There is no fear in trust: the two are opposites. When we really fear, we
are not fully trusting. When we trust, fear gives way to assurance. Fear
is tormenting. How many there are who are constantly agitated by fear!
They fear the devil, trials, temptations, the wind, lightning, burglars,
and a thousand other things. Their days are haunted by fear of this thing
or that. Their peace is marred and their hearts are troubled. For all
this, trust is the cure. I do not mean to say that if you trust, nothing
will ever startle you or frighten you, or that you will never feel
physical fear in time of danger; but in such times trust will bring to us
a consciousness that the Lord knows and cares, and that his helping
presence is with us.
When John Wesley was crossing the Atlantic from England to America to
become a missionary to the Indians, the ship on which he was sailing
encountered a terrible storm. It seemed that those on board would be lost.
Many were much alarmed and were in deep distress. Wesley himself was one
of this number. In the midst of the storm his attention was attracted to
some Moravians who sat calm and undisturbed by the dangers about them.
Wesley greatly wondered at their untroubled appearance. He inquired why it
was. Their reply was that they were trusting in the Lord and that they had
in their souls the consciousness of his protecting presence and care. They
felt no fear because there was nothing threatening that a Christian had
need to fear. Mr. Wesley did not have such an experience, but what he
learned from those simple-hearted people caused him to seek a similar
experience.
There is no worry in trust. When we worry about anything, we have not
committed it to God. Trust takes away the anxiety. So many people use up a
large portion of their energy in worry. There is always something
troubling them. Their days and nights are full of anxiety. Worrying
becomes a fixed habit with them. Peace and calmness and assurance find but
little room in their lives. The cure for all this is trust. Trust brings
confidence. Trust whispers to our souls that there is no cause to worry.
It tells us that God holds the helm of our vessel. It bids us to be of
good courage, assuring us that God is our refuge and strength, that our
lives and all are in his hands, and that he will work out for us the
things that are best.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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