In God I Trust
Written by Hope Brake of Joy in the Mourning Ministries
I have been recently thinking about how God sees and has compassion on us when we are hurting. I have dealt with fear and feeling anxious all of my life. I sometimes wonder if God does care if I am still dealing with fear because the Bible commands us not to. As I would start praying about my fear more and more, I would realize that God does truly care.
I have been reading in Psalm 56 recently and I have taken comfort in the fact that God hears our pleas. In this Psalm, David is talking to God about his enemies that oppress him and it is a plea for deliverance from his enemies but his only hope is God. Psalm 56: 1-4 says: “Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me; all day long an attacker oppresses me; my enemies trample on me all day long,for many attack me proudly. When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?” (Psalm 56: 1-4, ESV). I find this encouraging because this is a reminder; although life may seem like it is crushing down and never going to get better, our only hope is Christ and we can run to Him with honesty.
There are days where I feel like the fear will never leave and it will not get better. Those are just lies from the enemy. The enemy wants us to think we are defeated and can never get over our trials. That is not true because we have victory over those thoughts through Christ and can take them captive by talking to Him about them. I have found it helpful to listen to worship music to get my mind off of the fear, but there are other tools to use to shift our focus as well - from reading the Bible, to finding outlets such as writing, or it could be as simple as talking to other people; this way you are not alone and it gets your mind off of the fear by engaging with others.
As brothers and sisters in Christ, we can encourage and pray for one another in our battle against trials and fear. So, as you may be facing fear of your own in uncertain times of grief and change, do not be discouraged. Know that you are not alone in these feelings and these fears do not have to last forever. Find others to encourage by writing them a card or be vulnerable enough to reach out to someone (including Joy in the Mourning Ministries) and ask for encouragement. The body of believers never has to face any battle alone, including the battle against fear.
