Children are great teachers, and we can learn many things from them. In this context, let’s look at the mother of a little four-year-old daughter, both of whom were afraid of the dark.
One night when the light was put out, the little girl caught a glimpse of the moon and asked, “Is the moon God’s light?”
“Yes, dear, it’s God’s light.”
The next question was, “Will God blow out His light and go to bed?”
The mother said, “No, little one, God never blows out His light. He never goes to bed. He never goes to sleep. His light is always shining.”
After a pause, the child said out of simplicity of her faith, “Well, as long as God is awake, I’m not afraid.” And this was reassuring to the mother, too.
“Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.’ ” Matthew 18:2, 3
Fear—of darkness, of failure, of sickness, of pain, of people, of death—robs us of sleep, of joy, and sometimes, finally, of life itself. We need to be childlike in our simple faith. We need to remember that God’s light never goes out. He never goes to sleep.
“My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” Psalm 121:2–4
Fear is just the opposite of faith. To be full of fear is to have no faith, and that’s the final condition of all the lost. When faith has forever departed and the Holy Spirit no longer dwells with them and in them, there is left nothing but a certain fearful expectation of judgment (Hebrews 10:27). Some may be surprised to know that God classes the fearful with the unbelieving.
“But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8
The fearfulness mentioned here is that which comes to the lost. They have no faith and are absolutely full of fear. This is God’s picture of the end of the road.
Jesus said some very interesting and important things about fear. The only fear that Jesus recommends is the fear of God. But that’s an entirely different thing. Notice the words of the Saviour, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28
These are clear words. Do not fear man. The worst thing he can do is kill you, but he cannot destroy you. But fear God because he is able to make the destruction complete. The word fear is directed toward both man and God. It is sinful to fear man, yet we are commanded to fear God. Why? Fearing man simply means to be afraid or alarmed. Fearing God means to have reverence for and to be in awe of.
One of the most fearless men who ever lived was the prophet Daniel, yet he feared God. Threatened with death in a den of hungry lions, he continued his custom of religious worship. He was undaunted. As someone beautifully said, “He feared men the less, because he feared God the more.” It is clear from the writings of both the Old and New Testaments, especially the words of Jesus, that the real answer to the fear gripping millions of hearts today, is faith. Faith is what we need.
Speaking to His disciples one day, the Saviour described the persecution and opposition they would face because of their faithfulness to Him. Then He spread out before them His most well-known illustration.
“Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore: you are of more value than many sparrows.” Verses 29–31
You see, God knows everything. He sees in the dark, as well as in the light. He knows our problems. He knows what happens to the sparrows and to the smallest components of nature. God understands the intricate mechanism of the atom, of the electrons, protons, neutrons and their ceaseless vibrations. Yes, He knows and understands them all. But more intimately, He knows the number of hairs on each head. … an amazing thought since the number of your hairs changes every day. He knows all about us, and His watchful care is always over us.
In India, a Christian minister was teaching one of his hearers the Lord’s Prayer. When he got to the end of the first clause, “Our Father in heaven,” she said, “Stop, that’s enough. That’s all I need to know. If God is our Father, everything is all right. There’s nothing now to fear.”
Never once did Jesus say that He, Himself, was afraid. He always told His followers not to be afraid. We see Him there on the Sea of Galilee. Peter, James, and John, partners in the fishing business, were astonished at His wonderful miracle when the fishes came up in the net and the net was so full it broke.
“When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!’ ” Luke 5:8
In that moment, Jesus realized Peter’s spiritual need and His first words to him were “Fear not.” Verse 10. Then He called Peter to be an apostle, a fisher of men. No one can really work for God until he conquers fear. “No fear” was the very first lesson Jesus taught His disciples as He prepared them for their work.
Remember the terrible storm as the disciples were crossing the sea. Millions of tons of water crashed all about them in the boat; the wind blew so fiercely they thought the boat might capsize. They were so afraid that they cried out to Jesus to save them. Then as Jesus approached the boat, walking on water, He calmly said these words that could be heard above the tumult of the storm, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” Matthew 14:27
Peter stepped out of the boat and began walking on the water toward Jesus, but the storm still blew and rather than focusing on Jesus, he allowed himself to be fearful, and immediately he began to sink into the sea. In great fear, he put out his hand and shouted, “Lord save me!”
Jesus saved Peter. And He will save you and me if we have faith in Him.
