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How to Not Have Fear, Worry, or Anxiety

This is something that every person faces. Given today and the uncertainty of this invisible enemy called COVID-19 or Coronavirus. Going through pandemics is nothing new for the Church though it may be something new that we are all facing now. One of the deadliest pandemics that took place was the Black Death or The Great Bubonic Plague that infiltrated Europe between 1347-1351. More than 30-60% of the population died from this catastrophic pandemic. For example, in England alone, the population of almost four million dropped down to two million. The Church survived through this plague and continued on through other wars, famines, and pestilences throughout history.

The answer to not have fear, worry, or anxiety is the same today as it was in the fourteenth century. We can reflect back on the fact that not only God is sovereign over all but we are directed to the true peace that we can have with God. The Apostle Paul wrote these words, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). The believer who has peace with God can have the peace of God as one endures the trials and tribulations of this world.

Lessons from the Past:

B.B. Warfield wrote these words in his book, The Power of God unto Salvation in 1903. Let these words which were beneficial for Warfield’s generation be encouraging to you:

And having once entered into our peace, let us turn and look with new eyes upon this life which we are living in the flesh. These difficulties, these dangers, these trials, these sufferings, how hard they have been to bear! We have deserved no better, but—nay, therefore—how hard they have been to bear! But we have been justified by faith—actually and truly justified by faith—and now we have peace with God. What a new aspect is taken by the trials and sufferings of life! They are no longer our fate, hard and grinding; they are no longer our punishment, better than which is not to be expected—forever. They come from the hand of a reconciled God, from the hand of our Father. What one of them has not its meaning, its purpose, its freightage of mercy and of good? Shall we not follow the apostle here, and, as we find that peace with God has stolen into our hearts and that we are exulting in the hope of future glory, let that glory gild also our present pathway? Shall we not turn with new courage, nay, even with joy, to the sufferings of this present life, crying with him: “And not only so, but we also rejoice in tribulations, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience triedness, and triedness hope, and hope putteth not to shame, because the love of God hath been shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit which was given unto us!

We have peace with God and we then now look onwards towards eternity not with dread but sing with the Apostle, “to live is Christ and to die is gain” and “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it, we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself” (Phil 1:21, 3:20-21). The trials are just momentary afflictions but cannot compare to the glories that await us (2 Cor. 4:17). Because of Christ, we not are only saved by his grace but also will be sustained by his grace.

So how does one not have fear, worry, or anxiety? The answer is to run to the Lord who is sovereign over all!

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The Invisible Enemy

This is a phrase that you probably have heard by now as what the CODIV-19 is being called. This invisible enemy has derailed families, causing chaos and confusion among nations, closed governments, fear and panic in the hearts of millions. This invisible enemy is a threat to all. No one seems prone to the dangers not even the rich and powerful, world leaders, the ones who are nice

But to the Christian, this is nothing new. Yes, the CODIV-19 is something new and serious, but there is something that is way more serious than has stained mankind throughout history. This threat or invisible enemy is called sin, death, and the devil (Ephesians 6:12). The enemy sin has infected everyone. The devil robs and steals joy from everyone. This enemy has broken up families and led people down a horrible path. Sin has separated man from God which is the worst part of the problem of sin.

The psalmist writes:

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’ For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings, you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday (Psalm 91:1-6).

Throughout history that has always been the danger of pestilence. A little over a hundred years ago we faced the Spanish Flu which wreaked havoc on humanity. This is something that has been a threat to humanity. But as the psalmist points out that pestilence is an enemy that stalks in darkness, the invisible enemy, we can have rest because God is our refuge and fortress. Let me encourage you that same truth, we can rest in the shadow of the Almighty, God is our refuge and fortress!

The Invisible Enemy is Defeated

This virus has impacted all of humanity, and the same is true with the invisible enemy sin, death, and the devil. The Christian is reminded that only God can deliver and save and heal the sin-sick person (Luke 5:31). That is why we look to the cross because sin is something that every single human has sinned against God. But God has provided a way through God the Son, Jesus Christ. The one who knew no sin, the only one who conquered sin and death, the only one who could satisfy the payment for our sin-Jesus Christ.

Remember that though these are interesting times, these are scary times, these are unfamiliar times but I am hopeful because the Bible says, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:35, 37-39). Remember not even this virus can separate the Christian from the love of God!

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Turn our Worry into Worship

The future seems unknown and volatile and that can be scary but not for the Christian. The prophet Habakkuk was called by God to proclaim warnings to Jerusalem during a scary, unknown, and volatile time as well. God was warning Judah to turn from their sin of idolatry and to rest in the living God but they were not listening. So, God had Habakkuk warn them of the nation Babylon coming as a result of God’s judgment. Habakkuk was wrestling with this because they were way more wicked nation than Judah and it was going to take place in his lifetime which meant he would be suffering along with everyone in Judah. God responded to Habakkuk’s hesitations with a reminder of his sovereignty. What stands out is how Habakkuk then responds to God. He says, “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places (Habakkuk 3:17—19).

He turns his worry and hesitations to worship of God. We can say, “though the toilet paper is gone and the stores are bare, though the water bottles are limited and there is no food, though we may be quarantined and all the restaurants shut down, I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.”

God is in charge of the smallest atom. Jesus has been given authority over everything and that even means the Coronavirus (Matt. 28:18). Let us turn our worry into worship. Let us turn our fear into faith and though our faith may be weak, it is about the object of our faith, our precious Savior Jesus Christ. He has conquered sin and death and that is far greater than the threat of any virus. He is able!

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How to Raise Children in the Fear of Lord

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Photo by Diana Feil on Unsplash

What do you fear? For some, it may be snakes, spiders, or clowns. Others, it is speaking publicly to being stuck in a small space. We usually associate the word “fear” in a negative sense. We encourage people to face their fears and to be courageous. As Christians we may even say “Fear is a liar.” But, is there a healthy fear that one should have and what does the Bible say about this?
I was reading a passage from the Bible to my children. I knew they would ask me a particular question. I was waiting and ready for them as I saw the wheels in their heads spin and try to process what it means. The part of the Bible I read was from Deuteronomy 6 where Moses is given a reminder to the new generation of Israelites before they enter the Promised Land. The word “careful” or “carefully” appears several times in Deuteronomy because Moses wants these new Jews to live in light of all that God has commanded to be mindful of how they pass that information on.
Deuteronomy 6 begins with, “Now this is the commandment-the statues and the rules- that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long (Deuteronomy 6:1-3 ESV).  I stopped after just three verses and I can tell that one phrase caught their attention. My oldest asked, “Why do you want to fear the Lord?
Continue reading “How to Raise Children in the Fear of Lord”

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Do You Have FOMO

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Photo by Niklas Hamann on Unsplash

Did you know that they have diagnosed there is an actual phobia about missing out in life? It’s a real thing and it has been heightened due to social media. It’s called FOMO-Fear of Missing Out. FOMO happens when you realize that other people are somewhere or doing something that you are not. If has been defined this way by the Oxford English Dictionary as, “having anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on a social media website.”
I didn’t think it was a real thing until recently. We had a big event for our church and many of the staff and fellow pastors went to this event. I needed to stay back to help with Sunday morning services, understandably so, church still needed to happen. I was fine with this and thankful for any opportunity but something happened; I started to see pictures of what the other team members were experiencing and doing. FOMO hit me!  I felt like I was missing out. Do you ever feel like that? For others it can cause depression, discontentment, envy, and anxiety. Continue reading “Do You Have FOMO”