“Never be afraid to trust and Unknown future to a Known God.” – Corrie Ten Boom

Fear is one of the enemy’s great weapons, and he planted the seeds of fear all the way back in the very beginning of our story:

“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden, but the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?”’ He answered,’ I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid’” Genesis 3:8-10

Beginning at that moment, fear has been a constant plague in this fallen world. It has the power to distort our view of reality and paralyze us, and even cause us to spiral into a decline away from our Heavenly Father. That is why the most repeated command in the Bible is DON’T BE AFRAID.

In 2 Kings 6, Elisha woke up to a scene that would make any of us freeze in fear. Rather than being greeted by the freshness of a new dawning day, he was greeted by the sight of armed soldiers and horses and chariots. They had his house surrounded, and they obviously meant business.

You see, Israel was at war with Syria, and it was not going very well for the Syrians. The Israelites seem to know every secret plan the Syrians make. In fact, the king of Syria becomes convinced that there is a traitor in camp! But it wasn’t a spy - the Israelites had a prophet named Elisha who knew everything the Syrians were doing.

Thus, the Syrians came to the only logical solution—eliminate Elisha. They sent an entire unit of soldiers in the dark of night to ambush the prophet and end his meddling ways. When Elisha and his servant got out of bed, that’s what greeted them, and Elisha’s servant panicked!

We’ve all been there—panicked by life’s unexpected circumstances. The phone rings, or the doorbell rings, or your phone alerts you of “Breaking News,” and suddenly your confidence is shaken and your hope is shattered. You become keenly aware of your own limitations and weaknesses. You’re in over your head. Now what?

Here’s where we must regroup and simply breathe....

Elisha said, “Do not be afraid…” There are those three words again—the same ones often spoken by Jesus Himself. Jesus could speak with confidence, because He was able to see things that our physical eyes can’t detect. Similarly, Elisha added, “…for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” (2 Kings 6:16)

In other words, “They are out-numbered!” The servant’s physical eyes told him differently, but faith informed him that there is more than meets the eye. The Apostle John said something similar to us, “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). There is more happening than meets the eye. That’s why the writer of Hebrews defines faith as being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. We must “see” through faith until the day that our faith will become our eyes.

A cool twist in this story—Elisha prayed that his servant be allowed to catch a glimpse of what was hidden. “Open his eyes so he may see. So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man… and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Elisha didn’t pray that God would show up. He didn’t have to. He prayed for his servant to see what he already knew—that God had been there all along. There was no need to summon Him. They just needed to draw near to Him. 

The Word of God hidden within our hearts is the perfect antidote for our moments of fear and uncertainty! The following are passages that I’ve committed to memory, and I would encourage you to do the same:

• ‍“He does not fear bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord” Psalm 112:7
• ‍“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you, Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.” Isaiah 26:3, 4
• ‍“But when I am afraid I will put my confidence in You. Yes, I will trust in the promises of God and since I’m trusting in them what can man do.” Psalm 56:3, 4
• ‍“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7

FINAL WORD:

It seems that folks sometimes offer biblical encouragements—“fear not,” “do not be anxious,” and so on—as if the heart were a cup full of fear or anxiety that needs to be emptied of those emotions so it can be filled with alternative emotions. (However), it fails to understand that sorrow, fear, and anxiety are not always sinful emotions. In fact, such emotions may constitute appropriate responses to the loss (actual or threatened) of real goods.

The heart is more like a scale. Specifically, a “balance scale,” the kind often used as a symbol for justice because its two sides weigh different arguments and positions in the process of reaching a true and righteous judgment.

A proper use of biblical encouragements and exhortations will take this picture of the heart into account… Instead, biblical encouragements should be offered as counterweights. Doing so might look like this:

I know your heart is (rightly) heavy with sorrow due to the loss of some good thing(s), that it is overwhelmed by present circumstances, that it is uncertain of what tomorrow may bring. However, let me offer you a counterweight, not to remove these emotions (the cup metaphor) but to place them in relation to a larger reality: the reality of God’s sovereign goodness, attention, and purpose, which offer solid reasons for encouragement and hope in the midst of trial.

These “counterweights” do not remove the other “weights” of our hearts. Rather, they provide consolations that enable our hearts to bear the weights of sorrow, anxiety, and fear in this vale of tears, until we arrive at our destination of unmixed, unshakable beatitude in the presence of the triune God.

REFLECT:

In your journal, draw a line down the center of a page. On the left side, write out your greatest fears. Then, on the right side, jot down the facts that emerge from the verses of scripture mentioned in this devotion.