), the fact that he cares for me reduces anxiety. I need not fear because He is with me (Joshua 1:9). If the one who cares for me is a rich and generous, I need not fear hunger or poverty (Deuteronomy 8:18, Haggai 2:8). There is no need to be anxious about sickness if a healer cares for me (Psalm 103:3, Jeremiah 17:14). Even death need not be feared if the resurrection and the life is the one who cares for you (John 11:25-26).

Anxiety is caused by not trusting the one who cares for you in the area you are feeling stressed. You may trust God with your finances, but still be anxious over health issues. You can trust God to protect you from harm from enemies, but become anxious over an empty cupboard. Anxiety comes because our area of stress is not matched by our area of trust. In order to be free from anxiety we have to realize the one who cares for us CAN care for us in everything. We have to have complete trust in Him (Proverbs 3:5, Isaiah 26:4). Anxiety comes from not trusting, and complete trust removes all fear. Trust Him to care for you in everything, and you will fear nothing (Psalm 56:3, Isaiah 12:2).

Rest For Your Soul

Nature provides many analogies for spiritual truth. Jesus used many examples from nature to teach his disciples. He used the soil to illustrate the principles of receptivity (Matthew 13:3-8). He used wind to illustrate the work of the Holy Spirit in the new birth (John 3:8). He used trees and their fruit to show us that what is in our heart will show in our lives (Luke 6:43-45). The fact that nature and God’s Truth are illustrative of each other should not surprise us, because God is the source of both. The author of creation is the author of salvation.

With this in mind, it seems to me that we can use nature to illustrate the need for rest. Just as God provided a season of rest for nature, so we would be wise to see God’s design for rest in our own lives. Trees and plants have seasons of dormancy, or rest so that when the rest is over, and spring comes, they can burst forth with vitality. When considering the soil, we see that a period of rest is beneficial. God commands that the land be given rest from the demands of productivity for a time to afford it restoration (Lev. 25:4).

In the same way, we were designed to have seasons of refreshing through designated periods of rest (Deut. 5:14). Rest was not only a command to obey, but a needed reprieve to enjoy. It is a needed relief from those things that burden us (Matthew 11:29), and a source of refreshing (Exodus 23:12).If we fail to get the required rest we run the risk of becoming physically and spiritually drained.

The world today is a busy place. So much to do and so little time. Our busyness spills over into our rest. Is it any wonder we are tired? Take a lesson from nature. God created all there is and then ceased from his work. He then commanded a Sabbath Rest for his creation. It  is not that God wants to steal our time and burden us with less time to get our work done. It is that we were created with a need for rest. We ignore it to our own detriment (Isaiah 28:12), but when we turn back to God seek His ways we find rest for our souls (Jeremiah 6:16; Matt. 11:29).

The Great Physician

 Health is something we often take for granted until it is withdrawn. When we are healthy and strong we feel self-reliant. When we are sick we become weak and helpless. Physical illness brings our limitations and dependence into focus. This can be a good thing because we are reminded that our sufficiency rests in God. When we are sick, it is God who sustains us (Psalm 41:3; Isa. 38:16). We feel the need of him more than ever before. Even so, the truth is that even when we are healthy and strong it is still God who sustains us (Psalm 3:5; Heb. 1:3).Though many seek wellness from the hand of doctors, it ultimately comes from God (2 Chron. 16:12;). Doctors are not always able to heal (Mark 5:25-26), but when God heals it is done (Jer. 17:14).

Our spiritual heath is much the same as our physical health. Others can give us help along the way, but it is ultimately only God who can give us spiritual soundness. If we truly turn to God from sin we can be restored (2 Chron. 7:14), but if we refuse to hear God's call to repentance and health we suffer spiritual sickness (Isa. 6:10) and ultimate death (Jas. 1:15). Death is the end all of diseases. Physically, we seek to treat the body to keep alive and well in a physical sense. The problem is, apart from Christ there is no cure for death. Though we treat the body, death is inevitable in a physical sense (Heb. 9:27), but spiritual death is not unavoidable. Life in Christ as the answer to both physical and spiritual death (Rom. 6:23). Jesus is the great physician. Only he can answer death with life (Jn. 11:25). He is the ultimate healer (Isa. 53:5).

Birthday Girl

My daughter is nine years old today. She was so excited she could hardly contain herself during church. The giggles were bouncing off the walls as she and her friends gathered around the table for Ice Cream and Cake and the birthday girl opened her gifts. As I watched the lively bunch together, I could not help but remember the day she was born and how we nearly lost her.

Born four and three quarters pounds, diagnosed with a serious bowel infection, the doctor gave a grim prognosis and offered little hope (Jer. 8:22). We were told that the next twelve hours were critical. If she could hold on until then she would have a slim chance of recovery. My wife and I turned to God in prayer, our dependable source of hope in times past. We called all the prayer chains we knew to call and bent our knees (Psa. 34:6, 86:7) to the one who gave us this little girl and asked him to preserve her life. The atmosphere at the neonatal unit was drastically different when we returned. The grim face of the doctor was changed to perplexity. He was not a man of faith, but he had never seen such a condition turn around so quickly. He had expected our little girl to be barely hanging on at best, but now she was not only hanging on, she was thriving (Psa. 103:4). He could not explain the difference. His medical books and scientific mind predicted sickness and possible death. When told of our prayers he offered no objection. He had no alternative answer for such a quick recovery.

Nine years later I am still rejoicing over how God answered our prayers. We have had nine years of Joy and she is a testimony to God's grace. He has brought hope from despair, health out of sickness, turned sorrow to joy, and snatched life from the grip of death. Sarah is a living testimony to the power of prayer. We are truly grateful to God for our little girl (Psa. 107:8; Phil. 2:27).