I spoke with a co-worker yesterday who said we’re scared. Yes, indeed. Do we live in fear, or take our fears to God in prayer? “Bow down your gracious ear to me / And hear my cry, my prayer, my plea; Make haste for my protection, / For woes and fear / Surround me here. / Help me in my affliction.” Faith doesn’t remove our fears but invites us to trust in God who knows our plight. “Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?” (Psalm 113:5-6).
“You are my strength, my shield, my rock, / My fortress that withstands each shock.
My help, my life, my tower,
My battle sword, / Almighty Lord— / Who can withstand Your power?”
Look how the poet describes God. Just as he detailed our plight (“my cry, my prayer, my plea,” etc.), so now he gives descriptions of God’s strength. Where we are weak, the great unseen Creator is a fortress to whom we take our fears. “You “are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials” (1 Peter 15-6).
In this Coronavirus crisis, a Christian makes a decision. Cast your lot with God and commend your life to Him, or live outside the fortress of faith where fears lurk everyplace. Understand, saving faith is not a decision we make, it’s a gift of the Spirit, but a person who has been brought to saving faith will make daily decisions to live and demonstrate the trust in God that the Spirit gives. “It is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13).
With You, O Lord, I cast my lot; / O faithful God, forsake me not,
To You my soul commending.
Lord, be my stay, / And lead the way / Now and when life is ending.
(Lutheran Service Book, 734, 2, 3, 4).
“When the cares of my heart many, your consolations cheer my soul” (Psalm 94:19).
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