Discovering Hope When Gripped By Fear

Discovering Hope When Gripped By Fear

By Rob Wiltshire

Has the world gone mad?

Supermarket isles empty; hand sanitizer, tissues, toilet paper, non-perishable items have all become near extinct, and when found seem to be worth fighting over.

Can you believe it? 

If three months ago someone told you there’d be security guards by the supermarket toilet paper isles, and that people would get into literal fights over it; you wouldn’t have believed them would you?

But none the less it’s happening right now.  As the coronavirus spreads, so does this reality.

And the response to all this often is “The worlds gone mad.”

But I don’t believe that’s what’s happening here.  Yes, I get that this is complete madness, but I don’t believe this is the result of a world gone mad.  I believe it’s something else. 

And that is; these are signs of a world gripped by fear.

Jesus tells us in John 10:10,

10 The thief (the enemy/Satan) comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

To be clear; I am not saying this virus is the work of the enemy, and I am not saying it isn’t either. 

What I am trying to suggest however, is that regardless of its origin, the enemy is using it to place fear into people’s hearts. 

And you know what?  It’s working.

He is doing this by stealing their hope, destroying their sense of compassion.  He is killing the sense of community with people solely out to look after themselves. 

The enemy is using this as a platform to steal, and kill, and destroy.  And he’s doing this by inflicting into our hearts a sense fear, a sense of doom.

As westerners we have become so self-reliant.  We have become the masters of our own destinies, and in doing so we have taken up Gods role in our lives.

Our way of living and thinking looks something like this,

“I must look after me;” “I need this at the cost of them.”  “If I don’t have this, I may not survive.”

For a large portion of our population, the current predicament has become all about “I”. 

What is this? 

Its fear outworking, because the god we have created as god of our lives (ourselves), now feels powerless and out of control in the face of this crisis.

2 Timothy 1:7 

7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

A SOUND MIND UNDERSTANDS TWO THINGS. 

That first and foremost is that we need to react with a spirit of love. 

This isn’t the time to fight over what we need; this is the time to band together as community and support one another. 

Sure, be wise and insure you have supplies.  But hording a year’s supply of toilet paper isn’t wisdom, it’s fear and gluttony. 

This is the time to offer to cook people a meal.  If you have surplice of something, offer it to your neighbour.

We see this very example taking place in the 1st Century church.  When there was a need, the church was deliberate at meeting that need.

Acts 4:32-35

32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

Are you suggesting I sell my house?  No, not at all. 

What I am trying to highlighting is, that in the midst of need the need was met by people being moved by a spirit of love rather than a spirit of fear.

The other thing a sound mind understands, is that God is in control. 

It may not feel like or seem like it, but God is working.  God is looking after you.  God is for you.

And when everything seems hopeless, there is hope!  There is hope found in placing our hope, our trust in Jesus rather than in ourselves or our abilities to provide and keep us safe and protected. 

Psalm 91

91 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

I love that; he who dwells in the shelter of the Most High.

Dwelling isn’t a once a week visiting.  It’s a resting, a going, a looking for Gods presence. 

Dwelling in the shelter of the Most High looks like turning to God in prayer when we are fearful.  It looks like worshiping Him when the supermarket isles are empty.  It looks like worshiping Him when we hear of new cases, and when our hearts are filled with fear and anxiety.

It looks like reminding ourselves of Gods presence, and His promises to us.

And you know what I really love?  I love the promise that follows the dwelling in the shelter of the Most High.

5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
    nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.

What won’t come near you? The sense of fear! 

The sense that you’ve been left alone in the dark with no one looking after you.  The sense that the world as you know it is going to end.  The sense that you won’t be able to support your family.  The sense that there is no hope.

Coronavirus is hitting people, killing people, hurting people.  But the number one thing that is destroying us, is fear. 

And here the Psalmist is reminding us, that if we are deliberate and retreat into the shelter of the Most High, to a relationship with Jesus.  That fear will be replaced with faith, and with a sense of hope. 

Coronavirus is being used by the enemy to inflict fear, but God is intending to use it as an opportunity for you, for I, for us, to discover hope.

If that’s you, and you are struggling with just that.  You are terrified.  You are struggling with fear, anxiety, or despair.  Jesus is simply a prayer away, waiting and wanting to fill you with faith, with hope and with love. 

So if that’s you I’d encourage you to pray this prayer from the bottom of your heart.

Jesus, 

Right now with everything going on, I’m struggling.  I’m struggling not to be overcome with fear.  And God right now I realise that I have been trying to take control and in doing so I have lost a sense of hope. 

So God, I pray right now that you enter my heart, that you fill me, lead me, and guide me, into a place of hope.

In Jesus name Amen.

If you need pastoral help.  If you need to talk with me or anyone else regarding all that is going on, please send us an email and we’d love to sit and talk with you, and encourage you with the hope that Jesus has for you and your future.