Truth, Fear, and Living in this Age

I’m reading a book right now called Addictive Habits: Changing for Good by David R. Dunham. It’s part of a series called “31-Day Devotionals for Life.” On Day 15, David R. Dunham encourages his readers to put on the armor of God to fight against Satan’s temptations and accusations. He lists the armor of God as containing “truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, Scripture, and prayer” (from Ephesians 6). In the ‘Reflect’ section, he asks, “Looking over the list of elements in the armor of God, which do you feel is lacking the most in your life?” I gave this question a lot of thought. What I came up with is: truth. I think my life lacks truth in at least a couple aspects.

Sometimes I don’t know what the truth is. This especially happens when I go on social media. I can find conflicting sources of information on almost any topic. Sometimes I snicker at all these conflicting views–some of them are complete opposites of each other, and both sides claim they have all the facts–but then I start to realize how murky are the waters of society and how scary those waters can be. Most of the news and opinions I read on social media make me even more confused and afraid than I was before.

I don’t always know how to apply to my life what I know is the truth. This happens the most often when I consider 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” I fear that I’ll make the wrong decisions, especially after I read so many conflicting sources of news and information. I also fear that the people who disagree with my assessment of current events will think poorly of me. That in turn makes me wonder if I should have made a different decision or sided with a different view. Romans 8:15a says, “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear.” These days, this is the main truth I struggle to apply to my life. How do I not live fearfully?

As Christians, we know that certain truths will remain true regardless of the time period in which we live. Jesus is the son of God (Matthew 3:17); Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15); Jesus gives eternal life to those who believe his words and believe in God (John 5:24). God created the world and remains sovereign over the world, no matter what forces threaten to depose him. His throne, through Jesus, lasts forever (2 Samuel 7:13). God loves his people with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). He is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Exodus 34:6). He gives us life, and life abundantly, through Jesus (John 10:10).

Comfortable houses, well-paying jobs, promises from politicians, new technology, homeschool or public school, vaccinating ourselves and our children (or not), staying home in order to stay safe (or going out in order to stay sane)–all of these things can be good, and the world desperately wants us to believe that if we just follow certain people or do certain things, we’ll be alright in the end. Our lives will have significance if we could only [fill in the blank]. This mindset goes directly against the gospel. Jesus is the only person who can provide us with eternal security and give our lives meaning. The life that Jesus brings us will never be taken away from us. It is eternal, forever, unfading, and steadfast. The things of this world will fail us, but Jesus never will.

We don’t need to be paralyzed by fear. Fear is a natural human emotion, but fear left unchecked causes us to doubt God’s goodness and our own ability to make wise decisions using the brains God gave us. When we do find ourselves welling up with anxiety and fatigue, we can repeat to ourselves the truths of the gospel. Those truths must always come first. Then, we can go searching for those other less important facts that will help us make decisions. Jesus guides our decision-making process when we rely on him through prayer and immerse ourselves in his Word. Only he can teach us how to sift the important, lasting truths from the truths of this age.

Photo: Christin Hume on Unsplash