By the Rev. Ed Ganus

There are times in our lives when we are beset with fears and thoughts of disaster. Dark possibilities loom ahead and capture our imagination. There may be nothing in these fears. They may have no real basis. Many of our worst fears never happen.

It is possible though that they may have real foundation. We may have ill-health, for example, or some crippling infirmity which threatens to increase, or we may be facing the threat of financial problems.

What shall we do if our fears become reality?

In Psalms 11:1-3, the Bible gives us an answer, “In the Lord I put my trust: how say ye to my soul, flee as a bird to your mountain? For lo, the wicked bend their bow. they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart. If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Then the psalmist answers his own question in verses 4-7, with the conclusion in verse 7 being, “For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.’”

When these fears become reality, remember, God still beholds the upright and strengthens them for the trials that come. James 1:3-4 says, “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

The psalmist said in Psalms 119:71, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy Statutes.”

If our fears become reality, remember nothing can take away God’s love. The apostle Paul in Romans 8:35, states, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” Paul gives us his conclusion in verses 38 and 39, where he list several things and concludes that nothing can separate us from the love of God.

The wonderful thing is that God loves us and his love never changes. We must be sure that we love him so that loves is perfected through a completed cycle of receiving and returning.

Some times we only comprehend God’s love when our fears become reality (or we touch bottom). One proof of that is that it is not the people who suffer most who are in doubt of the love of God. The doubters are often healthy and comfortable people. The sufferers who listen in quietness and open their hearts to God’s comforts, come to know that he is with them and that he cares. They become sensitive to his love in new ways they had not known before.

Paul himself had experienced the hardships of trials. Lie had been beaten and left for dead, he had been put in jail in stocks and bonds, faced storms on the sea, and faced the threat of being killed. Yet he said nothing will take away God’s love.

I have found several times in my ministry that when visiting persons who are sick in bed or who faced hard financial times, scarcely making ends meet on a small social security check, that their faith and love for God had grown. Their commitment to God had become stronger. Their fears had become reality and because God had blessed them through these times they encouraged me probably more than 1 encouraged them.

When fears become reality do as the psalmist, who said. “In the Lord I put my Trust.’” Better yet, put your trust in the Lord now and if you are not in church and serving Jesus, begin to do so now and realize the greatness of God’s love.

Edward Ganus, Pastor: Philadelphia Baptist Church Member of The Greater Andalusia Ministerial Association