Because There is Hope

A tiny tear formed in the corner of my eye as a smile wiped across my face. I felt pressure immediately released from my heart and soul like air coming out of a tire too tight. It was just what I needed to hear, so I read it again. 

"You will be secure, because there is hope. You will look about you and take your rest in safety. You will lie down with no one to make you afraid, and many will court your favor." (Job 11:18-19)

After three days of intense field training in security and emergency situations, I needed to be grounded in something true. This security training for missionaries was excellent, and I had learned so much about so many things - from the theology of risk to what to do in an active shooting or carjacking situation. I had practiced going through government and criminal checkpoints, interrogation, and a hostage scenario. As the directors so aptly said, "The situations are fabricated, but your emotions are real." It was intense to say the least, and I found my mind wandering to "what ifs", which only creates fear. 

That's why Job's words struck just the right chord. So I read them even again. 

"You will be secure, because there is hope. You will look about you and take your rest in safety. You will lie down with no one to make you afraid, and many will court your favor."

Because there is hope. Hope in life and hope in death. Hope in Christ makes me ever secure even in the most difficult security situations. This is living by faith and not by fear. 

The training increased my fear, but it also increased my faith. Sometimes it has to happen that way - an increase in fear causes an increase in faith. My faith is stronger because I know what could happen, and I'm willing to do it anyway. 

After sharing thoughts from my training, I received more encouragement through others as they also recounted scripture to me. Scripture takes me away from the "what ifs" and centers me back on what is true. Not what could be true, but what is truly, solidly, forever true. 

Isaiah 54:14 

"In righteousness you will be established:
Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear.
Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you."

Psalm 97:10

"Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for He guards the lives of His faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked."

Philippians 1:12-18 

"I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice."

Some scriptures promise protection from harm, some promise deliverance, and some promise that it will happen. Yet in all these, the bottom line is that Christ is proclaimed, whether through our suffering, our protection, or our deliverance. I love what a friend of mine said, "I want Christ to be proclaimed no matter what." In that I rejoice. 

I go back to these verses a lot these days as I am learning to balance healthy fear with steadfast faith. I have to practice situational awareness and yet constant awareness of the presence of God. I am learning to operate off faith instead of fear. And most of all, I am learning to rejoice in what Paul rejoiced: "Only that in every way, Christ is proclaimed."