Before You Panic

     One of the most powerful motivators that moves us to action is fear. Because we receive hundreds of fear inducing messages per day, we live in culture of fear. This fear tempts us to behave in ways that display the thought that God hides from our prayers, and will not attend to our needs. We then, like the psalmist, seek to fly or wander away. In Psalm 55:1-7 we read of a prayer that we all can relate to in times of fear. Psalm 55:1-7 reads, “1 Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy! 2 Attend to me, and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and I moan, 3 because of the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked. For they drop trouble upon me, and in anger they bear a grudge against me. 4 My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me. 5 Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me. 6 And I say, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest; 7 yes, I would wander far away; I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah

     To help us deal with fear, I suggest that before you panic, remember.  Looking at Mark 8:18 we see a question asked by Jesus when His disciples feared because they had forgotten bread for their journey. Jesus’ question is, “18 Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember?

     The context of this question is Mark 8:1-30. In this text we see Jesus meeting the needs of those who were following Him and listening to His teachings. Following these event Jesus warned His disciples concerning the sin of the Pharisees and of Herod. The disciples thought that this warning had to do with the fact that they had forgotten the bread, while in fact Jesus was speaking about the propensity of the human heart to need miraculous sign in order to believe. Because they misunderstood and had forgotten bread they began to panic. From this context, instead of panic we are to remember. Within the stated context, we find for things that we can remember instead of experiencing panic.

1. Remember that His provision is from His compassion. 8:1-10

2. Remember that you don’t need another sign. 8:11-13

3. Remember that He has helped before. 8:14-26

4. Remember Who He is. 8:27-30

     As we remember these things and reflect on the caring love of God, we can replace panic with worship. Note what the author of the book of Hebrews says as paraphrased in The Message Bible. Hebrews 12:28 “Do you see what we've got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander” (MSG). With this passage in mind, understand that the author calls us to “see”. As you face challenges, please remember to see the good and possibly miraculous outcome when we worship instead of being filled with panic.