Security and safety are such common aspects of our lives that we cannot imagine living without them. This often dulls the razor-sharp glory of many passages in the Bible. Because of insurance, security cameras, door locks, and high-security fencing (all good blessings!), the richness of the promises of God does not quite ring with the same impact as they would for the original audience.

Imagine yourself in the shoes of a father and husband in Israel. Three times every year, you must take your sons and head off to appear before the Lord God for the three yearly feasts. You have to leave your wife, daughters, and property to fend for themselves while you’re gone. It’s a long journey; including the festival, you are likely gone for ten to fourteen days. You have no emails or cellphones for contact, no security gates or alarms, no police or local security teams. On top of that, every other male from the neighborhood has gone up at the same time.

Imagine what worries might come upon you and upon your loved ones. What if marauding raiders come to plunder your property? What if the Philistines invade? What if wild beasts attack your family? What if fire or a natural disaster comes? Would you have the courage to go forth?

The Lord your God knows your fears. You’ve been set aside to protect your family, the Lord your God knows, and to you he says, “Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. For I will cast out nations before you and enlarge your borders; no one shall covet your land, when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year.”¹ What a glorious word to hear! By faith in the promise of God you pack your bag, put on your sandals, and head out the door. You put faith in God’s assurance, believing that no one will look at your land or wife or children, and you act in obedience to your God.

The strange thing is, though the sharpness of the promises may have been dulled to our hearing, the relevance of them to us is no different. Do not many of us fear what tomorrow will bring? Yet Christ says, “Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.”² Do we not fear what we will eat or drink or wear? Yet Christ says, “Do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.”³

What must we do? The same thing God’s people have always done. By faith we “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” and trust our God to add “all these things unto you”⁴. We cast ourselves upon the God who gives us razor sharp promises. They are just as pointed today as they were when he first published them. We fear not, because God says, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”⁵ We have hope in death, because God says, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”⁶ We rejoice in the face of tribulation, trial, and persecution, because God says, “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”⁷

It is the sharp promises of God that fuel our walk as we head toward glory. Let us look to Him by faith, believing His promises, and find courage to face today and tomorrow.

1. Exodus 34:22–24 ↩︎
2. Matthew 6:31-32 ↩︎
3. Matthew 6:34 ↩︎
4. Matthew 6:33 ↩︎
5. Isaiah 41:10 ↩︎
6. 1 Corinthians 15:54-57 ↩︎
7. 1 Peter 1:6-7 ↩︎