How Can We Banish Fears?

 

Scripture: Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Meditation

It is a perilous time to be a white, cisgender, heterosexual, married, devout Christian man in America, especially if you openly live by that description through your actions and words. Charlie Kirk exemplified all of this. He was taken from us in a most cowardly way, by an assassin’s bullet. The word of God above is just one example of how humanity is warned and comforted by God.

Listen to these words from FDR at his first inauguration. He delivered it at the height of the Great Depression, aiming to reassure a nation gripped by economic despair. The full line is: "So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is... fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."

The question for us today is what we can do when half of the nation believes that the other half sees us as a real and present danger. They say our words threaten them, and they have decided that we must be eliminated at any cost and by any means necessary. They are willing to commit any act of violence to protect their chosen identity. Indeed, because I share qualities with Charlie Kirk, writing this means that my very existence is a threat to these people. What can we who follow Jesus do when it becomes dangerous to openly declare Jesus as our Lord and Savior?

First, we must pray. We need to understand that prayer alone cannot prevent evil if God can use that evil act for the good of His kingdom. Charlie was prayed for on that fateful day, and still the bullet hit its target. In contrast, the bullet aimed at President Trump narrowly missed, preventing that situation from ending in tragedy. Prayer is essential to shaping us into people who are prepared and willing to face an attack, whether it succeeds or fails.

Next, we must be bold in proclaiming the gospel. However, as Peter wrote, “we must do it with gentleness and respect.” The world has enough hot-headed, hard-hearted, and thin-skinned Christians who speak aggressively and unwisely, provoking attacks on the rest of us. Our Savior Jesus had very thick skin, yet He also modeled a sharp mind and a soft heart.

Finally, we must not neglect coming together. There is strength in numbers, and as the scripture says in Proverbs 27:17 (NIV), “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” We must stand united: one for all and all for one. We must urgently seek to evangelize our nation, as long as we do not live in glass houses. First, we need to remove the specks from our own eyes, then we can witness to the world. We must work diligently to make heaven crowded with on-fire believers. Amen.