Jesus Encouraged

What Did Jesus Do?

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life...”
Matthew 6.25

Way back when I was studying economics in college I became convinced that the Stock Market was like nothing so much as a flock of easily frightened sheep. What really drives the Market is what I call the “Fear Factor.” When investors are afraid, the Market tanks. When they are confident, the Market soars. President Franklin D. Roosevelt knew what he was talking about when he told the nation that it had “nothing to fear but fear itself.” Americans are more frightened today than at any time since the Great Depression, and America's fears have all but paralyzed the economy.

I don't know if fear makes cowards of us all, in fact I rather doubt it. But I am certain that fear makes cowards of businesses and investors. Where does fear arise from? Well, few things produce fear as effectively as anxious worry does. The Bible is quite clear about anxiety, it brings us down, deflates and defeats us (Proverbs 12.25). But Jesus came that we might not be defeated, but rather victorious. And the path to victory began with Jesus encouraging his followers not to be afraid or anxious, but rather to take heart. Though we may believe the world is full of many dangerous and frightening things, Jesus has overcome the world (John 16.33).

Jesus understood that, afraid, his disciples were already half defeated. So the Lord took every opportunity he had to encourage them, “Do not be afraid,” “Do not be anxious.” Nothing is quite so paralyzing as fear. And few things incline us to be selfish more than our fears. When we are afraid it is hard to think of anyone or anything but ourselves.

The best way to get our mind off of ourselves and our fears, to be free of our anxious worries, is to be assured that our needs are taken care of, that we are secure. Now, some may trust in “horses,” others may trust in “chariots.” But we trust, or at least we are supposed to trust, in the name of our God. You see, our God, who would have us call him “Abba,” that is, “Father,” knows exactly what each of us need. And, because we have the evidence of his great provision for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, we can be confident that, knowing our needs, he will not fail to supply for them. Armed with such knowledge, we may cast off our anxious worries and fear, and live confidently, boldly, victoriously.

But, if America is going to eliminate and overcome the “Fear Factor” that is so crippling our economy, crippling so many lives and families, I believe it must first deal with its faith failure. It really should not surprise anyone that a United States that is “no longer Christian” is a frightened nation. Why, without faith in God, the God of the Bible, we are prey, individually and corporately, to all kinds of fears, and with good reason, because God alone can protect, preserve, and deliver us “from all evil.” President Roosevelt knew that American's had to conquer their fear, but he also understood that America was crippled by a corporate fear, if you will, his address was both to individuals and to the nation. Even so, the faith failure of America is one each of us need to deal with individually, but also something that the Church, the Body of Christ in our country, must confront. For, if the United States is truly “no longer Christian” our national falling away from faith occurred while churches lost millions of members, and the faith of those members who remained became weaker and weaker. As President Roosevelt realized America had to triumph over its fear, Jesus well understood that without faith his followers would be overcome by fear and grief. If you talk to an average church goer today I believe you are likely to find an American who is just as frightened as their non-church going neighbors, and this is because the failure of faith let fears flood in and overwhelm. Somehow, the Church has garbled or lost the message of the Gospel, a message of hope and security, even bold confidence, in Christ Jesus.

When the Lord was confronted with his own anxious, scared to death disciples, he said to them:
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me...
Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
John 14.1, 27

If Jesus were to speak to Americans, if he were to speak to the Church in America today, I believe he would encourage us. I believe he would urge us to believe in the Father and to believe in him, to have faith, and to proclaim the faith to Americans and to America. In truth, America has never literally been “Christian.” But, for many years the leaven of Christian faith so worked itself through this nation and many of its people, that the immeasurable benefits of faith blessed this land in many ways, not the least of which was our individual and corporate mastery of our fear. This country was the “home of the brave” because, though not all Americans shared the same faith, enough Americans were faith-filled that it could be said that we were “one nation under God.”

Before we start on the road to economic recovery we need, individually, and collectively as the Church, to admit our faith failure and take the road to faith recovery. Again, if Jesus were to speak to Americans and to the Church in America he would tell us to believe, to have faith. And, believing, he would have us let go of our anxieties and our fears. I am confident that is what he would do today because when he came into the world two thousand years ago, that's what Jesus did.

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4