Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come, why should my heart be lonely and long for Heav’n and home, When Jesus is my portion? My constant friend is He; His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me; His eye is on the sparrow and I know He’s watching me.
Chorus: I sing because I’m happy! I sing because I’m free! For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He’s watching me.
Let not your heart be troubled, His tender Word I hear, and resting on His goodness, O lose my doubts and fears. Though by the path He leads me, but one step I may see. His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me; His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He’s watching me.
Chorus: I sing because I’m happy! I sing because I’m free! For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He’s watching me.
Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise, when songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies, I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free: His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He cares for me; His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He cares for me.
Chorus: I sing because I’m happy! I sing because I’m free! For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He’s watching me. I sing because I’m happy! I sing because I’m free! For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He’s watching me.
Talk: A friend of mine was telling me about the uneasiness she was feeling as a result of all that is taking place in the world right now. She was asking me if we could be entering into the last seven years predicted in Bible prophecy; the years that the prophets called “Jacob’s trouble,” and Jesus referred to as the great tribulation, a time of persecution and distress. She said, “Dennis, Are we entering into those days?”
With all the restrictions on our freedoms that we are experiencing under the Covid-19 lockdowns, with the the talk of Global Reset from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, with the administration of vaccines that could result in grave secondary reactions, all these circumstances concerning the present and the future have certainly caused a spike in the level of anxiety was are feeling.
Is the end near? Will the prophecies be fulfilled in our life time? Will we soon see Global Government and the actual rise of the Antichrist to power? Am I and my family where God wants us to be when those days arrive? Am I in God’s will? What does God want me to do now? How should I prepare for the future, if these events are at the door?
You might be having those types of questions, or fears, or preoccupations running through your heart and mind, and you wonder what should you do? Where should you go? Are you in the right place? My friends and I have been feeling that way.
When you start having those types of thoughts, worries, or anxieties, the best thing to do is to stop and seek God. Seek God in His word. Seek God in praise and song. Seek God in desparate prayer. God promises to answer when we seek Him with all our hearts. Committing a day or two or three to prayer and fasting may be necessary. Daniel prayed and fasted for three weeks.[1] Apostle Peter stopped to pray at noon and got a special revelation from the Lord.[2] David in the psalms says,
“My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror has overwhelmed me. And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! For then would I fly away, and be at rest. Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness.”[3]
That may be how you are feeling right now. You wish you could just fly away to some secret place and find peace and quiet from the storm of life that seems like it is roaring all around us. But what did David do in that situation of distress? Did he just stay there worried with anxiety? No, he sought refuge from the storm. He sought refuge in prayer. Here’s what he said,
“As for me, I will cry upon God; and the Lord shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice.”[4]
He sought refuge in the arms of Jesus. He sought refuge by pouring out his heart to God in desparate prayer. He even prayed out loud! But, David finishes his lament on a positive note with,
“God has delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me.”[5]
In other words, after calling out desparately to God, clamouring into His presence, God had sent David’s heart the peace he sought. David goes on to encourage us to,
“Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”[6]
God promises in His word to be that refuge that we seek. In Isaiah we read,
“For Thou has been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat.”[7]
So we indeed can find the peace of heart and mind we seek, by seeking God and finding Him. We need to keep our minds on Him, like Isaiah wrote from the Lord’s mouth,
“Thou shall keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Me, because he trusts in Me.”[8]
The trouble is that the enemy of our soul tries to get our minds on the winds and waves of the moment, like when Apostle Peter tried to walk upon the water. He got his heart and mind on the the dire circumstances and forgot that he had God on his side, that Jesus was with him. The enemy works the same today by using the present circumstances which can be quite unsettling. I am reminded of the words Luke gives us from the mouth of Jesus concerning the last days.
“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth.”[9]
That passage could very well be describing the state of the world today. It’s definately describing a time of great fear and uncertainty. During the present crisis, suicide and domestic violence are said to have increased as a result of the heightened anxiety. What are we as Christians suppose to do? How shall we walk? How are we to react?
Jesus gives the answer just two verses later with Luke recording Him as saying,
“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws nigh.”[10]
But how do we look up? How do we lift up our heads when we are so discouraged and worried? If we look to God’s word for guidance, we can find innumerable passages that offer council and comfort and strength for us. Let us look at a few.
