Faith Is The ONLY Antidote To Conquering the Vast Amount Of Fear That’s Currently In Our World!

26 Mar 2025 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mark 4:40.       And he said unto them, why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

And then it was Wednesday, our second wind day, but the weather is certainly strange. Earlier on, there was some sunshine with clouds in the background, then some small white pieces of stuff began falling, then that went away after a few minutes, then the sun came out, then the clouds took over. Right now, at midday, it’s a mixture of cloud and sun, with who knows what’s going to happen next. 

But that’s why we’re ever so glad to have Jesus! I say it every day, because whatever comes our way, whether it’s weatherwise or finances or sickness, or anything the evil and ungodly world throws at us, with Jesus at our helm, we will be able to navigate through it successfully, because He is the Navigator of All Navigators! Rocks and storms and strong winds or anything else are no problem for Him, because He is the One that created them all, and consequently can control them however He wants to. 

Remember that marvellous and miraculous moment when Jesus was asleep in the stern of the boat as He crossed the Sea of Galilee with His disciples, when a big storm rose up and threatened to sink the boat, but Jesus remained calmly sleeping. The disciples in great fear, woke him up, asking ‘Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?’ (Mark 4:38-40) 

Now friends, that’s exactly what Jesus is asking of many of us in these tough and turbulent times because we are sorely afraid of what’s happening around us and what might happen to us. But if you are a true child of God, there’s no need to fear, for He’s promised to look after us, satisfy all of our needs, and to work everything out for our own good. And if you don’t believe me, then listen to these scriptures that promise divine aid and intervention. First off in Isaiah, the Lord Promises: ‘Fear thou not; for I am with thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.’ (Is. 41:10) What more do we want eh my people? 

Then there’s this other promise: ‘But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Jesus Christ.’ (Phil. 4:19) What’s in that that we don’t understand eh? Then we have the granddaddy of all promises: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are called according to his purpose.’ (Rom. 8:28) Now, He doesn’t say that we will never have any problems, but in the end, He will work out all those tough times and things for our good. We just have to be strong, faithful, patient and persevering despite what comes against us, knowing that our great and wonderful God is always with us, wherever we go. 

And that’s one of the oldest promises in the Bible, for Moses encouraged the Israelites thus before he gave up the leadership of the group to Joshua. ‘Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Deut. 31:6) And the Lord also pounded it into the ears of Joshua when He made him the leader of the Israelites after the death of Moses. You can read that very clearly in Joshua 1:7-9. So that’s nothing new, we should all be well aware, believe and expect the Lord to be with us at ALL TIMES! 

And would you believe that the words or idea of ‘do not fear,’ occur very often in the Bible, because we still have that latent fear of life, of the devil and all his accomplices, despite the many assurances of God to hold the opposite emotion of faith. That brings us to this most telling exhortation from Bruh Paul to Timothy, and rebuke to us, who should know better. He steadfastly proclaims: ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.’  (2 Tim. 1:7)

So why is there so much fear today amongst supposed believers eh, if we weren’t given a spirit of fear by our God but one of strong faith, etc. etc.? Who knows? I guess we all have to speak for ourselves, but to my mind, too many of us have not reached that level of spiritual maturity where we stop being afraid of what the world and all its cohorts can do to us. Oh yes, we are concerned and do our best to help ourselves, but in the long run our help all comes from the God who LOVED us so much back in olden times, and still LOVES us a whole lot today, despite our disobedience and rebellious ways, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8) 

Now, that ought to tell us a lot about the wonderful nature and character of our God. But I guess it doesn’t, else we would not be behaving in the fearful and ungodly manner in which we’re currently behaving. For if we were not fearful and afraid, the devil would not be holding the world in as tight a stranglehold as he is right now. That alone shows how fearful and afraid we supposed believers are, otherwise we’d be out there fighting the devil and his evil doings mano a mano, step for step, and winning the battle, because we have the victory already assured by Jesus, we only have to keep it going. 

And there’s no better verse of scripture to encourage us than this one from Christ Himself. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33) Wow mih bredrin! What encouragement and reassurance it ought to be knowing that our Lord and Saviour, Jesus has already overcome the evil world of Satan, and there’s no need for us to live in fear, but in faith and in His peace. 

