Fear Not, You are Under the Shepherd’s Hands.

Friday 27^th September 2019. Read Zech. 2:5-9,10-11, Jer.31 & Luke 9:43-45

_“He who scattered Israel will gather him and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.” *(Jeremiah 31:10).*_

As this week comes to an end, the words of the Prophet Zechariah are worth holding on to. They are words of hope and encouragement spoken at a time of fear and despair. Zechariah says: “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for lo, I come and I will dwell in the midst of you, says the LORD.  And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people, and I will dwell in the midst of you.”

And to add to this, our Psalmist says: “The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.” In the midst of life’s challenges, it is easy for us to be overcome by fear. What is Fear? False expectations appearing real. It is normal and okay to be afraid; it is the body’s way of warning us against danger. However, it is not our fears that count but what we do despite these fears.

The man of faith has fears but he is not controlled by them. He is not moved by what his physical eyes see but what his spiritual eyes envisage. The man of faith remains calm and consistent not because he lacks any fear but because he knows he is under the shepherd’s hands. Like Jesus, he can afford to sleep soundly in a boat while the disciples were panicking for their lives. He can afford to sleep because he knows that God guards His children as a shepherd guards his flock.

The man of faith will continue doing what is right regardless of threats that come from different sides. Like Daniel, he would not just pray but even open his windows to pray despite hearing the decree from the king stating that no one should pray in the land. (Daniel 6:6-10).

Being humans, we cannot stop ourselves from being afraid, but we can decide to take our eyes off our fears; we can take our minds away from what we see on the national dailies; we can tune off the television and go offline on social media so that we can deliberately focus on the greatness of the God that we serve. It pays to count your blessings and recall the goodness of God in the past. It pays to retell your testimony because it reminds you that despite what your fears are right now, God is still in charge. He will not leave you forsaken.

In our Gospel passage, Jesus repeats the same sad news as we read yesterday, telling His disciples of His imminent death which would be followed by betrayal, agony, rejection and shame. Jesus’ disciples could not understand because they were taken over by fear. No one had ever risen from the dead before so it was too difficult for them to imagine that anything good would follow the death of Jesus. It was only after the resurrection that they understood what Jesus was saying. The reason you feel paralysed with fear now is that you find it hard to imagine a better tomorrow, you still cannot see any light at the end of your tunnel but know this, that if Jesus rose from the dead, your faith will never be in vain.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, my shepherd, teach me to remain strong despite my fears. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Saturday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Zech. 2:5-9,10-11, Jer.31 & Luke 9:43-45)