Defeating Fear – During the Virus Crisis
May 13, 2020
Psalms 138:1-8
I will praise You with my whole heart; Before the gods I will sing praises to You. I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name. In the day when I cried out, You answered me, And made me bold with strength in my soul. All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O LORD, When they hear the words of Your mouth. Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the LORD, For great is the glory of the LORD. Though the LORD is on high, Yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand Against the wrath of my enemies, And Your right hand will save me. The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.
Psalm 23:1, 4
“The Lord…is my shepherd…and I shall not be in want! And even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me!”
2 Corinthians 1:7
“And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in sufferings, you will also share in God’s comfort.”
What we know is what gets us through
1.Remember not everything I hear is true
Proverbs 14:15
The Message
“The gullible believe anything they’re told but the prudent sift and weigh every word.”
Proverbs 13:16
New International Version
“The prudent man always acts out of knowledge.”
Proverbs 18:13
Living Bible
“What a shame — yes, it is folly — to decide before knowing the facts!”
Proverbs 18:2
Living Bible
“A foolish person doesn’t care about the facts. All he wants to do is yell.”
Proverbs 14:8
Living Bible
“The wise man looks ahead. The foolish person attempts to fool himself and won’t face the facts.”
Proverbs 23:23
Living Bible
“Get the facts at any price, and hold on tightly to good sense.”
4.Remember to focus on what is unchanging
God sees everything I’m going through.
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
2.Remember not everyone is at equal risk
5.Remember no matter what I go through God will go through it with me
Every stage, every phase, every crisis, no matter what I go through, God is going to go through it with me
Isaiah 43:2
“When you go through deep waters, I will be with you! When you pass through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned up; it will not consume you!”
3.Remember this too will pass!
1 Peter 4:12
“Dear friends, don’t be surprised or shocked when you going through painful trials and fiery tests in life.”
Isaiah 24:5, 19
“The earth suffers for the sins of its people, for they have twisted the instructions of God, violated his laws, and broken his covenant. Therefore…the earth has broken down and has utterly collapsed. Everything is lost, abandoned, and confused.”
2 Corinthians 4:17-18
“For our temporary and momentary troubles will not last But they are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we focus not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
VI. REMEMBER THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE STORY!
2 Corinthians 4:8-9, 14
“We often suffer, but we’re never crushed. Even when we don’t know what to do, we never give up. In times of trouble, God is with us, and when we are knocked down, we get up again… because we know God raised the Lord back to life. And just as he raised Jesus, he will also raise us back to life, and will bring us into his presence together.”
Revelation 21:4
“Then God will wipe every tear from their eyes. And there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things will pass away.”
7.Remember that God wants me to help others
1 Cor. 12:27
Together you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of that body.
3 John 1:2
“Dear friends, we are praying that all will be well with you and that your body will be as healthy as we know your soul is!”
John 13:35
New Living Translation
“Your love for each other will show to the world that you are my disciples.”
Leave a Reply