In Deuteronomy, we see Moses and Joshua about to begin the conquest of the Promised Land, a land full of giants and nations stronger than the Israelites were. What was the command that God gave them?
“Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord Thy God, He it is that does go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”[11] “And the Lord, He it is that does go with thee; He will be with thee, He will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.”[12]
Then when Moses died and Joshua had to continue with the conquest alone, what did the Lord say to him?
“Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goes.”
The Lord told them not to be discouraged, not to be dismayed, not to have fear, but to be strong and of good courage, in other words, to be brave; because the Lord would be with them wherever they went. That reminds me of that verse in Daniel about God’s people during the great tribulation period. They won’t be cowarding,
“But the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.”
God knows that fear incapacitates us. Fear is the opposite of faith and stops us from obeying and trusting God. Fear stops us from maturing into the loving and obedient followers of Christ that God want us to be.
“Because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love.”[13] “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”[14] “But without faith (or in other words, with fear) it is impossible to please God; for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”[15]
God wants us to have faith. God wants to direct us. He wants to use us to our capacity, but our job is to seek Him diligently, to seek Him desparately to know exactly what He would have us to do. But sometimes, fear and worry enter in. What shall we do then? David answers that question in another psalm. He writes,
“What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee. In God I will praise His word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.”[16] “In God will I praise His word: in the Lord will I praise His word. In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.”[17]
Remember David’s psalms are in fact songs, so we should use praise and song, just as David did, in times of anxiety and trouble. Apostle Paul tells us:
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”[18]
We see how inportant singing is. If we complement praise and song with spending time in God’s word and in God’s presence in prayer, we are on the road to victory. Together, these tools: praise, song, word time, prayer time, will help us find that peace we need and help to bring the clarity of mind and heart that we desire. God promises He will be our refuge in times of trouble. God, also, promises to answer when we seek Him with all our hearts. David prays,
“Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusts in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.”[19] [Psalm 57:1]
We don’t know how long it will be “until these (present) calamities be overpast,” but God has promised to be with us. He has promised to be a shelter in the time of storm. In Isaiah we read,
“When thou passes through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walks through the fire, thou shall not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.”[20]
Maybe we can sing together the verses from Isaiah 41:13 and 10 from the “Fear Not” álbum. It can be found at nubeat.org Song: Fear Thou Not - click on second song & increase the volume. I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, Saying unto thee, "Fear not." I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, Saying unto thee, "Fear not."Chorus: Fear thou not; for I am with thee: Be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; I will help thee; Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness. Fear thou not; for I am with thee: Be not dismayed; for I am thy God. |
One night the disciples travelled with Jesus on the Sea of Galilee. A storm broke out and the vessel was about to be overcome with the waves and sea roaring. What did the disciples do? They went and woke up Jesus who was asleep in the rear of the boat. Jesus said to the sea,
“Peace be still.” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto his disciples, (Where is your faith?[21]) Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?”[22]
We need that peace and calm from being close to Jesus. Let us not be fearful as the disciples, but let us draw nigh to God in full assurance of faith knowing that He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to His power that works in us. Let us remember the words of Jesus when He said,
“Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”[23]
If God be with us, who can be against us?[24] As David has said, “In God have I put my trust, I will not fear,”[25] for “He will uphold me with the right hand of His righteousness.”[26]
So, whatever the future holds: Covid-19, obligatory vaccines, financial difficulties, sickness, limited travel, greater surveilence, persecution, even death; we know Who holds the future, and we know Who holds our hand. We know that nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord for we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.[27]
[1] Daniel 10:3
[2] Acts 10:9
[3] Psalm 55:4-7
[4] Psalm 55:16-17
[5] Psalm 55:18a
[6] Psalm 55:22
[7] Isaiah 25:4
[8] Isaiah 26:3
[9] Luke 21:25-26
[10] Luke 21:28
[11] Deuteronomy 31:6
[12] Deuteronomy 31:8
[13] 1 John 4:18b
[14] 2 Timothy 1:7
[15] Hebrews 11:6
[16] Psalm 56:3-4
[17] Pslam 56:10-11
[18] Colossians 3:16
[19] Psalm 57:1
[20] Isaiah 43:2,3,5a
[21] Luke 8:25
[22] Mark 4:39b-40 / Isaiah 41:10c
[23] John 14:27b
[24] Romans 8:31
[25] Psalm 56:4
[26] Isaiah 43:10
[27] Romans 8:39,37
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