Romans 8:38-39

Fear. We all have things that we are afraid of, and many of them are legitimate. Chapman University has begun an annual study of American fears, and the results from the second annual survey that have recently been released. The random survey questions cover 88 fears in various categories, such as crime, economic, environment, government, illness, claustrophobia, public speaking, and even questions about clowns.

They found that in 2016 Americans were most afraid of “Corrupt Government” by a whopping 60.6% The next closest fear was of a “Terrorist Attack” which bore a percentage of 41% with “Not having enough money for the future” coming in as number 3 with a percentage of 39.9%.

Clearly, our world is full of fearful things, and this has been true throughout all of history. There have always been tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, severe ice storms, etc. Then, too, some of the things that mankind is capable of today were not dreamed of 1000 years ago, or even just 100 years ago, but even then there were fearful things. Consider the 1^st Century Christians and the persecution under Nero or the harm done to Christians in the Middle Ages, or even more recently, to the persecution of Christians in many countries of our world today. These are fearful times.

But, sometimes, looking back on our fears, we laugh at how we could have been frightened at all. For example, we watch the original television Star Trek series now, 50 years after its original airing in 1966, and we wonder how we could have been frightened by the special effects in that program! They are now so “cheesy” to us, but then I well remember being glued to my chair in fear that Captain Kirk was going to be vaporized!

My Grandmother was beyond fearful and well into terrorized when she lost track of me while she was babysitting when my parents were at some appointment away from the house. She was from a small town in Wisconsin and we lived in the big city of Chicago.

Downtown Chicago. This picture was taken from the top of the Prudential Building, “Top of the Rock”, in the early 1960s.

She was uncomfortable in such a large city and she just “knew” that there were evils hidden around every corner. One problem she had was that she remembered that the infamous gangster Al Capone lived in Chicago, and when my parents returned home, they found her in the middle of the street, screaming my name, crying that Al Capone had kidnapped me. (Actually, he had been dead for about 4 years at this point, but that was irrelevant to Grandma.) I had simply walked away from the house with my puppy and had gone to a house around the corner to show my friend’s Grandmother my puppy. She invited me in for cookies and I was watching the Howdy Doody Show on TV unaware that Grandma was in the street screaming.

Fears can cripple us from rational thinking. They are disabling and they damage our lives in ways that are too numerable to count. Fears of flying, fears of spiders, fears of going outside, fears of being in large crowds, fears of high places, fears of being in small spaces. The number of fears is too great to count because they are the fabrication of our own minds and each of us are unique.

Certainly there are fears that are normal. If we are in the woods and are bitten by a poisonous snake, we need to take immediate action to remedy the problem. But the fear of potentially being bitten by poisonous snakes should not stop us from enjoying God’s creation in nature, and even in the woods.

Scripture has quite a bit to say about fear. In Isaiah 35:3-4 we read:

Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”

In Joshua 1:9, God is directing Joshua in how he is to lead the people after Moses’ death. God says:

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

This peace and lack of fear is available for the believer in Jesus Christ and in our God, as is seen by David’s psalm:

Even though I walk through the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Psalm 23:4

I suggest that the ultimate antidote to fear is found in Romans 8:28, 38-39:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. … 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.

Read that again – NOTHING will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God is omnipotent and omniscient … He is all powerful and all knowing. Therefore, He not only knows what is going to happen to us, He has it in His control. His purposes will be fulfilled even if they are difficult for us to understand and to live through. We have to have faith that our Heavenly Father will not put more on us than we can handle (although at times in my life I have thought that perhaps He had more confidence in me than I had). During the rough times in my life, I have rested on Paul’s comment about his own “thorn in the flesh”:

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

2 Corinthians 12:7-9.

Fears – yes, we all have them. But thanks be to God they don’t have to be disabling. No, we are more than conquerors through Christ who saved us. When we are weak, then God is strong through us. When we are afraid, He will give us courage. God has promised that His grace is sufficient for us, no matter what the trial might be.

Listen to the song “Perfect Peace” as sung on the album Scripture Memory Songs – Overcoming Anxiety. The words are taken from Scripture and provide balm for troubled hearts.

