Is There A Reason To Fear?

If you look at the recent happenings in Paris, I would say 'yes'.
If you look at what Jesus did for us on the cross I would say 'no'.
If you look at the power of the promises of God to those who pray I would say 'no'.
If you look at the amount of importance God's people place on prayer I would say 'yes'.

Although most people will agree that there is great power in prayer, the problem is that not enough of us and doing enough of it. We have been remiss in our duties as Christians. And, now we see the reward for our slothfulness.

In John 14:1, Jesus told us not to allow our hearts to be troubled. In Mark 4, Jesus calmed a raging storm that the disciples were absolutely sure they were going to die in. The He jumped their case for being afraid and having no faith. In Isaiah 41:10, God told us not to be afraid because He was with us. In Psalm 23, David said that even though God lead him through the valley of the shadow of death, he wouldn't fear the evil because God was with him.

Then just how is a Christian supposed to react to what happened in Paris? The first question I would ask you is how much have you been praying for people to turn their lives over to God? Saved people don't go around killing people. While we're on the subject, saved people don't go around robbing, raping, kidnapping and just plain beating up on people. Praying for the lost would certainly bring the crime rate down in your neck of the woods now wouldn't it?

In all of your thinking, have you ever thought of that? No, because you have spent your time getting angry and upset over the things you demand yourself to look at. It's the habit of most people. Take Paul's advice in Romans 12:2. Don't be conformed to the world's standard of behavior. Transform your thought life and your prayer life by meditation on the word of God instead of what you see and hear.

Then, again, you might take the advice Jesus gave in His prayer in Matthew 6:10. "Father, let your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." The cross just didn't seem to be the appropriate way for Jesus to die. He should have lived for years until all of Jerusalem had been healed and saved and delivered.

But God had bigger plans than that. He intended for the message of His love to be spread throughout all of the earth. Jesus couldn't do that by himself. He needed the help of thousands of volunteers. He never intended for these volunteers to go about the business of reaching the lost without empowering them to be able to do the job. That took a cross, a resurrection and the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

Let me give you something else to think about. The Lord allowed Nebuchadnezzar to overcome Jerusalem and take the people captive for 70 years. He kept telling them to get right and stay right but they refused. So, the Lord kept His word.

But, look at the overall picture. God troubled Nebuchadnezzar with a dream. Through Daniel, God showed Nebuchadnezzar and His people His long range plan. In the Babylonian empire, they were just puppets who fulfilled God's warning from the book of Deuteronomy and the prophets. God used the riches of the Medio-Persian empire to send the Jews back to their homeland and rebuild the temple. When the Greeks captured the land, they made everybody speak their language. When the Romans destroyed the Greeks they built roads and placed guards along it.

Therefore, when Jesus told the disciples (Matthew 28:19) to go into all the world and make disciples, a lot of the hard work was already done for them. Everybody spoke Greek and they were able to travel on safe roads. What looked like God turning His back on His faithful people was actually God working out His complete will.

Yes, the bombings in Paris were terrible. Yes, it was a shame that so many people were hurt and killed. And, yes, if Christians had been more attentive to the promise of God in 2 Chronicles 7:14, it might not have happened.

However, that is history now and we need to prepare for the future. Instead of shaking in fear, we need to double and re-double our prayer efforts. According to Paul (Romans 8:28) God is able to make this work together for our good. In John 16:33, Jesus told us that we would have tribulation. But, He also instructed us to be of good cheer because He had overcome the world.

Here's how we need to pray. We need to declare that God is going to work something good for us in all of this. We need to thank Him for His plan to do us good, (Jeremiah 29:11). Then we need to submit ourselves to God. Ask Him to show us what we should be doing in this matter. Then get busy about doing it. Keep in mind that as we submit ourselves to God, the devil will flee from us (James 4:7).

The bottom line---Pray for the lost to get saved and give God praise for answering prayer.