Don’t be afraid!
“Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid.” (Isaiah 12:2a)
It is an understatement to say that fear has gripped the hearts of many people in our country during the past few weeks. The uncertainty of this time can understandably lead to fear. During this pandemic, we lost sight of the fact that at some point, the social distancing, the shelter-in-place orders, and other restrictions will be gone, and God willing, we will resume normal life.
As terrifying and unsettling as the past few weeks have been, there is something that is looming for every human being. It is something that is even more unsettling and final. It’s death.
The verse above was written 700 years before the first Easter but notice the joy and confidence that Isaiah expresses as he speaks in his prophecy looking ahead. God gives us salvation that we can trust, and we do not have to be afraid. Yes, we can apply these words to what our world has experienced during the past few weeks and know that God is in control.
• Jesus put the exclamation mark on our salvation with his triumphant and definitive resurrection from the dead that first Easter morning. This gives us the assurance and confidence that we do not need to be afraid of death because the risen Jesus tells us, “Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:19). Yes, death is not natural for us as human beings, but we don’t have to be afraid of death because Jesus provided us with a way out of death. His resurrection means our resurrection.
• If Jesus took care of the one problem that looms in the future for each of us, we can certainly work to put into practice the last words that Isaiah shares with us: “I will trust and not be afraid.” What will we face after COVID-19? Is our economy going to come back strong and stable? How will the things going on in our world today affect those whom we know and love?
• What is going on in our world will likely make our observance and celebration of Easter different from and likely muted compared with our normal Easter celebration. The one thing we can’t let this current situation do is rob us of the peace and confidence that Easter gives us. Our Savior is still risen and triumphant over death, and for this reason, we don’t need to be afraid no matter what is going on in the world around us.