He’s in charge

Jeremiah 46: 28a

“Do not fear, O Jacob my servant, for I am with you,” declares the Lord. NIV

This morning, I came to the end of the listings of the word, “fear” in my King James concordance.  The word appears hundreds of times in various forms, but, as I went through the list, I was mostly focusing on times that it was paired with “not.”

This particular “fear not” is one that I found months ago, but, didn’t catalog.  The remainder of this verse is a bit … sobering.  God says, “I will not completely destroy you.  I will discipline you but only with justice;  I will not let you go unpunished.”

The Biblical reminders not to worry that I’m finding are not just platitudes.  They aren’t like that song, “Don’t worry … be happy.”  Candidly, I’m not a big fan of that song … when you’re worried, it is very challenging to flip that switch to happiness on your own.

But, the Bible tells us, over and over, that we don’t have to face worry alone.  This verse says, “Do not fear … I am with you.”

And, the verses that I’m finding are showing me that worry over things to come is really not my responsibility — more than that, it’s above my pecking order.  “Do not fear … my servant.”

God reminds us that we needn’t worry because we’re not in charge … He is.

That’s what I’ll think about today.