We Fear—God says, "Be Still"

As I started writing this, I knew I wouldn’t be going to the Dorchester today (Monday) to lead worship. I found out this morning that I would not be able to go to Anna’s Place either. On Thursday (12th), I stopped at the Green Bay Woodman’s to do some regular shopping since I was in the “big city.” You can imagine what I saw. A scurry of hundreds of people. Though it was mostly calm among the shoppers, I could see anxiousness lurking among many, and suspicious glances towards anyone who coughed or sneezed.

There’s a lot of fear going around these days. COVID-19 has some people literally fearing for their lives. Others are afraid that behind the disease there is a great power struggle taking place. Right now COVID-19 is like a dark cloud hanging over our world no matter how you look at it. But what is it that causes this fear? It’s the unknown. “How bad is it really?” “Who is most at risk?” “If I get it, will I survive?” “If I get it, might I accidentally pass it on to someone else?” “What’s going to happen to my personal liberties after all this is over?”

Questions. Questions. Questions. Each one of them founded in fear. Each one of them fed by an undercurrent of the unknown.

When we are faced with the unknown, there is nothing better we can do than to flee to that which is known. God’s Word and promises.

You are not alone in your worry and fear. In fact, long ago, the Sons of Korah felt a lot like you. They wrote about fear in Psalm 46—the earth seeming to fall apart, mountains trembling, nations in uproar, kingdoms falling, and wars. But then they said, …we will not fear…

Not fear? How? God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore WE WILL NOT FEAR, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. 

God is your refuge and strength. And he proved that to you by giving you his only Son. Jesus lived the greatest fear for you! Read the gospel accounts of Jesus’ struggling and turmoil in the Garden of Gethsemane, knowing what he would suffer. Read about Jesus suffering on the cross for you. He did that all for you! He died the most awful death there was to die, for you! Jesus did that to forgive you all your sins and to promise you that he is always with you, no matter the circumstances. And because Jesus has rescued you from the most dangerous and fearful disease of sin (100% mortality rate), he could also make another promise to you. The Sons of Korah wrote about it: There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the most high dwells. God is within her, she will not fall. God will help her at break of day.

They’re writing about the promise of heaven! In this time of the unknown and uncertainty, you can hold to the known that through faith in Jesus, the darkness of the grave and eternal death is not your destination when you die, but your home is heaven!

Having drawn your mind, heart, and soul to his promises, your Savior God says to you: Be still, and know that I am God… I often need this encouragement from my God, and I need it now, and I know you do too. To be still is to let God’s peace found in his promises of care, forgiveness, and everlasting life rest on your heart. To be still is to simply do the hardest thing there is for us to do, to let God be God and trust him.

And now, being still, what do you find? Yes, there are still a lot of unanswered questions, but the unknown isn’t scary anymore. Fear is replaced with that which is known—no matter what, my God loves me and cares for me. The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. 

Pastor Benjamin Enstad, St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church in Valmy, WI