John 16:33-In the world you have tribulation

All one has to do is look at the headlines to see that there is much we could fear. From the whole world being on the brink of war, to here in our own country where Presidents homes are being raided, elections are no longer trusted, people get fired for sharing the gospel and when our children are not being gunned down in their schools they are being taught that there’s no way to tell if they are a boy or a girl so be whatever you feel like being oh and don’t forget the constant indoctrination that there is no God. And then across the whole world, there are earthquakes, fires, monsoons, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards, power outages, and food shortages. And on top of all of this, there is the concern for our families and our health, finances, the future, and the fear that we are just messing everything up. It is no wonder that anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in our country.

But if we read the whole verse in John 16:33

And as it says in 2 Timothy 1:7

7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Lets take a look at people who feared in the Bible and what the outcome was of that fear. In Genisis 12:11-13

And it happened as he drew near to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “Now behold, I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance; 12 and it will be when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may live on account of you.”

Abraham was afraid of the people and that they would kill him. As we read on we will see how his fear affected those around him.

Gen 12:14-20
14 Now it happened when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.15 And Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16 Therefore he treated Abram well because of her; and sheep and oxen and donkeys and male and female servants and female donkeys and camels came into his possession. 17 But Yahweh struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18 Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for myself as a wife? So now, here is your wife, take her and go.” 20 So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away with his wife and all that belonged to him.

Because of Abraham’s fear, he allowed his wife to be taken for another man, then that man, Pharaoh’s household, was afflicted on account of her. When we fear, we are not just affecting ourselves, but all around us. If this one time wasn’t enough, he did it again in Gen 20:1-16. This time God appears to the one who took Sara and warns him that if he does not return her, then he is a dead man. Here again, Sara is taken from her family to belong to another man, all because of her husband's fear of his own life. And then their son Issac follows the example set by his father and fears those in the nations around him instead of trusting in the Lord, who promised to give them the land.

• Proverbs 29:25
  • The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.

See, this kind of fear clouds our thinking and causes us to make very bad decisions. As we read already in

• 2 Timothy 1:7
  • 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

When we are trusting in Him, we will have a sound mind. When we are run by fear, there is nothing sound in us. Let's look at an example that shows both sides.

Numbers 13:26-33
26 Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28 Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.” 30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” 32 And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. 33 There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

The children of Israel listened to the voices of fear rather than the voice of one who’s trust was in the Lord. And this is how we react many times as well. Someone will come around and start talking about all of the what if’s and our heart starts to melt within us. We need to be of those who trust in the Lord, those who encourage others to be strong in the Lord. Not of those who breed fear. Let’s continue in this verse to see the full outcome.

God was so displeased with these people and their unbelief and lack of trust in Him that He was ready to wipe them all out and start over with Moses and raise up a greater nation from him. What does this tell us about how the Lord feels about us when we are not walking in faith and are not trusting Him to do what He said He would but rather fear. Remember in 1 Corinthians 10:11, when talking about all that happened with the children of Israel, we read

11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

We are to learn from their mistakes, so we do not make the same ones. Lets finish reading in Numbers. We pick up where Moses just finished pleading with the Lord not to destroy the people for the Lord’s name's sake, so that He is not spoken evil of by the nations

Numbers 14:20-31
20 Then the Lord said: “I have pardoned, according to your word; 21 but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord— 22 because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, 23 they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it. 24 But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it. 25 Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valley; tomorrow turn and move out into the wilderness by the Way of the Red Sea.” 26 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 27 “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against Me? I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me. 28 Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: 29 The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above. 30 Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in. 31 But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised.

Because of their fear and disbelief, they would not enter the promised land. If the promised land is a picture of eternal life, then what does this tell us about our own fear and lack of trust in the Lord? This tells me that both separate me from my God and put me in danger of not entering eternal life. Let us press on in the Lord and cast all of our fears and cares on Him.