Learn to live fearlessly in the Lord

Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

“I cannot” or “I’m scared.” There is a huge difference between those two statements. Dare I say, the difference can mark the separating line between salvation and condemnation? Let me explain.

There was a rich young ruler who came to Jesus one day. You can read about it in Matthew 19. But in the middle of this discussion, we see this exchange.

“Jesus said to him, ‘If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’ When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”

The rich young ruler answered Jesus by his actions. And his answer was a resounding, “I cannot. I will not sell all my things for they are far too important to me. They give me security, purpose, meaning, joy and comfort. They are what I desire to serve. Not you.”

If Jesus gave this same command to you, what would you say? Would you say, “I cannot”? Or would you say, “I’m scared”? Would you want to obey him but inside be scared about what would happen to you? Would you lose sleep wondering how you would eat, what would happen to your life, where you would live and the like? But would there be a part of you that desired to obey the Lord because you knew that in him you would have fullness of joy and that through him, God would supply all of your needs? Would you understand at least in part that if Jesus called you to this that it would be for your good, his glory and because it was what was best for you? Would you understand that in the long run you would rejoice in his calling you to such as you saw how he used it?

See, there is the difference between a believer and a deceiver. Believers, at least in small measure, want to obey. Deceivers will only obey as far as it doesn’t mess with their idols and their obedience is not from the heart.

Can I tell you a little secret? Believers get scared on this side of eternity. Remember when Jesus calmed the storm in Matthew 8:23-27? What emotion were the disciples struggling with? Fear. And do you remember why they struggled? The Lord tells us in verse 26. It was their “little faith” that caused the fear.

My friends, what a wonderful gift we have in Jesus. And what a marvelous truth to be remembered that our salvation is not based on the size of our faith, but the greatness of the one in whom it rests. Our job as believers is to grow to know him more fully and in the present that often happens as we walk in obedience in steps surrounded by great fear. But then we come to see the same truth that the disciples came to see more fully and every other follower of Christ for all of history has seen. Our Lord is exactly who he says he is, will do exactly what he says he will do and loves us and will care for us more wonderfully than our wildest imaginations could ever conceive. The fear disappears as we come to know him more fully and truly.

So, when Jesus calls you to use your time, talent and treasure in the ways he does so clearly through Scripture what is your response? Is it, “I cannot”? Or is it, “I am scared but I want to”? For those fellow believers who are scared like me at times, may we encourage one another and press on as we come to see the truth that in Christ there is nothing for us to fear. The sovereign Lord of all creation has us in his perfect care. Fear became an emotion humans struggled with in the Garden of Eden after the fall. (Genesis 3:10). But perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4:18). Christ came to reconcile us to God and in so doing showed us that for the believer, we need not fear anything because we are loved by God as his children.

Have a great rest of the week and press on. May we all live fearlessly for the Lord! The Rev. Jon Tripp is the pastor of God’s Grace Bible Church in Malvern. His column appears every other week in the Daily Local News. To contact him, call 610-441-2387 or send an e-mail to pastorjon@godsgracebible. org. the church’s website is www.godsgracebible.org