2019: What Shall We Fear?

My mother had a lot to think about. She felt responsible to care for a large family, with the prospect of many more offspring to come. Her experiences in the Great Depression likely contributed to her concerns about having enough of life’s basic needs.

To add to Mom’s anxieties, a common theme in the ’60s was the threat of frightening and global changes to our existence. The church and the news media both promoted a fascination with the end of the world as we knew it.

When I was a child, I remember Mom’s musings about saving things–even considering saving worn-out shoes in case our world became a desperate place and one of us would not be able to buy things. Fear of the future was a very real phenomenon.

Fear was a powerful and manipulating motivation in the 1960’s. And Bible teachers and society’s influencers used it without shame.

Here I am in the last minutes of 2018, and my grandkids are growing up in a world that was not expected to still exist, back when I was their age. Seriously. Hardly any adult in my pre-teen world considered it possible that the earth would survive until 2019. Because everything was self-destructing. And the prophetic experts had all the details published in writing.

It seems all conventional wisdom is still based on fear. My dear grandkids need to fear. Fear the flu. Fear the vaccine. Fear the Conservatives. Fear the Liberals. Fear the environment. Fear the neighbour. Fear the teacher. Fear the church. Fear guns. Fear gun control. Fear the news media. Fear eternity. Fear knowledge. Fear ignorance. Fear life. Fear death.

Do you really want to live this way? Has it really served our culture well to manipulate our behavior with the weapon of fear? Is that why depression and anxiety are at all-time highs?

Has the Church really taken an alternative to the fear tactic? In my years of life, I don’t really see a lot of contrast in the strategy of Christians. Fear is often the starting point in the Church, as well.

I dare you to count the number of social media posts, the number of news stories, the click-bait headlines and the political predictions–in just one day–that are fear-based.

I know. There’s a very fine line between basing our messages on stark reality and manipulating others through fear. But there’s a mile-wide difference.

For 2019, I’m renewing my focus on realities that strengthen my inner peace, reduce anxieties, and develop deep levels of trust in the entire plan and purpose of the Lord God, in Jesus Christ.

At first, that may sound like a naïve stick-your-head-in-the-sand strategy. And that’s tempting. Here’s what it means to me:

I don’t just blab clichés that claim Jesus will prevent all the things I fear. I confidently claim that Jesus gives an empowering grace, and that nothing in the future is beyond the scope of his amazing presence and peace.

Just read about the extraordinary experiences of the faithful who lived through the horrific things we can’t even imagine: like the conquests of the Roman empire, the Nazi holocaust, the slave trades, human trafficking, and countless stories of horrific genocides and persecutions. The stories of complete trust, resulting in peace and joy and confidence are awe-inspiring.

Find Jesus Christ to be the Source of Peace that “guards” your heart and mind from fear and anxiety in 2019. Read Philippians 4:4-9. It could change your life. May the New Year be your most rewarding year, ever!