Divine Grace & ProtectionSample

ANXIETY FREE TWENTY FOUR SEVEN

It has always intrigued me that the Bible would go to the trouble of mentioning Jesus’ use of a pillow, especially considering yesterday’s theme. I’ve often wondered what it was made from – perhaps it was feather and down!

Mark 4:38 ‘Jesus was in the back of the boat, sleeping with his head on a pillow. The disciples woke him up and said, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are about to die?”  ‘

Beloved, today I want you to meditate actively on the promise of living a life without anxiety. And I don’t mean brief periods where you feel peaceful but rather an unbroken, around the clock, anxiety-free existence, even amidst raging storms.  

Consider verses 5 and 6 of Ps 91

You shall NOT BE AFRAID of the terror by night,

Nor of the arrow that flies by day,

Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,

Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. 

This is a non-stop, round-the-clock, 24/7 declaration – I will not be afraid at any time day or night.

The Hebrew word used here for ‘terror’ is more correctly translated as FEAR. Perhaps the English translators thought it would not make sense if translated ‘You shall not be afraid of FEAR.’ However, this makes perfect sense to me. 

Fear is irrational. It is not always based on a valid circumstance of threat or real danger but rather triggered anxiety. PTSD, anxiety attacks and conditions are themselves at pandemic proportions. 

Before listing actual threats, this passage starts with a bold declaration over general phobia and perceived risks. I will not be afraid of FEAR! 

This kind of imagined fear is also assigned a timeslot – FEAR by NIGHT. Fear out there in the darkness. Fear of the unknown. Fear of the unseen. Fear in the meditations of the mind. 

Beloved today our declaration is, ‘no more’. As we nestle our minds softly into the feather and down, we will sleep sweetly to the sound of our protector’s heartbeat. We will not be worried about the things that ‘might’ be out there and by His grace, we will also not be worried about the things that we know actually are. 

The arrow that flies by day represents the direct attacks. These surely will come. Any life of influence and destiny has it’s haters and worst still, as Jesus was betrayed, often in this life attacks come from those in our very own boat. 

Yet there is a promise not just of protection from arrows but also of the fear of such attacks. We can live without anxiety, even in times of attack. Jesus let it be our portion.

The pestilence that walks in darkness is the reality of a fallen world where plague and disease roam uncontrolled. Thank God for modern medicine and yet humankind has no cures for many of our most threatening plagues. 

Jesus doesn’t just want to protect you from sickness and disease, He wants you to live without anxiety concerning your health. To place your faith in diet and exercise and natural medicine is folly at best. Such basic stewardships cannot assure you will not wake with cancer or fail to wake from an aneurism. 

Our peace against such threats must be in Christ alone.

The destruction that lays waste at noonday is visible around us every day. Ruined businesses, ruined families, ruined marriages. 

Here in Australia we recently experienced some of the worst destruction by fire in modern memory. In 2008 the world was rocked by the Global Financial Crisis. Many enter 2020 still recovering from the devastation of the GFC event. Often these things are beyond our control as people fail us, corruption reigns in humanity, and the very earth itself shakes. 

Yet still, we are promised not only protection but more importantly, peace.

Jesus placed his head on a pillow. What a picture of a sound mind resting against the heartbeat of His Father. His storm was very real and life-threatening, not a phobia or an imagination, yet whether real or imagined, to live without fear is the heart of Jesus for you.  

Beloved today as you read Psalm 91 aloud, boldly declare: ‘I WILL NOT FEAR!’ He cares, and He wants you to live without anxiety.

PSALM 91 PERSONALISED
TO READ AND DECLARE ALOUD

1. I dwell in the secret place of the Most High; therefore, I abide under the shadow of God Almighty.

2. The Lord God is my refuge and my fortress; He is my God, and in Him, I do trust with all my heart.

3. He surely delivers me from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.

4. He covers me with His feathers, and under His wings, I take refuge. His truth is my shield and buckler.

5. I am not afraid of the terror by night nor of the arrow that flies by day,

6. Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

7. A thousand may fall at my side and ten thousand at my right hand, but it shall not come near me.

8. Only with my eyes shall I look and see the reward of the wicked.

9. Because I have made the Lord God my refuge, even the Most High my dwelling place,

10. No evil shall befall me, nor shall any plague come near my dwelling;

11. He gives His angels charge over me; they keep me in all my ways.

12. In their hands, they lift me up, lest I strike my foot against a stone.

13. I tread upon the lion and the cobra; the young lion and the serpent I trample underfoot.

14. The Lord says to me, “Because you have set your love upon Me, therefore I will deliver you; I will set you on high because you have known My name.

15. You shall call upon Me, and I will answer you; I will be with you in trouble; I will deliver you and honour you.

16. With long life, I will satisfy and show you My salvation.”