A vicar of the church of England once startled his congregation by announcing the subject of his sermon in just two words: “Don’t squint.” His text was the one we have just quoted: “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” Matthew 14:31. He told how Peter stepped out of the boat, walked on the sea toward his Lord, and then began to sink. He described the disciple’s appeal to Christ: “Lord save me,” and how the Lord saved him and brought him back into the boat, asking “Why did you doubt?” This word doubt has a Greek root meaning “looking two ways at once, or squinting.” Why did Peter sink? Because he had one eye upon Christ and the other upon the billows around him.
For peace of mind, we need to trust in Jesus
Jarius was a prominent man in the religious affairs of those days, a ruler of the synagogue, and he belonged to a class of men who had opposed Jesus. But his 12-year-old daughter and, his only child, was deathly sick. How he loved her! He went and found the Saviour, “Come Jesus, come and heal her,” was the father’s plea. But on His way, the throngs pressed upon Him in the narrow streets of the city. Multitudes came for healing and it seemed that the Master would not arrive in time.
While Jesus was speaking to one of those who sought His healing touch, a messenger drew near, pushing through the crowd to bring the devastating news to Jarius that his daughter was dead; there was no need to trouble Jesus anymore. But when Jesus heard it, He answered saying, “Fear not: believe only and she shall be made whole.” Luke 8:50. What blessed words those were to the father’s heart. “There is no need to fear, everything will be all right.” Jesus went into the room where the little girl slept in death and said, “Little girl, get up,” and immediately she was restored to life. Jesus, ever thoughtful and kind, said, “Give her something to eat.” His message to the troubled father was, “Fear not.” And that’s His message today to every father and mother who trusts in Him.
Back to the Sea of Galilee
Jesus loved the Sea of Galilee. His boyhood was spent not far from its shore. He knew it when it reflected the moonlight on a still night. He knew it in the morning when it flashed back the sun. He knew it in storm and calm.
One night, He and the disciples were caught in a sudden tempest. Apparently, their little boat was about to sink. The Scripture uses the graphic words in Matthew 8:23–27, “And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We are perishing!’ But He said to them, ‘Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?’ Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So, the men marveled, saying ‘Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?’ ”
So many of us today live in constant storm. It’s because we have so little faith.
Wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes, famines, pestilences, all these things are coming in the last days. But we are not to fear; we are to have faith. But how can we learn to trust in times of trouble? What is the Christian’s secret of a happy life? Here’s a text we should never forget, for it tells us how to do just what Jesus did.
“Faith cometh by hearing …” Romans 10:17. Hearing what? “… hearing by the word of God.” If we listen to God’s word: This is what Jesus did and if we read the word of God, if we feed upon it, that is, eat it spiritually, meditate upon it, think about it, receive it into our hearts; then the word of God actually becomes faith in our, driving away all fear. That’s the secret of trust in trouble, of faith in this world we are living in. Where there is faith, there can be no fear—no fear of others, no fear of ourselves, no fear of failure, no fear of suffering, pain, sickness, or even death. For our hands are in the hands of God. He tells us that He will look after us, care for us. All the hundreds of promises in God’s word are ours when we believe them. This is the secret of a happy life today—a life of faith. “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” 1 John 5:4. And that’s the victory that Jesus had. He used the word of God in His conflict with Satan. His whole life was full of the sacred Scriptures of the Old Testament which He learned as a child. He, who Himself was the living Word, appealed to the written word in His ministry here on earth.
And so, friends, in our daily lives right where we live, meeting our many problems, we, too, may apply the same word of God. We may hear it, believe it, take it to ourselves as applying to us personally. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Faith generated by the word of God in our hearts is the answer to fear. Let us believe our beliefs that are founded on the word of God, and doubt our doubts that come from disease, despair, disappointment or disobedience. So, friend, never put a question mark where God has put a period. As someone has put it, “Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, receives the impossible.” When his only son was killed in World War I, Sir Harry Lauder said to a friend, “When a man comes to a thing like this, there are just three ways out of it: there’s drink, there’s despair, and there is God. By His grace, the last way, is for me.” May that faith in God, be ours also as long as we live.
H.M.S. Richards was the founder of the Voice of Prophecy radio ministry which began broadcasting in 1929 and continues broadcasting still today, in 36 languages on more than 1,100 stations. He was also a Seventh-day Adventist evangelist. He passed away on April 24, 1985, at the age of 90.