Faith | In times of chaos, ‘Fear not’ and plan on God’s peace

Our world seems to be in chaos.

Hurricanes in the South, fires in the West. No matter which side you are on in politics, the “other side” is doing something terrible.

There is a despot “in town” that seems to think Ukraine is his own sandbox. The Middle East hotspot just seems to get hotter and hotter.

And of course, health challenges, job loss, mental health issues, family struggles, the economy, all affect us to a smaller or greater degree. And even to the strongest of us, these issues are scary.

In the craziness that surrounds us, where can we turn for peace?

In the time of Jesus and his disciples the despot had a different name, and the sicknesses may not have reached pandemic proportion, but many of the issues were the same. One of the last things Jesus said to his disciples before he was betrayed, kind of a parting thought, was, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

I have often thought of this as a well-intended phrase of encouragement. But what if it is more than this? What if Jesus left us with this as a commandment?

In the few instances the Bible records of mortals receiving heavenly messengers, what is the first thing those messengers say?

The angel Gabriel to Zacharias, “Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard ... .” (Luke 1:13). The same Gabriel to the young virgin, “Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God.” (Luke 1:30). To the shepherds on the advent of Jesus birth, “Fear not, for I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” (Luke 2:10)

Fear is the opposite of faith, and we simply cannot have both at the same time. They don’t exist together. If we are going to keep the faith we need to lose the fear.

One author put it this way, “None of us can appreciate how deeply it wounds the loving heart of the Savior of the world when He finds that His people do not feel confident in His care or secure in His hands or trust in His commandments.” (Jeffrey R. Holland, Trusting Jesus, [Salt Lake City, Deseret Book 2003] page 68)

It doesn’t matter when the tribulations hit us, because “He that keepeth (us) will not slumber, ... nor (will he) sleep.” (Psalm 121:3-4) It doesn’t matter if we feel the whole world is against us, because with God on our side we are in the majority. “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) In the world we shall have tribulation, but we are to be of good cheer. Christ has overcome the world. (see John 16:33)

But the Apostle Paul says we should “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” (Philippians 2:12). Does that mean that we should wallow in the scary times? I propose that we often misconstrue what our friend, Paul, meant. The psalmist said the same thing, only differently. “Serve the Lord with fear, (here meaning respect or reverence) and rejoice with trembling.” (Psalms 2:11)

To those who follow Christ, the chaos of the world around us does not need to cause us to fear. Christ brings peace. He brings comfort. In fact, when we follow him we can rejoice. And fear not.