Welcome to the first of my articles on the topic ‘Afraid’. In this article, we will walk through a real-life example of people who were in precarious situations and see how they dealt with it. So without much further ado, let’s dive straight in.
Have you ever been surrounded by so much trouble, that you feel like you won’t survive it? Or you will lose everything you have earnestly worked hard in life for? Well, the thing is these critical moments in life are bound to happen maybe in business, education, marriages, etc. No matter the field that you are in, you may encounter these moments. The question is how should you respond to such situations. Should respond through fear or should you respond as a Christian?
To answer this I would like to take two different scenarios. The first is a record of the event that occurred while Jesus and His disciples embarked on a journey across the sea(this is taken from Mark 4:35-41). What happened was Jesus and His disciples journeyed to an island by boat to perform a task there. Well, as they started their journey, almost immediately, a strong storm arose and this caused so much trouble. The disciples were so scared and worried. They were overwhelmed with fear and hence acted according to it.
Well, what exactly do I mean by they acted by fear?
What the disciples did was technically wise in a way – they tried to lighten the ship probably by throwing things overboard. If they threw their things overboard, from the end of the story, it was clear that it did not solve the problem as they said, “Teacher do you not care that we are perishing?”
What was the best action to take?
This whole time Jesus was in the boat and it was quite alarming that He was asleep. How can you be asleep in such a situation? The lesson here is that you should not be moved by the situation. The situation should rather be moved by you. Do not take situations because you are afraid that something bad will happen but rather you take situations as someone who is in charge of the situation because this is our advantage in Christ – we are in control.
This is why Jesus got up and rebuked the waves and storms. He understood who He is in Christ. He understood that nothing happens to Him but rather He happens to all things. His response was from a place of authority and as a result, His victory was assured.
How can you do this?
First of all, when surrounded by trouble, turn a blind eye to all that is happening around you and focus on Jesus. Remind yourself of His ability. Remember that the battle is His. This is why your victory is assured because it does not depend on your ability but on God’s. I am not saying that you should ignore situations or people that need your attention but that in everything you do, you remember who you are in Christ and be assured of your victory in Him.
This assurance or faith does not come from just reading or hearing from others, you need to read the Word yourself and discover these truths for yourself, this way it goes deeper into your spirit. This way, you are more convicted. This is why the disciples failed to handle the situation because they had heard the message but they had not yet taken it for themselves and believed in it fully. This is why Jesus said, ‘Why after all this time they still had no faith?’
Another thing to remember is that these situations prevent you from attaining what God has installed for you. In this scenario, it was preventing the disciples and Jesus from going to deliver the demon-possessed man. So why accept defeat?
David’s Response
The second scenario is from Psalm 56. It is mainly about David and how He was in a very crucial circumstance. David was basically in a situation in which if the right situation was not taken, He would lose a lot of what He had attained. Anyways, from the text, you will notice that the words He spoke were not really about fear but about confidence in God.
How did David get the victory?
One point is that it was because of what he had inside of Him. Whichever way you choose to act is determined by what you have inside you. If you have the Word in you, you will act based on it but if otherwise, you may be as well as defeated by the situation. What we take into our minds matters. You are not of this world, you are an ambassador of the kingdom of Heaven so to be effective, you need to grow in the knowledge of He that sent you.
The Secret of Trust
In verse 4 of Psalms 56, the secret of trust is shown. The psalmist said that He praises God’s Word so as a result, he trusts God. Praise means to respect, give reverence, and hold in high esteem. Before you can trust someone, you must be sure that that person will be able to keep their word. This trust is not because someone told you that the person can be trusted but because you have found it out for yourself.
This was King David’s reason for trusting God. He knew that God would not go back on His Word. If you walk in this level of understanding, you will have no reason to fear because you know that God will not leave you hanging.
All you need is God
The last point I would like to note is David’s conviction of the power of God. Still, in verse 4, the psalmist uses an adjective to show a vivid understanding of man’s power in comparison to God. He uses the Word ”mere”. This builds our confidence even more as we know that God’s power is truly all we need.
Now in verse 11, the psalmist now refers to man as “man”- without the use of the word, ‘mere’. In the earlier scenario, the psalmist saw man as a body that is functioning only on earth. However, in this verse, he sees man as a spirit meaning having some other spiritual backing. But yet in this case as well, He still says, ”In God, I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?”.
SUMMARY
The devil throws different situations our way hoping that we will be overcome by one through fear. Fear is his tool to pull people down but it is up to you to live by fear or based on what God’s word has said about you. We ought to live our lives boldly as David did because we trust God and we know His ability prevails.
Thank you very much for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it and understood the message being conveyed. If you have any questions or any contributions you want to make, feel free to do so in the comment section. Also, please share with others and continue passing on the Light.
