It seems to me that we already had enough bad things happening in the news. Then hurricanes named Harvey and Irma slammed onto our shores, causing an untold amount of damage and horrific suffering. Today I read where hurricane Jose might charge up the eastern seaboard and possibly even threaten Philadelphia by Wednesday.
The list of things to fear just seems to get longer and longer. We have many good reasons to fear. Here is a partial list: terrorism, accidents, crime, and of course, death—ours and those around us. I’m sure that each of you could add other threats that can haunt or are haunting your everyday lives, too. Where can we turn?
Thankfully, God’s Word has answers for us. It is actually possible to experience calm in the midst of impending doom.
We have an example of that in Acts 6:8-7:60 of the Bible. A Christian named Stephen found himself facing a terrible situation. He had been telling others that Jesus is the Messiah who died for our sins. Because that was a very unpopular message among his religious countrymen, they wound up rushing on him in a wild frenzy and began throwing stones at him until he was dead.
We would expect Stephen to be terrified, and if not, at least angry, as he faced the enraged crowd. But, instead, Stephen faced his painful death with an amazing amount of calmness. In fact the Bible tells us that he appeared so calm that the onlookers “. . . saw his face like the face of an angel” (Acts 6:15).
How could he possible face a painful death so calmly? Stephen’s secret lay in the fact that he had a vital and living relationship with his Creator.
The story of Jack Vinson is another example of someone who had personal, satisfying peace in the face of death. He was a missionary in China during the dangerous years leading up to World War II. Political uproar, criminals, the Japanese Invasion, and the Communist Revolution caused many people to fear for their lives.
At one time Jack Vinson was captured and threatened by a bandit with a gun who said, “I’m going to kill you! Aren’t you afraid?”
“No, I am not afraid,” Vinson had replied. “If you kill me, I will go right to God.” Later he was captured by robbers and was eventually shot and beheaded.
John and Betty Stam, also missionaries to China, were martyred as well during this time period. They were captured by communist thugs in 1934. The day before they were executed John Stam wrote, “My wife, baby and myself are today in the hands of communist bandits. Whether we will be released or not, no one knows. May God be magnified in our bodies, whether by life or by death. Philippians 1:20.” You will find a fascinating article about them at https://goo.gl/4ixfUQ.
After hearing about Vinson’s death, another missionary, E. H. Hamilton, wrote the following poem that became the rallying cry for the missionary community during those dark days. Hamilton’s poem said simply:
Afraid? Of What?
To feel the spirit’s glad release?
To pass from pain to perfect peace,
The strife and strain of life to cease?
Afraid—of that?
Afraid? Of What?
Afraid to see the Savior’s face
To hear his welcome, and to trace
The glory gleam from wounds of grace?
Afraid—of that?
We may never lose our lives because we love Jesus, but isn’t it good to know that calmness is still possible no matter how difficult life gets? The key is to make sure that we are following the same God that Stephen, John and Betty Stam, and Jack Vinson followed.
When we want to turn from our sinful ways and embrace Jesus as our Savior, then we can boldly declare “… If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? … Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? …. But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:31-32, 35, 37).
If you will “. . . seek the Lord your God,
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