Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Faith or Fear

While I sit safely this morning in the comfort of my warm house in Sunnyvale, I am keenly aware of people around the world in terribly painful situations—natural disasters, yes, but also social and political. In today’s paper, 10,000 are presumed dead in Japan and 2 million displaced. Buried on page 7 of the SJ Mercury, a short headline simply states that 31,000 Brazilians were forced to leave their flooded homes yesterday.

One has to wonder if the “hour of temptation” Jesus spoke about is coming upon us. “Because you have kept the word of my patience, I also will keep you from the hour of temptation which shall come upon the entire world, to try them that dwell upon the earth” (Rev. 3:10). Do you see Jesus' promise for us who continue in the faith? But many believers will fall away from the faith, consumed by worry and fear.

And so we must all be anchored in Jesus’ words: “Do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Mat. 6:34). That doesn’t mean to live as if there's no tomorrow. It means to trust that God is in control of tomorrow, just as he is in control of today. For us who are presently safe from these trials, let us use the time wisely—examining ourselves to make sure we are in the faith. (2 Cor. 13:5)

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