Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“Oh that my words were now written!
    Oh that they were inscribed in a book!
That with an iron pen and lead
    they were engraved in the rock forever!
But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives.
    In the end, he will stand upon the earth.
After my skin is destroyed,
    then I will see God in my flesh,
whom I, even I, will see on my side.
    My eyes will see, and not as a stranger.
“My heart is consumed within me.
If you say, ‘How we will persecute him!’
    because the root of the matter is found in me,
be afraid of the sword,
    for wrath brings the punishments of the sword,
    that you may know there is a judgment.””
(Job 19:23-29)

“But you, Yahweh, will remain forever;
    your renown endures to all generations.
You will arise and have mercy on Zion,
    for it is time to have pity on her.
    Yes, the set time has come.
For your servants take pleasure in her stones,
    and have pity on her dust.
So the nations will fear Yahweh’s name,
    all the kings of the earth your glory.
For Yahweh has built up Zion.
    He has appeared in his glory.
He has responded to the prayer of the destitute,
    and has not despised their prayer.“
(Psalm 102:12-17)

Job was certain he was wasting away. That his case was useless. That he would suffer until he perished. But he did not let go of the certainty that God was in charge. That God lived. That the answer Job sought was in heaven. Job moaned. Job despaired. Job begged his ‘friends’ to stop attacking him, kicking him while he was down. But he was convinced that eventually, God would prove him right. That God would justify Job’s righteousness. That he would have the witness that he needed.

The psalm is the cry of someone who is suffering. But instead of self-pity, it is a wholehearted psalm of praise to God. It is the thankful call of someone who has nothing and no one else. It is a looking toward the Lord and the Messiah that we all need. The saviour who saves. The healer who heals. The rescuer who rescues. The mediator who mediates. The eternal God who builds up, renews, and restores regardless of circumstances or opposition. When the chips fell, the psalmist looked up.

Summary

Suffering is an attack. It is something coming at us and upon us from the enemy of God. It can come consciously, it can come simply because we are in a fallen Creation. But it is NEVER from God. We have a choice. We can lean into the circumstance or we can lean into the Lord. It doesn’t matter WHAT is happening, there is something to praise God about. This isn’t finding a silver lining. This isn’t being positive in the face of negativity. This is honest thanksgiving toward God for being God. Thanksgiving and praise of the Lord because of His nature is always the proper response to any trial. We don’t thank God for the trial. We thank God for being God – because in comparison, what can stand up against Him? What can compare? What can possibly stand in His way? God is ALWAYS a reason for thanksgiving. Always.