God Has Not Given Us the Spirit of Fear…But of Power, and of Love, and of a Sound Mind

That little passage from 2 Timothy is one I’ve been sort of hanging onto in the midst of all the insanity.  I don’t think it’s an accident that Paul sent that note to Timothy as an encouragement to be bold about sharing the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. And to hold fast to everything Paul had taught him, in the face of a parade of charlatans that were apparently grabbing the spotlight every chance they got.

Looking at the news, not much has changed in 2000 years.

This is a sobering time, but it’s also such an opportunity, for those of us who know the Lord, to demonstrate what living from faith in Jesus looks like.

Since the moment Adam and Eve fell for Satan’s deception, this has remained a fallen world. Fallen right into the hands of the enemy of angels, God, and man. There has been no event in recorded history that has so clearly illustrated how fragile—how non-existent man’s control of the world actually is. The mighty nations of the world have been brought to their knees…by a bug.

But isn’t on our knees the right place to be?

Robin and I were talking just yesterday about things being out of control, and she made the point that things are always out of control. In a heartbeat, our illusion of control can go right out the window. A car swerves into our lane, a doctor delivers a diagnosis we never wanted to hear, a thief steals a credit card number,  an adored grandchild posts something appalling on Facebook or Instagram…and the list goes on and on.

The point being, this is nothing new. We never had control over the world. The only thing different now, is that all at the same time, everyone on the planet’s life has fallen off that tightrope we’re all walking.

But here’s something we can control. We who are in Christ do have, according to Galatians 5:22-23, self-control. In fact, one translation of that passage from 2 Timothy, the phrase a sound mind is interpreted self-control. And we have the further promise that we can count on the Spirit to be continually renewing our mind, restoring our self-control, because it is continually under assault.

So we children of God are the ones with the real answers here. Certainly not the experts in government, on TV, or the internet. Which is not to say we can utter the right words, in the right order, with the right frame of mind and with enough faith…and no one we love is going to get sick. But knowing who we are in Christ, we can forge on through this time without fear, using our heads, being prudent, reaching out in love to anyone we may can help, and letting the Lord see the power of the One who is living in and through us. The power to allow us to calmly go about doing the things we need to do, the power to be generous when we have the opportunity, and consoling, wise, and loving. And the power to stand up to the fear all around us, and refuse to give into it. Or to give in to the outrage being fueled by the strident voices of godless political opportunists.

We know who we are, and we know that God so loved us that He gave His only begotten Son up to be crucified for us. What more does He have to do to convince us that He is for us?

All of us are being affected by this…perhaps by the virus itself, but far more certainly, by the economic damage being inflicted upon us because of it.  God is not standing by, twiddling His thumbs on the sidelines. We may not can imagine how He will do it, but Romans 8:28 says, unequivocally, that God is causing all things to work together for good to those who love Him, to those who are called according to His purpose.

That would be…us.

Be confident. Yes, we are entering a season of pruning, but just beyond that, I believe that we are going to witness this decade truly become the Roaring Twenties, as the great silent majority, the bedrock of this nation, the men and women of faith in Christ, the people of integrity, principle, and virtue, who are the legitimate heirs to the legacy of Freedom, at long last…awaken.

What a Day of Rejoicing That Will Be!