(September 17, 2023) S. Sam Selva Raj encourages troubled hearts.

Heard individuals say something along the lines of  ‘Every morning I wake up only to be confronted with indescribable problems.’

They talk of burdensome problems – physical, emotional, career, financial, or family-related – constant worries that weigh them down. Frequently, they express their feelings saying, ‘This is all too overwhelming for me to handle. My problems continue to pile up and defeat me! I don’t have the strength to fight them any longer. How will I ever make it?’

What about you, dear reader?
Are you facing such experiences? Our ministry receives letters from troubled souls (even some saints) undergoing extremely difficult circumstances and asking for help. I highlight a couple –

A pastor shared his struggles: ‘I underwent a radical surgery on my prostate, which was full of cancer. The doctors also removed surrounding tissues, making life even more difficult. Please pray for me?’ This man lives in constant fear that some cancer traces may remain, while also battling diabetes and an ulcerated stomach and he questions, ‘How can I continue to face this? Will I ever overcome it?’

A heartbreaking story from a godly woman: ‘I’ve been married for over thirty-five years but now my family is being torn apart by my husband. He used to be an anointed man of God, frequently used by the Lord, but the fire within has extinguished. He no longer loves me, and I am incredibly unhappy. Please pray for him and my family.’

Other letters tell of individuals burdened with pain, some struggling each morning just to get out of bed, some desperately seeking the strength to face a monumental problem every single day. Personally, I have never come across such profound troubles, sufferings, pain and grief within the Christian community as at this time!

The good news is that our Lord can and will help us… as the following Bible examples remind us, He is the God who encourages His followers not to fear anything!

1. ‘Do not be afraid!’
Living in a foreign land, surrounded by powerful kings, uncertain of his future, Abraham had his concerns and God gave him an encouraging command: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward’ (Genesis 15:1NKJV).

The significance of the phrase ‘exceedingly great reward’ is that God would be Abraham’s defender, his wall of protection.

Essentially, God was assuring Abraham, ‘You will face difficulties, but I will shield you through them all.’ And he responded by believing God’s word (v6).

2. ‘Do not fear!’
Abraham’s son, Isaac received a similar instruction. He also lived in a hostile environment, surrounded by Philistines who hated him, harassed him, and wanted him off their land. Scripture says that when Isaac needed water for his flocks envious Philistines ‘stopped up all the wells… filled them with earth’ (Genesis 26:15).

Wherever Isaac went, he faced the same problem! Apparently, Isaac felt nothing but contention, even named one well Esek, meaning ‘contention.’ He must have thought, ‘How will I ever feed my family, water my flocks? How can I raise my children without fear, when the Philistines could plunder us at any time? Lord, why have you planted me here? How can I ever make it?’

But God was with him! The very night Isaac reached a new area, Beersheba, the Lord appeared to him saying, ‘I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants…’ (Genesis 26:24).

3. ‘You shall not be afraid!’
People often ask, ‘How will I ever overcome? These “enemies” are too formidable for me. I’m weak, helpless, and unable to do anything about them. How can I possibly navigate through?’

The truth is not a single dreadful circumstance takes God by surprise! He has foreseen every terrible thing that would befall humanity, including crises and problems we face these dark days.

God’s words of hope to Moses are also meant for us today. Israel whom he was preparing would face massive, well-armed heathen enemies on entering the Promised Land. God’s command? ‘You shall not be afraid of them’ (Deuteronomy 7:18).

In our present circumstances, ‘them’ represents every overwhelming difficulty we encounter in life. If we simply follow God’s instructions, we’ll not only endure our trials, but we too will witness His faithfulness in fulfilling His promises!

4. ‘Do not fear them!’
Joshua also encountered difficult times.

He and his army had marched all night to Gibeon where they faced a massive military machine of five confederate kings. As Joshua looked down at the battlefield, he saw the valley filled with mighty chariots and well-trained infantrymen. Yet all he had was a weary band of unskilled men.

A  cloud of despair must have gathered over Joshua and he probably thought, ‘Lord, we only barely made it here – and now we have to fight this strong enemy. Please, tell me – what are we going to do?’

God’s encouragement was  ‘Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand’ (Joshua 10:8aNKJV). God pronounced victory even before Joshua went into battle. In effect the Lord was saying, ‘The victory is already won! Not one of these enemy soldiers will be left standing after the battle. Now, go and fight, knowing I have promised you the victory!’ (See v8b).

5. ‘I will not be afraid!’
David too knew this great truth of trusting God and not being afraid! That’s why he could confidently say, ‘I will fear no evil’ (Psalm 23:4). The NIrV reads, ‘Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid. You are with me. Your shepherd’s rod and staff comfort me.’ 

But… you may still be asking, ‘What should I do then? How can I experience such peace and comfort from the Lord in the midst of all I face?’

Why fear not? Because our caring God says so! He knows every snare, trial, and temptation that will ever be thrown at us and commands ‘You shall not fear any of them!’

