How to Overcome Fear预览

Life has sunshine and storms. Storms don’t last long, but they are real. Every storm in the Bible came to an end. There were three notable people in Scripture who went through the storm: Jonah, Jesus, and Paul. They each overcame the storm differently. Jonah threw himself overboard, and the storm stopped. Jesus spoke to the storm, and it ceased. Paul survived the storm by swimming to the shore. 

During the night, God’s angel told Paul not to be afraid. He assured Paul that he would reach his destination. After that, Paul encouraged everyone else to take heart and eat some food. Paul reminded them of God’s promise to him that no life would be lost. God saved everyone but the ship. The ship was destroyed in the process of the storm. It’s important to remember that when we lose our ship, God will still provide for us. The ship may represent our jobs. While our work is important, we must remember that God is our source, and our jobs are the resource. When we lose our jobs, we don’t lose our God. He will provide for us. As with everyone on that ship, when they lost it, the natives came along and provided their necessities for them. God’s provision might come from the most unlikely sources. But keep in mind, during the storms of life, God’s provision is not seen in God providing in abundance but in God providing for our necessities. 

While Paul and the people on the ship were going through a very hard time, the people on the island weren’t affected by this storm as much as those on the ship. The natives, as Luke calls them, showed unusual kindness to those who were affected by the storm. It’s such a good example for us. If this pandemic didn’t affect you economically, it’s a good time to show unusual kindness to those who have lost their jobs and don’t have enough to put food on the table and to pay for their bills. It’s not time to start preaching about saving money to those who were not prepared financially for this season. It’s time to start lending a helping hand to those in need—just as the natives did. 

Paul and the prisoners had to swim where they used to sail. That might apply to us as well. We will need to find new ways to do the same things we used to do before the pandemic. Churches are streaming their services online. Small groups are being done on Zoom. People are doing their workouts from home. We will need to swim where we used to sail. 

Today’s Confession:
1. Those who are with me are more than those who are against me.
2. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in me.
3. Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world.