James H. Cagle
Guest Columnist
“I will fear no evil: for thou art with me” (Psalm 23:4 KJV).
We fear things that are bigger, greater and more powerful than us and that are out of our control. But if we have someone with us who is for us, who is bigger, greater, more powerful, and can control that which we fear, then we have no need to fear.
The “evil” that can come into one’s life is not necessarily moral evil. It can also be trouble of any kind, such as disease, famine, financial reversals, natural disasters, job loss, accidents and any number of other things that knock us off our tracks and put us on our backs.
Though we encounter evil and trouble, they are not in charge of or controlling the situation; God is. God first of all allows evil, and then He controls and limits it. He will not allow more on us than we can bear.
But there is also moral evil, for there are many immoral men who are the enemy of and who openly oppose righteousness and righteous men and their righteous work. When they attack righteousness, we meet face to face the agents of evil, the servants of Satan, and the enemies of God. And though they have the intention and power to hurt us, we should not fear, for God is with us.
Fearful men and fearful things come into our lives and threaten the integrity of our lives of peace, order and progress. We feel fearful because these men and things are more powerful than us and are capable of disrupting our plans and destroying us. But when we remember that nothing comes into our lives that doesn’t first come through the hand of our heavenly Father, we accept the test as part of God’s plan for our lives and trust in His will and wisdom.
Our enemy, Satan and his angels, are more powerful than we are, and the forces of nature are more powerful than we are, but they are not more powerful than our heavenly Father, who is omnipotent.
The Psalmist David, when in distress, wrote of his trust in God: “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee” (Psalm 56:3).
The writer of Hebrews points out that we should not covet things that we think can bring us security (Habakkuk 2:9), but should be content with what we have, for our security is in God. “For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me” (Hebrews 13:5, 6).