NOTHING TO FEAR


A million thoughts are racing through my head right now, very few of them good ones.
I have an appointment with a specialist in a couple of hours to get a prostate problem checked out. Though my rational mind says it’s more than likely a small, benign issue, the more worry-prone, less rational side cannot help but imagine the worst possibilities that could come of this.
At 37 years old, I feel like I am too young to even be having to entertain these ideas, but the twinges of dread linger in the dark corners of my mind nonetheless.
What if it is serious? After a long family history of cancer, the fear lingers that I could be the next to battle it – again, I know not necessarily rational, and maybe a needless concern, but it is amazing what our minds and hearts consider when fear invades.
I have a beautiful wife that I want to have many more years with, and a treasured daughter that I want to be there for as a father as she grows. Even the most remote possibility of not being able to be there for them as a husband and father moves my heart to tears and tears my soul in two. I cannot bear to linger on that thought for more than a few seconds without a deep sinking dread in the pit of my stomach.
In spite of the fears and the worst-case scenarios that invade, though, my faith in Jesus Christ remains a constant. It is His words that sustain me even now as I battle the dread.
“Do not worry about tomorrow, for today has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34
“The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1
When fear invades and I am tempted to lose heart, I must remember that no matter what happens, the story always ends in victory. He always provides strength for the fight and joy amidst the deepest struggles.
“For God gave us not a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7
God’s love and power give me hope and joy for every circumstance, and assurance that no matter what the outcome, He can and will work everything for His glory, and walk with me every step of the way. Fear cannot overcome me when my hope is in the Lord of Heavens’ Armies, because everything, no matter how large or small, is in His control.
The God who holds the whole world in His hands also knows the count of every hair on my head and every cell in my body. There is nothing outside His scope to overcome, especially my doubts and insecurities about what is to come.
He has time itself at His beckon call. How can I give into despair when I grasp this knowledge?
How will today unfold? I do not know.
But of this I am certain. With God on my side, there is absolutely nothing to fear.



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