Isaiah 43:5 “Fear not, for I am with you.”
While stranded on a deserted island, Daniel Defoe’s character, Robinson Crusoe, salvaged a Bible from the shipwreck, read it, and was converted. Imagine such seclusion today! He grew into a devout Christian. His life, though missing human companionship, was peaceful and prayerful.
But one day he found a footprint in the sand and realized he wasn’t alone. Knowing the cannibalism of the local tribes, he grew into a fearful man, looking over shoulder with every step. He no longer slept peacefully. He altered his habits. He visualized himself being captured and devoured. “That former confidence in God … now vanished, as if He that had fed me by miracle hitherto could not preserve, by His power, the provision which He made for me by His goodness.”
BOTTOM LINE:
Crusoe had to go back to his Bible, repent of anxiety, and be strengthened again in his faith. He eventually learned the great lesson of faltering Christians. The things we fear most are likely, in the providence of God, to be most used for our good and His glory. Those footprints, in the end, led to his deliverance.
God has planned out our future from eternity past and guaranteed it with His promises; in fact, to the very second of our future home-going! We can trust Him. Actually, we MUST trust Him. There is none other!
David Jeremiah, Sanctuary: Finding Moments of Refuge in the Presence of God 2002 July 14. Indeed, so well titled!
For Further Reflection:
My initial take while reading the above clip reminds me of our ever-present vulnerability to fear, whether we be so fortunate to reside in a Crusoe type paradise, as we may choose to enjoy here locally, where any of our “fear prisons” are currently only of our own imaginations. Jamie Winship (Living Fearless) is teaching me big time that all human conflict originates from fear (false evidence appearing real), and that fear originates from our false view of God, ourselves, and others. And unless we allow God to supernaturally exchange what’s false for what’s real in our psyche, we may never experience the true freedom of our identity in Christ, because we’re dominated by our false self – our fear, guilt and shame.
Now, contrast that lifestyle (free from fear) with today’s not so subtle media-driven verbal visual emotional onslaught, and even though a few of us may be of an American Anabaptist cultural subset, we too are being swept downstream with the masses, too often inadvertently “swallowing the demonic fear bait” that is subtly and clandestinely generating our self-preservation & self-protection modes in our physical and emotional prisons, and perhaps all the while, it’s being accomplished with our permission; even under our watch!
My concern for Christ-Followers today and beyond is, how will we continue to grow in our faith, if once we’ve seen the disturbing unexplainable “footprints or saucers,” perhaps even taken the fear-bait, and are potentially deceived in the ensuing chaos, even becoming separated from His empowering remedy? It is imperative for those of us seeking the narrow path to continue in His grace and mercy, thereby repenting from our wayward anxiety, so we can again be renewed and strengthened in our faith …
As I said in the July 9 post, we must keep the Gospel message front & center, pure and simple. Be on guard continually, for those future “unexplained footprints” may prove quite troublesome for shallow-rooted Christians, though ultimately & conclusively, as stated prior, such can be for our good and His glory. Do be forewarned though, that future narratives are being be purposefully designed to confuse Christ-Followers. Indeed, we are always protectively covered, until such time though, that we may ignorantly choose, or be persuaded to open our protective doors and allow the demonic to enter our heart, mind, and soul; and His (our) temple.
Again, Isaiah 43:5 “Fear not, for I am with you.”