March 16, 2020 – Click here to listen
So I’ve spent the past several days fishing. What a joy to be out on the water. I have been catching tasty Snook inshore and some tasty ocean fish offshore including the Golden Tile fish caught at 700-800 feet. Tasty means I’ve been eating a lot of fish lately. It reminds me of the song about living is easy – The catfish are jumping – and the cotton is high. I couldn’t go to church Sunday but not to worry I watched it on-line. The sermon was concerning anxiety and how to overcome it. If you care to watch it, click the thumbnail below:
Wow our country and indeed the entire world needs to hear that one. Anxiety is in reality fear. It’s a since of dread that some dire event will happen. The Bible instructs us not to fear. “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” ~ Isaiah 41:10 there are many such verses in the Bible, but my personal favorite is: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” ~ Philippians 4:6-7
My wife went through surgery, chemo, and radiation for an aggressive form of breast cancer and was fearful. A friend of mine came over and made her repeat this verse aloud over and again: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” ~ 2 Timothy 1:7 If we look at this verse in detail the Bible refers to fear as a “spirit.” It is a demonic spirit, but Christ is the victor over it. “‘For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Do not be afraid, for I myself will help you,’ declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.” ~ Isaiah 41:13-14
I could go on and on, but you get the picture. The Lord does not want us to be afraid. Just relax and go fishing or for an isolated walk on the beach or in a park. Reflect on God and believe Him and not the spirit of fear. You will not run out of toilet paper and you are not going to die until your appointed time which was decided before God created the world. You will not die of Coronavirus even if you test positive unless you are very old and ailing with respiratory ailments; so just cool it! The media wants fear. They make money off every post you read and every show you watch, (click-bait.) The money they earn is determined by the amount of people who read or tune in, thus the sensational headlines and fake news that lure you in. Some troll came out that Corona beer had dramatically dropped in sales because of its name – Nothing but a lie. This pandemic is a virtual goldmine and windfall for them. The demonic spirit convinces all you anxious people that you are going to die, and the sky is falling. Hey, it’s still there in place and you are breathing and that old heart is pumping away. God is on the throne.
We will survive this and perhaps the most important advice came from Jesus Himself . . . It’s simple really . . .
“Jesus told him, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe.'” ~ Mark 5:36