Fear-less or Fearless
Written by Ps Alby Yip
The current pandemic has surfaced many fears. Fear of the virus, the vaccines, the unvaccinated, and even the vaccinated. Sometimes, the unvaccinated fear the vaccinated as they may be asymptomatic. It is understandable. With the number of cases being reported, more in the ICU and number of deaths climbing, it is hard not to fearful.
But the challenge is this. How do we protect ourselves, and others, while at the same time, not allowing fears to dominate our lives, divide friendships, and disrupt society? Perhaps it is good for us to learn from Asaph in Psalm 73 where he grappled with unpreventable and unexplainable suffering.
Verses 1-16, in my own words, says, “Why is this happening to me? I believe in God and I’ve tried to be a good Christian.” But he does not end there. Asaph continues in verses 17-28, writing that while we may struggle with our present troubles, we must not stop at our present struggles.
Note how verse 1 reminds us to look back to see how God has brought us through past troubles and verse 17 exhorts us to look forward. Verses 17-22 tell us that God is ultimately in control even when things are out of control. Verses 23-26 gives us the assurance that we are never alone because God is with us. Most importantly, verses 27-28 remind us that God is, and His purpose is, ultimately sovereign. And that’s the hope that we have.
Allow me to add something that I usually say in a funeral sermon – The end of life is not the end. There’s still eternal life. We may suffer for, let’s say, 70 years in an average life. But eternal life is eternal life! Even if we’re to bear with suffering for 70 years, that compared to eternity is nothing.
In summary, Psalm 73 teaches us that when troubles hit us, look back and be reminded that God was not absent in our previous troubles.
When we see no way out, look forward and be assured. Even when we feel like it is the end of the world, it is not the end of the world. If we die, we are still going to a better place to be with God. That is why even if the pandemic worsens, we need not fear, nor try to fear less. We can be fearless in living out our faith in action!
