8 February 2019 - on not being afraid

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Suggested Memory Verse: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

The Lord is my helper,
and I will not be afraid.
What can anyone do to me?

Confidence in the LORD allows us to endure and be steadfast in virtue and constant in brotherly love. It allows us to say things which should be said even when to do so is risky. It allows us to act rightly when other easier paths are open to us.

John had said to Herod,
"It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."

If we lack hospitality we risk receiving messengers from the LORD as Herod does John the Baptist. Hospitality is another way of saying that we are open to whatever God sends us, to welcome it for his glory. If God sends us a messenger we must be open to their words. We may be so invested in our particular faults that the criticism of the prophet seems to challenge our very identity. But if we remember to be confident in the Lord we are not afraid. We remember that since he is on our side no one else can hurt us and nothing is truly lacking.

Do not neglect hospitality,
for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels.
Be mindful of prisoners as if sharing their imprisonment,
and of the ill-treated as of yourselves,
for you also are in the body.

Confidence in the LORD helps us to see beyond the narrow horizons of our lives. On our own we are afraid to be so mindful of prisoners or others who suffer. We fear that we will be crushed under the weight of our own sympathy. But because the Lord is both our helper and the helper of all who suffer we need not fear for ourselves or for them. In uniting ourselves to them we can be confident in God on their behalf.

Certainly following God leads to risks for our flesh. They persecuted Jesus so they will persecute us as well. John the Baptist experienced the hardship that can result from following God. But he was confident that what he had in his relationship with God was worth more than even his own life.

but be content with what you have,
for he has said, I will never forsake you or abandon you.

Be content in what we have from the LORD! Be confident in his love! These will be the fuel of our discipleship.

The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?