Now, let’s go home declaring our Wednesday Wail to all sundry, letting them know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

And if you truly believe, then it’s also been promised that if we endure to the end with Christ, that future will be even more glorious than we can ask or imagine. So, let’s pledge to meet there at the very end and enjoy that more than glorious future together nuh! Much LOVE!

…when fear comes calling…send faith to answer…because faith is the only antidote for fear…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit 24 April 2012 Hebrews 6:15

24 Apr 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 Hebrews 6:15.     And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

Ah Friends, many of you experienced the strange weather patterns of yesterday and today, where the Eastern half of North America’s snow belt had vicious snow and rain storms with powerful winds, while the Western half that’s usually colder, basked in enviable, record breaking summer weather. Luckily my area only got rain and strong winds, though places not far to the north of me saw several inches of snow hit the turf. And yet we dispute the stark evidence of changed, screwed up, unusual weather patterns. It’s not even so much a matter of whom or what’s causing it, but a simple admission that it’s changing. When we have spring in February, summer in March and winter in late April, something’s certainly changed. I guess those who have vested interest in the status quo are refusing to see the forest for the trees, because once they admit that significant changes are indeed happening, they’ll be forced to consider why, which could cost them serious coin. Anyway Friends, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to recognize that weather patterns are changing, for it’s doing so all over the world, and for a variety of reasons, emanating from both God and man; where we’re abusing the environment, and God’s laying some licks on us for our gross disobedience. And though as individuals, we can’t do much to sway the powers that be, my fellow believers, as a cohesive and vocal group we can certainly make our voices heard and our votes count. Our world is in such a mess, in all aspects, and getting worse every day, that it will take a lot of collective effort to straighten it out. And you know that it’s us, Jesus’ people, who will have to do it, since Lucifer and his evil cohorts like it the way it is; evil, ungodly and destructive. Sadly though, it’s our children and their offspring who will suffer the most if things don’t change for the better soon. Friends, we have to get serious and work tirelessly in our own little sphere to bring God and some sense of a respectable society back into fashion. They say fashion changes over time, well it’s time the fashion of ungodliness and evil enveloping our world be changed back to godliness and goodness. And it won’t be easy my people. But you know that working in tandem with God, all things are possible, so it’s up to us to get started, because God is always there, waiting for us to sincerely ask for His help. The main question though is, are we ready, willing and able to take up our crosses and follow Jesus? Are we ready to live our Bit? ‘And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.’ Yes Friends, are we willing to patiently suffer the host of frustrations and indignities possible in such a fight, as Jesus did? Now riddle I this, riddle I that, this scripture: ‘For this is thankworthy (commendable), if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if when ye be buffeted (beaten) for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with (commendable before) God. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps.’ (1 Pet.2:19-21) Ah mih Christian people, are we willing to suffer when we’ve done right, like Jesus did? That’s the million- dollar question we must ask ourselves. And the answer needs to be a resounding ‘YES,’ if we’re to successfully turn things around! Listen to this passage from James re faith and humility. ‘My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations (various trials); Knowing this, that the trying (testing) of your faith worketh (produces) patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire (complete), wanting (lacking) nothing.’ (James 1:2-4) Having read that, can we consider our trials and tribulations, our testing, as joyful? It’s hard, but we can, with strong and steadfast faith, for to true and serious believers, suffering brings patience. To some though, trials will bring bitterness, because the natural reaction is to try and escape them, however God uses them to mature us and make us more Christ-like. Ah Friends, it’s indeed a rough row we have to hoe to bring about godly change in our ungodly world, but the same way it changed over the last forty or so years from godly to ungodly, it can also be changed back. But it needs a lot of backbone and belly from us believers. And I’ll leave us with these encouraging words of Bruh Paul to ponder on, re fighting the good fight of faith. He’s just finished warning Timothy about the dangers of worldly living, including the dangerous desire to idolize money. ‘But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, LOVE, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed (confessed) a good profession (confession) before many witnesses.’ (1 Tim.6:11-12) That wise advice pertains to us even more today than back then my people! So please, let’s consciously accept it and put it into action nuh; first in our own lives, then hopefully in those around us. It’s the only way serious, sensible, godly improvement will ever occur in our misguided and troubled world. Much LOVE!…when true believers get together in Jesus’ name…godly changes are inevitable…