What Time I Am Afraid

I once heard a story told about brother Franklin Camp. Apparently he had gone in for a surgery that was very serious. During his prep and testing the doctor commented that he was the calmest person who was to undergo this type of surgery that he had ever seen. Brother Camp told him that he had been quoting Psalm 56:3 all day: “What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee.”

One of the most comforting results of my Christian growth has been an increased awareness of God’s work in my life. So often when we talk about God’s providence we only mention His work in the lives of Joseph and Esther, and sometimes people will throw Paul and Onesimus in there for good measure. However, in my most recent trip through the Bible I decided that I would note every time that a thing was accomplished and attributed directly to God. My notes ended up being pages long. God’s natural providence, apart from miracles, is evident in nearly every book of the Bible. God has worked, is working, and will continue to work in our lives. “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). I cannot say how God works because “His ways are past finding out” (Romans 11:33), but I am confident that He does.

In Genesis chapter 20, Abraham lied, again. He told Abimelech that Sarah was his sister and Abimelech took her. Later that night God says to him, “Thou art but a dead man” (20:3). He defends himself to God by saying, “In the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this” (20:5), and I find God’s answer very interesting. “Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her” (20:6). The interesting part about this is that Abimelech had to be told that it was God who did it. As far as Abimelech was concerned, life had continued on just as it had all of his life. He noticed nothing odd or out of place in the circumstances of the days since he had taken Sarah. But God was working. How? I don’t know. Abimelech didn’t know. And we aren’t told. The lesson we should take away from this is that even if things continue just like they have, and we seem to be going about our normal day, this does not mean that God has left you or that He is idle and not working in your life.

If ever there was comfort to be found in scripture, that is it. God has the power to take even the bad things in my life and use them for good (cf. James 1:2-4; Romans 5:3-5; 2 Corinthians 4:17, 18). Therefore, no matter what happens, I know that God is working and present in my life; even if I can’t see it with the eye, I can see it through the eyes of faith (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:7). When I don’t know what to do, God is working. I will trust in Him. When my life seems like it is falling apart, God is working. I will trust in Him. When I am weak, God is working. I will trust in Him. When I am strong, God is working, and I will trust in Him. When my life continues as it has these 24 years, God is working. I will trust Him. And what shall I do when I am afraid? I pray to God and cry out from the bottom of my heart, “What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee.”

You Cannot Use What You Do Not Admit Exists

People are different. This obvious truth is one that merits our consideration. But, what makes us different? At least three factors play a part: 1. Our choices, which we control. 2. Our environment, over which we have very little control. 3. And our genetics and physical make-up, over which we have no control. We might say concerning this, “By the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Corinthians 15:10). It is the case that each person seems to be born with a certain set of abilities or talents. We are “bent” different ways. One person’s “bent” may be more obvious and easily discovered than another’s, but we are all “bent” and all have abilities specific to us.

What is your bent? If we remember that God is the source of our abilities then we recognize that we have no right to brag about them. "For who maketh thee to differ from another? And what hast thou that thou didst not receive Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?" (1 Corinthians 4:7). We could just as well brag about the color of our hair. Some people are gifted speakers or artists, and some people have milder tempers than others, and all of these by no rite of their own; they just seem to be born that way. How about you? Do not be afraid to admit to yourself that you have a particular ability. As a matter of fact, you must admit it, and for this reason: you cannot use what you will not admit exists.

In the parable of the talents, the master of the story gives different sums of money to his servants and later returns to receive the interest that they have gained by putting his money to use (cf. Matthew 25:14-30). One servant hid his money in the ground. This servant said, in essence, “I will hide this money and forget (or at least deny) that it exists.” When his master found that his money had not been put to use, he said to the servant, “You wicked and slothful servant!” You see, his master expected use out of his money. Just the same, God expects use out of the abilities with which He has blessed us. Could the servants have danced and bragged about how much money they had earned after they had been gifted it by their master? Of course not. They did not earn the money at all. They were given it by another. To brag about a thing that they had received would be condemnable. But if they were to act as if the money did not exist, and hide it, they would be equally condemned, like the wicked servant was.

Chances are that you use your abilities often (although you may not consider what you are doing as “using” those abilities because it comes so naturally to you), but, to what end are you using them? Give your abilities direction, and not just any direction, a godly direction (cf. Colossians 3:1, 2). Use what you have to glorify God and to inspire others to greatness. I leave you with this quote: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others” (A Return to Love, Marianne Williamson).

Step up to the plate. Admit that you have greatness in you, and then admit that you have nothing to brag about. And now that you’ve done that, inspire others to greatness, because just like you, they have something to offer.