“Amid disquieting dreams in the night, when deep sleep falls on people, fear and trembling seized me and made all my bones shake. A spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body stood on end.” Job 4:13-15
I’d stopped listening to the news. As a friend said about the local network’s way of covering the day’s events, “if it bleeds, it leads.” Hearing all of the bad news night after night made me want to lock my doors and never step outside again.
Amidst the sound bites and cyberspace blasts of all that is wrong with the world, it is easy to have a cowering attitude. But that is not the way Christ calls us to be. We are not to be ostriches burying our heads in the sand, nor cloister with other Christians safely in our pews. We need to see the problems of the world through the eyes of bold faith and then ask, “How can I help?”
Faith vanishes fear. Faith empowers us because we know God is in control and He will, as it states in Romans, work things out for the good for those who believe (8:28). Our relationship with God determines our view of the world. The author of the letter to the Hebrews stated, “God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?’” (13:5-6). We mustn’t let the troubles of the world paralyze His healing power and peace in our lives.
Holy Father God, dispel the power of fear’s grip, which can immobilize us from being Your hands and feet. Instead, instill in us a steadfast faith. Teach us to discern how we can help to bring truth and love to a hurting world. Remind us daily that You are in control so we need not fear or be anxious about what is happening around us. We pray this through Your Son, Jesus, who told us to fear not but to seek Your righteousness. Amen.
“A farmer went out to sow his seed… seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” Mark 4:3b,8b
For years, I’ve been enamoured of farmers. How completely trusting they are as they prepare and seed the soil, row after row. While knowing the crop could be thwarted by drought, pests, or flood, the farmer faithfully sows to completion.
They get up early to tend to their planted seeds, never stopping until they see results. Farmers sacrifice sleep and work long hours to ensure the success of the field they’ve planted. They’ll use fertilizer to boost germination and growth and track weather patterns to time the seeding ahead of a forecasted rain shower.
I am guilty of allowing that seed to sit because of my own hesitation to sow it. I wonder, what if I’m rejected by those I try to share Jesus with? Yet, who would I be if I didn’t lose sleep, time, and popularity to do the hard work Christ already did for me? Giving others hope and sharing the peace of Christ matters more now than ever. I couldn’t live with myself, otherwise.
As Christ-followers, we are given a spiritual seed that needs to be sown. The question is, what kind of soil will we sow into? Our own selfish ambitions? Will we become idle and the seeds worthless? Or, will we work, like that farmer, to yield a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times (v. 8)? It’s a sobering challenge.
The world is a daunting place but there’s work to be done. As believers in Christ, may we forego our individual fears and sow our seed, no matter what, trusting the results to our Father
Heavenly Father, give me a fearless heart to sow the seed you’ve given me, into this world. Let me do my part and allow you to do yours, trusting in your timing. It is in Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
