"Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.
In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. All power to him forever! Amen."
I was driving in the car on Sunday listening to the radio. I can't remember the name of the song, but a line caught me off guard. It said, "Fear is a lie." I had to pause to think about this. How could they be so sure that all fear is a lie? (As a side note, I thought so hard about this that I forgot to watch my speed, and I got pulled over! Thankfully, I just got a warning.) But our passage today answers that very question for me. It starts with...
"Give all your worries and cares to God..." That's a command. Matthew 6 also tells us, "Do not worry." But surely, there must be a few things that are okay to worry about right? Some of the big ones? Nope. Philippians 4:6 says, "Do not be anxious about anything..." Not a thing! Not even death itself. Okay, well why can't I worry then?
"for He cares about what happens to you." I really think if we understood how much God loves us, it would be easier to believe. He cares for us with even more than the love of a parent. Just like I said yesterday, even in the tough stuff, there is gold that can be brought out of the ashes. If you're in the midst of a trial, it's not because God is unloving. We have got to trust that He cares for us, loves us, and wants what is best for us!
But then the very next line says (and I believe the placement is of no coincidence), "Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour." He is the deceiver and the "father of lies." John 8:44 says, "He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies." If the TRUTH is that we should cast our cares on the Lord and not worry about anything, then the devil will whisper the LIE to us that we can't trust the Lord because of what might happen to us. Then we start to believe, "now is a time that I should be afraid!"
"Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are." This is where we must stand firm in the truth. What is the lie we are believing, and what does The Word say is True? I think it is also important to remember when we are suffering and tend to lean into worry and fear that we remember just what this says: people all over the world are going through the same sufferings I am, and worse! It's so easy in times of trial to feel isolated, that we are the only one who is dealing with this. (That is another lie that we are believing.) You are not alone in your suffering -- others are suffering, too, and more importantly, you are not alone because the Lord himself walks before you, beside you and behind you.
Here is the truth about what we should hold onto:
"In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. " There is no need to fear. When I have suffered in the past, it's easy for me to feel that my pain will never end. Yet here, Peter tries to give us some perspective: "a little while." That may mean that God will restore you on this earth, or He may restore you in Heaven. But, when we call on Him, He will support us and give us strength for today.
We are to worry and fear nothing! Nothing! Not employment, not finances, not a relationship, not the future of the government. Fear not, my friends. And don't allow yourself to believe the lies that satan whispers to you. The Truth is in His Word. If you are feeling fear today, it's a lie. It's not true.
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