OUR HOPE: Acknowledge The LORD In Our Fear

Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge Him.  As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.  Hosea 6:3

We have been witnesses to several terrible acts of violence in just the past few weeks.  We have seen London Bridge attacked, a deadly explosion at a concert with young girls and their families , and just last week we saw another attack in an area close to London Bridge.  In each of these attacks on England’s soil, there were those who lost their lives.

Just a couple of weeks ago, we saw here in the U.S. an atrocious attack on congressmen practicing for a benefit baseball game, in Arlington, Virginia.  The gunman was killed, but several participants were injured, one critically.   If not for the quick response of the Capitol Hill police this attack could very well have become a massacre.

We can look at newspapers and television reports nearly every day and see more violence.  In many instances we have no reason, no previous insult, nothing to explain why an attack has happened.  But as we become aware about these events, we have to process our feelings about what we are observing.  We have to find a way to deal with the shock, the heartache, and the fear that begins to permeate our daily lives.

Do we need to be afraid?  We need to be aware, and use common sense in the places we visit, when we visit them, and if there may be any warning signs.  For instance, after the occurrence in recent years of shootings in our theaters, I have instinctively located all exits.  I no longer think about it, I just locate them as soon as I am inside.  I also watch for people acting suspiciously.  It has become a part of my nature to exercise caution.

We recently had another deadly shooting at a UPS store, around the same time as the Arlington, Virginia shooting.  Does that mean I will not visit a UPS store now?  Of course not!  I refuse to give in to terror, of any sort.  But I choose to be careful, and to be sure my family and friends also adopt some precautions.

On the other hand, believers in Christ do not need to live in fear of anything.  He has promised a perfectly safe landing.  While we value our lives here on earth, and most of us are nowhere ready to check out early, especially because of a random or directed act of violence, we know Who we belong to and that we can trust Him with our safety and our lives no matter what.  The verse above is from Hosea, in the Old Testament.  It was obviously written before Jesus came to this earth to be our Savior.  But remember this…Jesus was here in the beginning.  He is God. God is Jesus.  Therefore anything God promised, is also a promise to be delivered by Jesus.  He is Our Hope, and because He is, we are free to live without fear and without worry.  We have His wisdom, to face each day with confidence and grace.  We can trust Him to care for us regardless of circumstances we may encounter.

So, let us acknowledge the LORD, and remember that the LORD is Our Hope.  He is like the spring rains, and He will appear, and be the calm in answer to our fears.  He is Our Hope: our past, our present, our future.

Blessings!

Have you recently experienced fear due to the many violence across the face of our world?  If you have, how have you conquered it?  If you have not been able to achieve that, how are you processing your fear? 

Please leave a comment if you have faced fear recently.  I would love to hear your story!