"Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, "The hand of the our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him." So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty. (Ezra 8:21-23)
And reading about Jesus calming the storm (Matthew 8:23-27), Jesus said, "Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?" Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
When I first arrived in Uganda, I was very fearful at night. I was fearful of people breaking in while we slept. So I did not sleep. In my anxiety, I reasoned that I could somehow prevent a break-in if I just stayed alert (makes sense, right?! ha!). It didn't help that the children didn't sleep well at first either, so I was up with a child every hour anyway. The outside noises were different, the inside noises were different.
One night, as I was gripped with fear, God broke through that fear and reminded me that GOD is greater than me, greater than "bad guys," greater than snakes and rats. Nothing that "bad guys" can do can prevail against God and His children without HIS permission. God brought us to Uganda and God will sustain us and protect us. Anything that happens is NOT outside of God's control.
Three months later, in my Bible reading plan, I read through these two passages (above) on the same day. It's interesting to me that Ezra was "ashamed" to ask the king for protection because of what Ezra had told the king about God. I suppose that's a whole different topic, but interesting nonetheless. So, instead of hiring men to watch over them, they asked God to protect them. Afterall, what can man do against God?
In the same way, as the disciples panicked in the boat in the storm, supposing that they would perish as Jesus slept, they also forgot the sovereignty of God. Do you suppose that as Jesus slept, God might have allowed the storm to swallow the disciples, let alone Jesus?!
It is so easy to lose sight of the power of our God. But, "if God is for us who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31) A night guard cannot protect me more than my God. A band of soldiers could not have protected the Israelites more than our God. A bigger boat could not have protected the disciples from the storm more than our God.
This does not mean that we are foolish and fail to exercise caution. We lock up the house, we do not flaunt expensive items, we do not leave our children unattended. The Proverbs are full of charges to pursue wisdom and not folly. So we pursue wisdom and trust the Lord to care for us that GOD might be proclaimed as great through that care. We may lose our lives, our possessions, our health, but this will not be a surprise to God and we can trust that this is the best for HIS kingdom.
Praise God for HIS care, HIS protection, HIS sovereignty. There is so much more to life than my fears and my feeble attempts to hold it all together. There is eternity! Praise God!
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