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Throughout this past week, God has been reminding me that, as a Christ follower, I can continue to look to Him as my rescuer — regardless of what comes my way. 

He is such a good daddy in that regard.  Over and over again, when things happen in life that we cannot understand. When fear tries to take hold, or when we may feel defeated or inadequate. God is right there to speak peace, give us wisdom, and help us keep focus.

Recently I read from Dr. David Jeremiah, “When we feel afraid, it’s time to recognize the feeling for what it is and respond with…faith.”

We all can feel fear at times in our life, but God is there to help us and deliver us from it.  Fear is not a godly expression. In fact, it is the opposite of faith.  Fear brings you down and faith builds you up. Fear gives you negative feelings with no traction, but faith gives you positive feelings with greater-than-expectations footing.  See what I mean?

The Word of God tells us about fear and how to respond.

“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.  And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”(Romans 8:15) The “again” indicates that before we followed Christ we were captives of fear, but once we became Christ followers we were set free from fear. It no longer has power in our lives because we belong to God.

When we get caught up in anything that makes us fearful and feel out of control, God says, “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”(2 Timothy 1:7) 

God comes to our rescue not just in a salvation capacity, but also as a life preserver.  He is ready, willing and able for us to trust Him with everyday life situations because that is just how life is — unpredictable.

The word says, “But realize this, that … difficult times will come.” (2 Timothy 3:1)  He knows we are never ready for trauma, hurt or devastation, but God is there to see us through it and help us. The Word says, “My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:26).

Looking back at Romans we see “…we cry, “Abba, Father.” As Christ followers we can call upon the name of the Lord.  He is faithful.

“When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.” (Psalm 56:3)

Yvette Perrin is a columnist for The Charlotte Gazette. She can be reached at theword2yvette@gmail.com.