In my devotions I am currently in Jeremiah. I’ve found such a delight meditating and consuming the words of Jeremiah, as you will see in the next few posts, and came across another one that spoke greatly to the topic of fear. Quite an astonishing amount of people struggle with fear. It hides itself under the name “anxiety” or “worry” or even “fretting” but all in all it’s under the same heading: fear. Here are the words of Jeremiah to a fearful Israel on the brink of destruction:
Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.
Jeremiah 30:10
Fear Not
The command here from God is simple: “fear not”. Cuts right to the point with convicting simplicity. One thing I hear often is people complaining that it’s too simple and rude just to tell people to: “stop worrying”. They claim: “It’s just not that simple, I can’t just do that.” Well Jesus was the one who said: “Do not worry about your life.” Appealing to God’s tender care of lilies and sparrows and how they do not toil or worry what else is there to say except: “Do not fear!”?
But Why?
I will say, if you just tell people to not worry with no context or any comfort to believe otherwise then it is a false hope. Thankfully God gives us a reason to not worry. In our passage above it is the following: “For lo, I will save thee…” Why should I not worry? Because God promised He WILL save me. What else do I need for motivation to quit worrying and rest on that promise? Nothing.
For Israel the promise was a future expectation. They were captured by Babylon and in a complete ruin. Jeremiah comes to them at this time and tells them to not fear because of something that will come but is not there at the moment. This is a very important point, especially for Christians today. Our safety and comfort is primarily in that which is to come. Yes, we are saved in the present from our sin and the wrath of God, but the fullness of our salvation is not realized until Jesus comes back. Why do we not fear? Because He is coming again (John 14:3).
The Antidote to Fear
So what is the Antidote to Fear? The future return of Jesus to complete our salvation and receive us into His glory for all eternity. If this is not true then clearly “we are of all men most miserable” (1 Cor 15:19) If He is not coming back, if He is not preparing a place for us, if He is not going to right all wrongs, if He is not going to make a new heaven and new earth, if He is not going to destroy the devil once and for all, if He is not going to establish the Peace of God in fullness and forever, then what should we do but fear? I find no reason why the rest of our lives should not be full of anxiety, worry, care, fretting, and fear if He is not coming. But, Oh Praise God, He is. He is. Do not fear! No wonder the entirety of the Word of God ends with: “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” Rev 22:20.
Action
- Praise God for His promised and certain return!
- Confess to God your worry and anxiety as a sin of unbelief of His salvation
- Ask God to help your unbelief of Christ’s current and to come salvation
- Listen to this post’s song: O Glorious Day