July 19 devotion - Overcoming Fearful Times

2 Timothy 1:7  For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline. (NIV)

            We live in fearful times, so many people feel anxious and insecure. We worry about the future of our families, communities, and nations. We wonder if peace will ever come or whether we will ever be safe. The spirit of this post-modern era is full of self-doubt and uncertainty. The 21^st century, which so many of us thought would bring about wonderful solutions for the security, health, and prosperity of the whole human race, has been a great disappointment so far. Perhaps toward the end of this century, we may begin to get it right.

            As a pastor, biblical scholar, and theologian, I find it difficult not to relate the decline in church-going Christianity with the societal increase in fear and anxiety. It seems to me that the opposite fear is faith and the reverse of anxiety is assurance. Christ came to offer both faith and assurance to humanity, so is it too simple to think that the solution to the angst we are currently experiencing actually resides in the form of Christianity we are rejecting?

            I also think this why the apostle Paul encouraged Timothy with the words of today’s highlighted verse. They both lived during anxious, insecure, and deeply disturbing times. Paul offered Timothy the same remedy that I believe we need today: a divine assurance that the Spirit with which God blesses us, can overcome any anxiety, fear, or insecurity through power, love, and self-discipline.

            Wherever you go today, or whatever you face, please know this: God has your back because He fills you with His Spirit first.

Questions for personal reflection

What am I worried about today? Am I willing to let God’s Spirit subdue my fears and overcome my problems?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, You are the Savior of our souls and the Champion of our faith. We look to You to lead, guide, and be with us through whatever we have to presently face or endure. In Your Holy Name, we thankfully pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to ask questions or make comments about today’s message, please send him an email to Traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is one of John’s Spirit drawings. If you would like to view a larger version, please click on this link: Spirit.

Bible devotion: Forty Years Ago - Psalm 116:12

Psalm 116:12           What shall I return to the Lord for all His goodness to me?

            Forty years ago this month, I tried to take my own life by overdosing myself with the tranquilizers that I was taking. I was eighteen years old, very selfish and self-centered. I wanted to end my life as a means of punishing my parents for the misery that I felt was all their fault. I even wrote a dramatic suicide note which was very spiteful, as well as melodramatic. I felt that I had the right to end my life because it wasn’t going the way I wanted.

            My girlfriend Rhona, and two of my best friends, Stevie and Rose Mary, found me unconscious in my bedroom. When they couldn’t wake me up, they realized that something serious had taken place. They very quickly took me in a taxi to the ER, where my stomach was pumped to get rid of the pills, in order to lessen the impact of my foolish suicide attempt. I spent three days in the hospital recovering from my stupidity.

            The following forty years could never have happened without their life-saving intervention. Somehow God allowed me to live, through their immediate response and quick thinking. I would never have known all of the blessings that I have experienced since then – my marriage to Evelyn, the birth of my two daughters, my faith in God, and the calling He has given me. I was young, rash, and foolish, but God was patient, loving, and merciful.

            Life never gives us everything that we want, but I believe God gives us all that we need. I owe my life to three people on Earth and will always be indebted to them. I also owe absolutely everything to God, who placed them in my life at one of its most crucial and critical of times. I am eternally indebted to God’s grace and goodness, which I can never repay nor given anything equal in return.

            Life is good. Each day is a gift. Every friend that we have is more precious than gold. All the love we experience in life comes directly from God. How can we ever repay those blessings? What shall we return to the Lord for all His goodness to us?

Prayer:          Lord Jesus, we love You. We thank You for the gift of life and love, as well as friends and faith. Help us to share these blessings with all whom we encounter and meet today. In Your Holy Name, we cheerfully pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment or ask questions about today’s message, please send him an email to Traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is John’s latest bird drawings called “Allyson’s Bird.” If you would like to view a larger version, please click on this link: Lilac Bird.