Our heavenly Father looks at every step of our lives, and in spite of all our crises, difficulties and enemies, He commands us again and again in scripture to ‘Fear not!’ (eg Matthew 10:26; Luke 12:7,32; Romans 8:15; 2 Timothy 1:7; Hebrews 13:6; 1 John 4:18).

Christians today ‘Fear not!’
Through Christ we are Abraham’s spiritual children, and God makes the same promise to us that He did to his offspring – ‘If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:29). That same God who protected those Old Testament characters above is just as mightily our shield today!

We are not to believe that our problems will cast us down and destroy us – we are to know that God will…

• Be our shield!
• Always remain faithful!
• Not forsake us!
• Never leave us to face our troubles alone!
• Repeatedly provide protection and guidance!

By trusting in God’s promises and obeying His command not to fear, we can find strength and courage to face any challenge that comes our way.

For Christians, this is the message of the cross of Calvary! Victory has already been won for us. No matter what crisis we face, whatever powerful difficulties lie ahead of us, our victory has been assured: ‘… in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us’ (Romans 8:37).

But… be positively active!
Does the good news above mean we are to do nothing – that we are to merely stand by and expect God to send some angel to slay all our ‘enemies’? No – never! Even though God has proclaimed our victory, we have to do our part!

Paul teaches three necessary actions: ‘Above all, take the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God’ (Ephesians 6:16-17).

We have to be like those armour-protected soldiers imprisoned Paul would have observed. However…
(i) Our ‘shield’ isn’t metal, but spiritual faith enabling us to overcome.
(ii) Our ‘helmet’ ensures ‘mind troubling thoughts’ can be quenched.
(iii) Our ‘sword’ is the Holy Spirit empowering us to believe God’s word, His promises!

We too can declare like Paul: ‘Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ’ (1 Corinthians 15:57).

Strengthen your faith!
The Holy Spirit responds to our faith. When we call on Him, He comes on us with supernatural power to help us overcome. Our part is to have strong faith and move ahead in the belief that God’s Spirit will help us resist life’s troubles, even evil powers which come against us.

It doesn’t matter what any of us have to go through or how long we have to endure it. One thing is true above all: God’s grace is sufficient to keep us strong in all things!

2 Corinthians 12:7-8 tells of Paul crying out to God for deliverance from his ‘thorn in the flesh’ and the Lord’s answer ‘… My grace is sufficient for you’ (v9a). God told Paul, ‘You are going to have to live with this thorn. But in the midst of your pain, I will give you all the grace you need. I have an endless supply for you!’ And Paul was satisfied (v9b-10).

Compassionate heart of God
The Lord wants us to know that His grace is stronger than any deliverance He might bring to our circumstances. His grace contains the full revelation of who He is! Simply put, God’s grace is Jesus fully revealed – in all His holiness, yet with a tender, compassionate heart.

Our heavenly Father sees every bit of our suffering, and makes these wonderful (NKJV) promises to us… 

• ‘… salvation… is from the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble’ (Psalm 37:39).
• ‘Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed… I will strengthen you… help you’ (Isaiah 41:10).
• ‘… humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God… exalt you in due time (1 Peter 5:6).
• ‘… do not cast away your confidence, which has a great reward’ (Hebrews10:35). 
• ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear’ (Hebrews 13:5-6).

You can make it through any situation, crisis or disaster – all by God’s grace. No matter what comes your way, He has more than sufficient grace and the Holy Spirit will comfort us. 

A further encouraging truth…
I know… despite the above encouragements, you may still be feeling all alone, that God is not at work for you. You see no evidence of His care and Satan, that evil father of lies and discouragement, is whispering that God’s Spirit has forsaken you.

Know and never forget this incredible promise of Jesus, right into your old age: His great  promise to His followers before He left them to return to heaven was ‘I will not leave you as orphans’(John 14:18). ‘Orphans is the Greek word orphanos meaning bereaved, fatherless, comfortless.

This promise to Jesus’ followers is ours too! It says to me that Jesus was indicating ‘You are mine!’  Know this… loved by Jesus we are never alone, comfortless; that no matter what you are going through, your heavenly Father has never once abandoned you, and never will.

• Trust Him, and His promises!
• Strengthen your faith!
• Remember Isaiah 41:10 – ‘So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you…’ 

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Dr S Sam Selva Raj is founder of India’s National Spiritual Newspaper Echo of His Call, printed monthly in 16 languages. For over 50 years Dr Sam has overseen many community outreaches blessing thousands, the Chennai church, Nehemiah Bible College, St Paul’s Matriculation School, postal and online Bible correspondence/theological courses. God’s 2023 challenge for Dr Sam’s is daily broadcasting 5-minute messages in Hindi, Tamil and English on YouTube, trusting Him to provide for the costs. Links: sam@echoofhiscall.org
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