We are encouraged in the Bible many times to not be afraid. It seems an easy statement to make but as we all know, it’s not so easy to do. The reality is that when challenges come our way, many times our first response is fear and that can be a very difficult feeling to shake off.
    I recently spoke with someone who had just received the results from an ultrasound they had done. They could not even fully understand all of the words on the paper. They shared it with me and asked me to pray for them. Their next words were, “I’m scared.” Can anyone relate? I guess all of us can. Whatever the negative situation might be, that feeling of fear is usually most prominent. 
    There are many verses in the Bible that encourage us to not be afraid. “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am Your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage, do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). These are just two verses but there are so many more! Yet, in each of these verses, we see the common reason why we need not be afraid - God is with us. We may not always feel His Presence and we may even feel at times as if He has abandoned us but I assure you, He has not and will not.
    I am reminded of a song sung by Positive entitled: “You Are Everything.” The songwriter lists several things God is to him all of which give a sense of security. Hence in the pre-chorus he is able to say: 
    No fear in You, all my doubts are gone
    I’ll keep my trust in You.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we can always feel this sense of security no matter what comes our way? The problem isn’t God of course, but us and our choice to either trust Him or to be afraid. 
    I am reminded of the story of Jairus and his daughter (Mark 5:21-24, 35-43). Although he was able to get Jesus to come to his home to heal her, news of her death, while on their way to his house, must have discouraged him. It did not seem to make sense anymore to let Jesus come to his home. Yet, I love Jesus’ words to him: “Do not be afraid, only believe” (v.36). Have you ever heard Jesus say those words to you? Maybe He has. I know He has to me on various occasions. 
    It is not easy to trust when the facts are facing you, when the situation seems impossible, when others around you are telling you to give up. That is what Jairus was encouraged to do when the news came to him that his daughter was dead. “Why trouble the Teacher any further?” (v.35) In the human mind, it did not make sense to ask Jesus to still come to heal her when she was already dead. In their minds, it was over, there was no more hope. But I love the fact that Jesus overheard the comment and stepped in. He had the final say, not the messengers who brought word of her death, not even death itself and He encouraged Jairus to basically trust Him. I am sure Jairus was glad he did, because Jesus restored his daughter to life.
    We don’t have to be afraid, when God has the final say. I know that’s easy to say, not so easy to do. But one thing I am learning, is to stand on God’s Word no matter how bad things look. God’s Word is not something we read every day to feel holy and righteous. It’s alive and God expects us to use it, allowing it to work in our lives in powerful and mighty ways. We trust God when we stand on what His Word says and use it to help us deal with various challenges and situations in life. So, fear not. As His child, God is with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you, He is right there with you in every situation that you go through and He will bring you through.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. God does not want you to live a life of fear but of trust in Him. Don’t let fear have the final say. That’s God’s job. He has promised to be there and He will never let you down.

    Don and his friend, Steve, were looking forward to an evening of power paragliding. Don attempted to take off but ran into some problems so decided to start over. Steve went ahead, lifted off and waited for him. However, when Don finally lifted off, he was flying too low. He found himself heading towards some trees. He banked to the right to avoid them but instead found himself, with the help of the wind, heading straight towards some power lines. Steve watched helplessly as Don connected with the power lines and turn into a ball of fire. He was certain that his friend was dead. 
    Steve landed as quickly as he could and while he ran to his friend, called 911. When he got to him, he was amazed that Don was conscious and appeared unhurt. Don even talked with him. Don was able to recall what had happened. When he connected with the lines, his world turned into a ball of fire. He felt himself falling and the next thing he knew he was on his back on the ground, looking up at the sky. He could not believe he was alive. He thanked God because he knew he survived because of divine intervention. 
    His wife, Karen, rushed to the hospital, praying the entire way. She learned that he had suffered second and third degree burns over more than twenty-five percent of his body. He had a long road to recovery ahead beginning with skin grafts. His wife texted people to pray for her husband’s healing. Two days later, however, when his doctor began skin graft surgery, he noticed something amazing. His skin had begun healing itself! They went on to apply pig skin to enable the skin to heal on its own. Don was not surprised because he knew a lot of people were praying for him. As the weeks went by, he experienced painful waves through his arms and legs. He closed his eyes and was able to see those waves as hands caressing his wounds. He felt it was the prayers coursing through him. 
    Two weeks later, he was well enough to go home. He was healing quicker than expected. He went back to his chores on the ranch and six months later, he was fully recovered. As he looked back, Don is thankful to God for a number of things. The power lines he hit carried 140,000 volts of electricity. When he hit the lines, the explosion knocked the breath out of him. Had he inhaled that super heated air, it would have seared his lungs. The electricity surrounded him instead of going through him. The gas and the battery did not ignite or explode. The fifty foot fall should have been fatal but was not. He landed motor side first instead of face first. Had it been the other way around, the eighty-five pound engine would have crushed him. All of these miracles have convinced him that he is blessed and that he experienced divine intervention. He should not have survived but he did.
    Psalm 107:1 says, “O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” God is a God who performs miracles. He comes through for us when we least expect. He is merciful to us when we know that we don’t even deserve it. I love the fact that Don is able to be thankful to God and to give Him all the credit and all the glory because he chooses to acknowledge that God brought him through his harrowing experience. He knows he should have been dead, but he is not. The fact that he is able to itemise each of the miracles and be thankful shows a heart and life full of gratitude for what God has done for him. 
    We too need to be thankful, not only when things are going our way but when they don’t. With God, there is always something to be thankful for, even in negative situations. I love the fact that Don can be thankful, not because the accident did not happen, but because it did, and he is able to see all the little and big miracles that took place through it. He has chosen not to focus on the negatives that came out of that experience but on the bigness of his God in the midst of it. God showed up and showed out big on his behalf. God overturned man’s expectations.
    What can you be thankful for today? It can be so easy to focus on the challenge, and on all the pain and frustration that it brings, that it is easy to forget that God is still in control in the midst of it all, He still has the final say. What little or big mercies are showing up in spite of what you are going through? How is God sustaining and keeping you as you go through? Sometimes, we just need to refocus and see that God is right there with us, we are not alone and He is doing and working more for our good than we can imagine. With God, the blessings will turn out to be greater than the pains. Just keep your eyes on Him!
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. Life will have its challenges, but God has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. He is right there, working little mercies for us in the midst of our challenging situation. Thank Him for His goodness. Thank Him for His mercy. Thank Him for sustaining and keeping you in the midst of it all.