On March 4, 1933, the 32nd President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, gave his inaugural address to the nation. Within his speech, he uttered these words: “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”
The country swept President Roosevelt into office during the depth of the great depression. I was not around at the time, but I remember seeing drawings of people jumping out of windows when the stock market crashed. I read of many losing their jobs, which caused many to lose their homes, getting to the point where many had no food.
My grandparents lived through the depression. I remember stories of how, shortly after the depression, my grandmother would take my father and uncle to pick beans, and that is what they would eat many times. Later, when I came along, the impact of the depression was still visible in my grandmother’s life. She was a hoarder and frugal. She did not like me wasting food.
The great depression was a difficult time for the world. It was a time that many were fearful. And, here we are again. People are fearful now as people have been for eons of time.
There are many examples of individuals hounded by fear in the Bible.
David experienced fearfulness when his eyes were on people and circumstances. It is when David turned his eyes to God that the fear dissipated. Faith traded places with fear.
Fear and faith stand side by side within each of us. Both cannot be equally strong. When faith comes to the forefront, fear automatically diminishes. The question is, where is our faith? If our faith is in anything temporal, fear will rise and conquer. But if our faith is in God, fear will have no dominion over us.
When you feel fear creeping into your soul, where do you turn? If you turn anywhere, but to Jesus Christ, fear will paralyze you and cause you to retreat rather than advance.
So, my dear brothers and sisters, put your faith in God. As a child, I sang, “He’s got the whole world in His hands…” He does! Jesus told us not to worry about tomorrow. The reassurances of Jesus permeate His Word. They are there for us to read. They are there for us to believe.
The closer you get to Jesus, the stronger your faith will be in Him and the greater His peace will be in you.
We don’t need to get caught up in fearing fear.
We do need to get caught up in Jesus!
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