Be Not Afraid!

Psalm 27:1 (ESV)
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

I heard recently (haven't confirmed for myself) that there are 365 instances in the Bible where God tells us to not be afraid. That's one verse for every day of the year. Maybe He's trying to tell us something??

Life on this earth is uncertain at best. We have no guarantees of tomorrow, of health, of good fortunes. We do have God's promise that He will never leave us or desert us.

In the United States today, I believe there is a mentality that says "I deserve this." We think we are entitled to good health, good fortunes, lost of stuff and the ability to do whatever we want. We are always concerned about our "rights."

As Christians, we give up our rights and we trust God to care for us. John 12:25 (ESV)
"Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."  Don't be afraid! God is your light and your salvation. He is the stronghold of your life. Give up the fear and let God handle it.

Easy to say but how do we do that? Prayer, constant reminders, more prayer. I think as women, as mothers, as wives, we tend to be more afraid, more concerned about all the people in our lives. And I think we need to be constantly reminded to turn it over to God, to give Him complete control.

God is the Creator. He made us. He knows what we need before we know ourselves. And He has provided for us. The things in this life that we think are so important will be burned up at the end of days. All things here rust and break down, even our own bodies. But God has given us a soul, a spirit, that longs to be with Him. We have been given the opportunity to spend eternity with our Creator. That should be our goal in this life.

So. . . when we are faced with the trials of this life, how do we handle them? Do we fret and stew about the things that "aren't right" or do we remember God's promises to us? Be not afraid!