If you’ve never been caught in the surf line at the beach, this picture may not carry the same impact that it does for me. But having spent some time on both coasts I can identify, although I am not and never will be an ocean person… I much prefer the mountains. However, I think you will identify with what this picture represents… fear!
All of us have at one time or another been caught in the surf line of fear. We want to be standing on the peaceful and secure beach of faith, but wave after wave of fear keeps pulling our legs out from under us. No matter how hard we struggle it seems as though we can’t make it out of the pounding surf and onto the beach. This is especially true at high tide when the force of the waves is even stronger and the struggle to stay upright becomes almost impossible. And the last thing you want is to be pulled under and dragged out into the surf by the receding wave.
Like the world, we can continue to struggle and fight in our own strength and hope for a “low tide” to come in and take the fear away. This struggle will wear us down and can even overwhelm us to the point of complete defeat, dragging us so far down in fear that we don’t even have the strength to call upon God for help. Which, by the way, if we had heeded His Word in the first place, we wouldn’t have found ourselves being pulled under!
It seems like the world around us is spinning out of control; out of our ability to control our personal world, the one we live in every day. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed by fear when all you read, see, and hear on the radio, TV, or in the newspaper is news about the virus.
Faith is our ticket to the beach, why do we fail to stand in faith in the One who can lift us up out of the pounding surf and put us on the beach. Maybe it’s because…
Our faith is weak in the face of fear because down inside we don’t believe God!
Think about that for a moment. We fail to believe what He has told us about our faith, and we fail to stand on His Word in our prayers. Without faith our prayers are just empty words. Without faith our prayers never rise above the ceiling. Without faith we have no “right” to call upon God to be faithful to His promises. Consider the following examples and see if this rings true.
- James 4:2… ye have not, because ye ask not.
- Ps 91:15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him.
- John 14:13-14 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
- 1 Kings 18:37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
- Phil 4:6-7 Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
- Phil 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
- Matt 21:22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
In the words of E. M. Bounds, “The possibilities of prayer are the possibilities of faith; faith is always praying and prayer is always believing.” Satan knows that, and he knows that it’s the lack of faith in God and His promises that keep us from praying, which keeps us standing in the surf line, being continually pounded by our fears. Just remember… great faith enables Jesus to do great things! All we have to do is ask, believing that Jesus always hears our prayers and has promised to answer them. Not just sometimes but all the time… so God can be glorified.
The question is… do we know that?