What shall it profit a man if he should gain the whole world and loose his soul?
Matthew 16:26
There is so much emphasis on the importance of preparing for any and all potential catastrophes that threaten our daily lives. We are bombard by advertisements for insurance and various services to help prevent Disasters, Ill Health, Financial Downturns, Accidents, Home Burglary, Identity Theft and many many other such things to the point of Paranoia. We are constantly reminded of the threat of loosing our Security, our Health and Wealth and our Way of Life but the Bible say's over 365 times, “FEAR NOT”, enough for every day of the year. All this fear and worry and all for the “Temporary”, the things that won't matter one hundred years from now much less one second after we die.
All the while doing everything under the sun to deal with the stress that all of this concern causes with
Medication, Therapy, Drugs, Alcohol and any other kind of Diversion to cope with it all and missing the BIG Picture, “The Eternal”.
We are reminded in scripture, Colossians 3:1&2 to “Set your affection on things above, not on the things on the Earth”.
But most people will not or cannot do this because they are only natural and not spiritual.
1 Corinthians 2:14 tells us, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
This is totally understandable when it comes to an unsaved, unregenerated man or women who has not been born again of the Spirit of God and has not yet been enlightend by the Holy Spirit.
But what about so many Christians who fall into this same trap of Fear and Concern?
To many of us like Peter when Jesus appeared walking on the water, called him to step out of the Boat and walk to him on the water by Faith, got his eye's off of Jesus, looked at the Storm around him and feeling the wind and seeing the waves became afraid and begun to sink.
He lost FOCUS, Focus on the one who called him out.
For the “Natural Man” in Sin, there is little he can do about all of these Fear's but for the “Born Again Believer”, We have a Choice. We can decide to “Set our affection on things above”.
We can either be like Mary or we can be like Martha.
The story is found in Luke 10:38 thru 42. Martha was so overly concerned about the natural cares and concerns of the task at handthat she overlooked the far reaching importants of the life giving wisdom that Mary was receiving from the very source of life, Jesus himself.
There is nothing wrong with dealing with the legitamate concearns of daily life, we are not called to be irresponsible. For your heavenly Father knoweth that you have need of all these things” Matthew 3:32.
II Timothy 1:7 say's For God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power and love and of a sound mind.
1John 4:18 say's There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear.
! John 4:8 tells us, He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is Love.
Fall in love with Jesus, make him your primary focus and FEAR NOT. :)
Randy Davenport
