Have you ever been afraid? I have, and I don’t like that feeling. Ever since I was a little boy growing up on a farm with steep hills, I have been afraid that someday I might flip over in the combine on one of those hills. I used to see another farmer using a combine that had a 4wheel-drive system. I thought if I had one like that, I wouldn’t be afraid. However, that farmer’s combine flipped over even with 4wheel-drive, and he was very seriously injured.
One day while I was harvesting, the combine did slip a few feet down the hill. I was really, really scared, but then the Lord stopped the slide. He wants us to trust Him, and not trust in a better combine or our own ability to handle one.
Do you remember the story of Job in the Bible? He was an honest and trustworthy man, and he was very rich. Job loved God and hated evil, yet God allowed Satan to destroy everything Job had and to cause him to become very sick and in great pain. And then all ten of his children died!
Job was so sad he wished he could die himself. He couldn’t understand why all these awful things had happened to him. But all along Job had been afraid that something sad might happen to him someday. In his deep sorrow he admitted, “The thing which I greatly feared is come upon me” (Job 3:2525For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. (Job 3:25)).
Why does God let sad things happen? Does He want us to be afraid? Fear is very real. You can’t make it go away just by wishing it would leave. Sometimes God sends sadness into our lives because He wants us to learn to trust only Him. It is then we find out how much He loves us, and we’ll be ready to trust Him even more. He says, “The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between His shoulders” (Deuteronomy 33:1212And of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders. (Deuteronomy 33:12)). “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:2727The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them. (Deuteronomy 33:27)). And God means what He says.
If you don’t know the Lord Jesus as your very own Saviour, you need to be afraid. But if you do know Him, He wants you to trust Him to take care of you no matter what happens. “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:1818There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:18)). He had a lesson for me to learn about fear and trusting Him.
One morning I went out very early on the combine to cut wheat. When I came to the last pass on the steep hill, I breathed a sigh of relief. In a few minutes the steep part of the field would be finished, and I would be able to go in and enjoy a good breakfast. But that’s not the way it worked out.
As I cut the last swath, the combine began to slide sideways down the hill. I thought to myself, Now it’s happening! . . . What I have always feared is happening!
The combine continued to slide. I was helped by the knowledge that God’s everlasting arms were around me. I placed my hands over my head to prepare for the awful crash that was coming. The combine slid over the bank and down into a deep ditch where it tipped over on its side. But it landed so softly that I felt as if we were settling down into a mound of fluffy cotton balls. It was as though angels’ hands were supporting both the combine and me, and I was unhurt.
The next day a friend came with his bulldozer. He was able to make a ramp in the side of the hill so he could set the combine back on its wheels and pull it up to the field again.
The mechanic who works on my equipment had asked me to call him when the combine was upright again. He examined it very carefully. “That’s a miracle!” he said. “ ‘Someone up there’ certainly thinks an awful lot of you.” I had spoken to him about the Lord Jesus before, but this was the first time I had ever heard him even admit that there was “Someone up there.”
My heart was full of joy and thankfulness, and I wasn’t a bit sorry that I had had that scary experience. It taught me to trust God so much more. Before, when everything was going well, I knew that God was taking care of me. Now I know He cares for me whatever happens. And now I know a little more about that perfect love that casts out fear.
What about Job? If you had asked him, “Do you regret the sad events God allowed in your life?” I think he would answer, “No, a thousand times no! I came to know my God so much better because of those sad events. Now I know Him as a loving God, and I’m not afraid anymore.”
ML-09/17/2006
s Love