Fear No Fear

“He said to her, “You talk like one of the foolish women talks. Will we indeed accept the good from God but not accept the adversity?”” (Job 2:10. MEV). Perspective. One of the reasons Job was able to hang onto his trust in God was that he never lost perspective. We tend to focus on the negative, but Job was a great model of trust in God’s eyes (Ezekiel 14:14). When bad things came upon Job, he took stock of them and then compared them to all the good things he had received from God. Yes, he was currently suffering, but it was nothing compared to the GOODNESS of God and the way God had always dealt with him. Paul had the same viewpoint. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18, MEV). No matter HOW severe the circumstances we are in, they are a blip on the map of eternity (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). Whether our circumstances are SUFFERING or not depends largely on our attitude. If we are focused on the negative, we will SUFFER. If we are focused on God and His nature, we will ENDURE. We can be in a bad place, but have a positive attitude. Joseph did. He was sold into slavery, unjustly imprisoned, and ignored for YEARS. Job lost everything. Paul was beaten, stoned, abandoned, almost drowned, and persecuted on every side. Daniel was unjustly cast into a lion’s den. Noah lost everyone he ever knew – except his immediate family – and the entire society he was raised in. Jesus was sold by a good friend. Bad things happen. Some of them are attacks on us. Some of them are the result of being in a fallen world. Some of them are attacks on us because we believe in, trust in, and proclaim Jesus. In ALL of them, whether we are suffering or walking through them depends on our attitude toward God. Is He WITH US or is He AGAINST US? If He is with us, then He will give us everything we need to endure and walk through to the other side. Just like with Jesus, who is our model AND the vehicle in which we get to the other side of negative circumstances (John 15:5; 16:33). Remember, we can take our FEELINGS and emote them; or we can take HIS FRUIT and emote THEM (Galatians 5:22-23). Make Jesus’ attitude YOUR attitude by Holy Spirit’s ministry to us. Make any suffering you encounter a light affliction. A momentary enduring. A brief blip. Keep your eyes on God and keep your relationship with Him intact. He changes EVERYTHING from death to LIFE (John 5:24). Adjust your attitude to His attitude and get through it ALL. In HIM we have life and life abundantly. No amount of suffering can take that gift and blessing from those who trust in Jesus! He is our victory in ALL THINGS!