I recently started reading Genesis for my devotions. I say this because it has been at least a few years since the last time I did that…not devotions, but Genesis for devotions. In Genesis 15:1, it said the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you.’” If I am correct, this marked the first time in the Bible God said to someone to not be afraid.
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Then God said to Hagar in Genesis 21:17 – “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid.”
He said to Isaac in Genesis 26:24 – “Do not be afraid, for I am with you.”
He said to Jacob in Genesis 46:3 – “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt.”
He said to Moses in Numbers 21:34 – “Do not be afraid.”
He said to Joshua in Joshua 1:9 – “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid.”
He said to Gideon in Judges 6:23 – “Peace! Do not be afraid.”
He said to Elijah in 2 Kings 1:15 – “Do not be afraid.”
He said to Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20:15 – “Do not be afraid.”
And this is only through 2 Chronicles.
Do you think God is trying to tell us something?
What these verses show me are two things. The first thing I see is that throughout time, people were afraid. The earliest people in Genesis were afraid. Thousands of years later today, people haven’t changed. We are afraid too. And people in between Genesis and today were afraid, too. People stress themselves, they don’t breathe easy, and they don’t sleep at night. Humans throughout time react in the exact same way. We are all afraid. The second thing I see is that throughout time, whenever people are afraid, they take matters into their own hands, and hope for the best. People don’t naturally go to God and ask God. It was not natural for people in Genesis. It is not natural for people today.
Trusting God may not be the most natural thing for us to do. But it should and needs to be. Hear me carefully. The Bible says God is the Supreme One. There is no one above him. Everything stops at him. He sees, knows, and is in control of everything. During a pandemic, we all know how to trust the guidance and guidelines from experts in the medical profession. How come we don’t know how to trust the one who created the world and knows everything that is in it? It makes no sense that we call God our Lord, but we do not trust him. It is not wrong for us to be afraid. What is wrong is that when we are afraid, we do not call on the Lord.
I believe God is saying to you and to me, “Do not be afraid.” We are really not going to stock up. We are really not going to hoard hand sanitizers and toilet paper. We are not going to let ourselves be stressed. We will stay calm. We will sleep well at night, because we know who is our God. The best place for you and me to be in a global crisis is to trust him. He will lead us in the right path. Let’s encourage each other and learn a little more together how to do this today.