BOLD Ministry

The headlines this morning could not have been written by Tom Clancy or even Jim Kramer a few months ago, even a few weeks ago:Lehman Files for Bankruptcy, AIG Totters & Merrill Lynch Acquired by Bank of America.

This was not your father's kind of Monday morning. Sunday night there was a lot of panic around on the cable news channel. The futures markets had plunged to dangerously low levels. All the news channels and commentators could smell the fear. The live TV cameras showed Lehman workers exiting its world headquarters with boxes under their arms. The thought even occurred to me that could this be the beginning of The End?

There is a phrase in Scripture that only occurs twice: 'sudden fear,' in Job 22:10 and in Proverbs 3:25. The verse in Proverbs states: "Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh."

We were definitely experiencing sudden fear, but Scripture states that we are not to give into sudden fear. This is not a suggestion; it's a command!

FACT: 1 Some of the commands of God, which are always for our benefit, speak to not just behavior, but to our emotions. There is an emotional decorum that God requires from us because it is necessary for us to continue in our purpose and His plan.
FACT: 2 A small point about whom God judges: it's the wicked. The wicked, based upon the translation of the word means, 'lawless ones.' Those who live outside of the commands and guidelines of God are lawless. Those that live within God's provision, grace, are like Abraham, the people of the promise.
FACT 3 There is another little recognized fact: when God is in the process of judging (judgment), He is usually concomitantly engaged in the fulfillment of a promise. In Genesis, the Lord comes down to judge Sodom and Gomorrah, but on His way, He decides to stop in for lunch with His friend Abraham. I find it fascinating that at the same time that the Lord is planning on wiping out Sodom, He is also about fulfilling the promise He gave to Abraham. Did Abraham fear that he was going to get wiped out with Sodom? No! So then why should we?

The key to keeping on the right side of the Lord is to obey not only what He says, but by trusting Who He is.

The Scripture teaches us how to handle fear with the verses that follow in Proverbs 3:25-6: Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

I think ultimately the fathers of our nation knew what they were doing when they decided to put "In God we trust" on our currency. From God's perspective, trust translates into worship. So you want to worship God today, right now, try trusting what He says and Who He is.