Isaiah 53:4
4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.(ESV)
The fear of disappointment can be paralyzing. Many fail to aggressively, courageously, and intentionally launch into their future because to do so would be to risk loss. To love is to risk rejection. To try is to risk failure. We serve a good God who wants and does good for us. But God has created a world in which grief and loss are realities we must face. The goodness, nearness, and power of God do not gaurantee for us a life free from pain. We all face a future that contains some measure of that which we would avoid given the chance.
How do we move forward into an uncertain future which will certainly bring us toward pain and loss? God’s answer is the Cross. Jesus has carried all my grief and sorrow – past, present and future. All of it. Great and small. The question is this – is God’s provision on the Cross sufficient for every possible future grief? Yes it is.
So if I find myself fearful about the future, this is a simple indication that my view of the Cross is insufficient. Perhaps this fear simply surfaces the reality that I believe there are some losses ahead for which the Cross is not enough. If this is what I believe, then I have already disagreed with God’s own valuation of Jesus’ sacrifice by saying in my heart that Jesus should have done more than He did in order to sufficiently provide for the grief in my life. If I am convinced Jesus’ passion is insufficient for future griefs I have not yet experienced, it is simply because I have judged His provision inadequate for the griefs I have experienced already.
If you, like many, face your future with fear, I encourage you not to rage against fear, but rather to ask for deeper revelation concerning Jesus’ provision for you on the Cross. You will find perfect love there. Perfect loves casts out fear (1 John 4:18).
