FEAR WILL FLEE

God’s servants are not exempt from the storms of life. They are certain to come. It is at that time we face a choice—faith or fear?

John tells us that he and the other disciples were in the same boat. It is true of everyone in ministry. Our “boat” may be a different size and the storms we face may be of a diverse nature, but the bottom line—it is a storm that tests us with the same choice.  I have heard it said, “You are either heading into a storm, in a storm, or coming out of one.”  It is the common lot of those who follow Christ in this creation that is groaning under the curse. 

“And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them,” (v. 17b). What do you do when darkness envelopes you, and you long for the Lord and He is nowhere apparent. Perhaps that is the way you feel today. You are rowing and rowing, but the wind only blows harder and the waves mount higher!

It is then—in that moment of desperation—that Jesus shows up. The very storm that we never wanted to be in becomes the means by which Christ will manifest His presence in a profound manner!

Yet, at first, His appearance only intensified their fear. Can you imagine being in such a desperate situation and seeing what appears a specter walking on top of the water toward you?  

Then the Lord speaks, “It is I; do not be afraid.”  It is the Word of God that produces faith and drives away our fear. Circumstances change.  One moment the disciples were on course and suddenly they are in a storm. Yet, just as quickly the storm is over and “immediately the boat was at the land where they were going,” (v. 21b). What does not change are the immutable promises of God.

To those who preach the Word, let us be reminded to trust that Word. We call people to faith, and so should model that faith. 

    Standing on the promises that cannot fail.
    When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
    By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
    Standing on the promises of God.

You can stand on the promises, even when sitting in a boat buffeted by winds and waves. Often we have little choice about the circumstances we find ourselves in, but we always have a choice as to how we respond to them. Fear or faith?  You make the call.

RAINY DAYS AND MONDAYS

 

O LORD, how long shall I cry, And You will not hear? Even cry out to You, “Violence!” And You will not save.  Why do You show me iniquity, And cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; There is strife, and contention arises.  Therefore the law is powerless, And justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.  (Habakkuk 1:2-4)

Years ago, the late Karen Carpenter sang, “Rainy days and Mondays always get me down.”  Every pastor has felt that way.  You preach yourself empty on Sunday—and then you have to get up and face more demands on Monday.  There was an entrance into the pulpit on Sunday morning with great anticipation, only to watch the people sit there as stones—and not many of them at that.  The difficulties seemed more abundant than the numbers of congregants, and you went to bed, tossing and turning like a small ship in a storm-tossed ocean—the howling winds of doubt and fear assailing you.  Now, you drag yourself out from under the covers, with more questions than answers, more struggles than solutions—rainy days and Mondays always get us down.

God’s spokesman, Habakkuk, could identify.  We find him in the opening verses of his short prophecy questioning God.  He feels as if he can’t take it any more.  God’s people have become reckless in their faith, and are about to be ruined because of it.  The enemy is on the rampage, and the casualties are growing by the day.  He wonders, “Where is God in all this?”  Don’t tell me you haven’t felt that way—maybe this day.

Habakkuk was having a crisis of faith.  It seemed that things had gone from bad to worse in his ministry.  Not only had the people abandoned God’s ways, the Lord seemed to have now abandoned them.  The Lord’s soldiers were in full retreat, while the wicked were on the march—and the few voices like Habakkuk, that tried to rally the troops, seemed lost amid the cries of terror and despair.

God answered Habakkuk’s cry of complaint in chapter one with a call to commitment in chapter two.

Then the LORD answered me and said: “Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it.  For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.  (v.2-3)

The answer was simple to state, though challenging to do: God’s man must “live by his faith” (2:4).  We have preached it, now we must practice it.  In the midst of trials, we tell our people to trust in God.  Perhaps on rainy days and Mondays we should do the same.

A preacher who is full of faith is faithful.  We have a calling from God and nothing must hinder us from fulfilling it.  His Word is sure whatever the situation seems.  I can speak it confidently because God has communicated it to me clearly.  I am to take it and run with it!  The urgency of my spiritual task must spur me onward despite the insufficiency of my physical strength.  I might feel like I am running on fumes, but God may have a filling station just around the corner.

When we are sagging, our spirits need reviving.  So, in desperation, take up the prophet’s prayer:

O LORD, I have heard Your speech and was afraid;

            O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years!

In the midst of the years make it known;

In wrath remember mercy.  (3:2)

It was then that God showed up (v.3ff), revealing His glory and displaying His power.  In the end, no matter the burdens we carry and the difficulties we face—God is enough.  He is the reward.  Irrespective of how many or how few show up on Sunday morning, God will show up on a Monday morning!  Is He enough?  Must the pastor be rewarded with recognition by the congregation and community—celebrated as a church rock star?  Do the pews have to be overflowing with crowds and the plates be overflowing with cash before we will feel joy or is God’s presence reward enough and is He our source of joy?

Here is how the prophet concludes his message:

Though the fig tree may not blossom,

Nor fruit be on the vines;

Though the labor of the olive may fail,

And the fields yield no food;

Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,

And there be no herd in the stalls—

Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,

I will joy in the God of my salvation. 

The LORD God is my strength;

He will make my feet like deer’s feet,

And He will make me walk on my high hills.

To the Chief Musician.

With my stringed instruments.  (3:17-19)

You can walk out the door my brother, singing this tune—even on rainy days and Mondays!