And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:7 [KJV]

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Isaiah 26:3 [KJV]

Father, I pray that these words from your Word will provide comfort and blessing to those who read them and that Your perfect peace will rest and abide on us even during tumultuous times because we have confidence that You are in control.

Just can’t get away from it this week. One of our grandsons turned 13 and the next day our daughter turned … well just say she is still less than 40. Then we have Valentine’s Day, and the next day another grandson has a birthday, turning 9 years old. Just can’t get away from it.

Child sleeping at the table (C) — Child asleep at the porch table.

This little guy on the porch just turned 13!

Baby Liz standing at table (C) — Young child standing by holding on to the side table, taken a while back!

This little girl is … well, several decades older than she was in this picture!

And this little guy is now 9 years old.

Asleep in swing — Child asleep in swing at the day care center. To tired from playing!

I really am not talking simply about aging, although that certainly stares you square in the face sometimes.

I’m talking about LOVE. When birthdays come, we rehash and revisit the day of that blessed occasion. Pictures sometimes are produced but, even without the Polaroid or digital image, we remember and we smile. Children are God’s gift to us.

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Psalm 127:3-5 ESV

I have heard it said that grandchildren are a gift from God presented as a reward for not killing your own children when they were teenagers! I don’t believe that for a moment, but I do believe that there is a special bond between grandchildren and their grandparents that the children cannot understand. How often do we hear (usually with a fake pout on the face) “You didn’t let me do that when I was a kid!” Our response is, of course, “You don’t understand. This is not my child — it is my grandchild. There is a difference!”

And, of course, love between parents and children, between grandparents and grandchildren, between husband and wife and between all the other significant people in our lives is celebrated at Valentine’s Day. I understand that this is a day most likely created by the greeting card industry, but it is a good day and I’m glad we have it. In our hectic world, we don’t take the time to say “I love you” often enough. So celebrate your love with your Valentine and then remember to continue the celebration for more than one day!

The reality is, however, that our celebration of love upon one’s birth or throughout the child’s life, or on the special day created for such celebration, pales miserably when compared with the love that God has for His children. Consider just a few of the hundreds of passages in Scripture that speak of God’s love:

The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,… “

Exodus 34:6 ESV

Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever.

Psalm 136:26 ESV

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person–though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die– but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:7-8 ESV

Easter in Canterbury (C) — Easter in Canterbury, England

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 8:38-39 ESV

Notice that last passage — Paul says that he is convinced, he is sure, that nothing in creation can separate us from the love that God has for us through Christ Jesus our Lord.

The world may think we are irrelevant. Society may write us off as being of no value. Your boss may not value the effort that you put into your work every day. Your family might take your service to them for granted, never saying a positive word about how you look, what the meal was like or anything that you have done for them. You may have been abandoned and rejected by those you love.

But, Beloved, you are loved.

God, the creator of the universe and the One who holds the universe, including your life, in His hands, sent His only Son to be a sacrifice on the cross in an act of atonement for sin. He did not die as an atonement for His sin as He was sinless. No, the wondrous truth is that Christ was the sacrifice for your sin and for my sin. Read Romans 5:7-8 again.

What incredible love God has for us that He would send His Son into this filthy, sinful world so that God’s justice would be satisfied when sin was paid for and so that His grace could then extend to sinners who believed on the name of Jesus as their Savior, Lord and King.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16 ESV

I pray that this offering by Selah of the song “How Deep The Father’s Love For Us” [with lyrics] will be a blessing you.

This Valentine’s Day while you tell those around you that you love them., be sure to praise the Lord for His love and grace. In fact, let praise to God be the first thing you express every day! Try this as an experiment. I suspect your day will take on a whole different dimension!

Father, I praise your holy Name for your love and mercy extended to me on a daily basis. I thank you for sending Jesus to be the sacrifice required to pay for my sins, and I thank you for your Holy Spirit’s presence in my life to guide and comfort me as I walk through this world. May I worship you in thought, word and deed and may praise be continually on my lips, even the first thing in the morning.