By: Cheri Fuller
"When we are lost in the greatness of God,
we realize that there is no physical, emotional, or social loss so great that God cannot bring good out of it and compensate us in the next life."
Gary Thomas
Lost in the Greatness of God
How could Anne face what she did and not be overcome by fear or despair? She was centered on God, lost in His greatness, focused on His faithfulness, love, and character. Whatever worries you have, whether related to finances, children, health, or anything difficult you face, focusing on God is a key to overcoming worry when life gets precarious.
“Keep looking in the right direction in everything you do—that is so important. Keep looking up and kneeling down,” said Corrie ten Boom, another woman who overcame the horrors of a German concentration camp and took the message of Christ’s love and forgiveness around the world following her release. One day she met a missionary who was desperate because Christians were continually being killed near her home.
“Look down on the storms and terrible events around us, down from on high,” Corrie told her, “from the heavenly realms where Jesus’ victory is the greatest reality. This is only possible by the Holy Spirit.”
She told the woman how she and her sister Betsie were walking around the prison grounds at 4:30 a.m. when God performed a miracle. Betsie would say something, Corrie would say something—then the Lord would speak, and they both heard Him at the same time. “I cannot explain it, but it was wonderful. We saw then that even though everything was terrible, we could rely on the fact that God did not have any problems, only plans. There is never panic in heaven! You can only hold on to that reality through faith because it seemed then as it often seems now, as if the devil is the victor. But God is faithful, and His plans never fail! He knows the future! He knows the way.”
That vision of God’s greatness empowered Corrie to not worry or panic even though she faced overwhelming loss, pain, and danger, and it sustained and strengthened her when she traveled the world in her sixties and seventies to share the message He gave her. Just as God was for Anne, Corrie, and countless believers throughout history, He will be our stability in an unstable world. He is our unchangeable certainty when everything around us is changing. And there’s no more secure, safe place than in the center of His will and purpose for our lives.
Having our eyes on the Lord in this way is vital—David experienced it and described it throughout the Psalms. No matter how bad he was hurting or what he was fearing, he turned his focus to God and proclaimed who He was. Though he was surrounded by a host of enemies time after time, he could say, “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1 niv). Paul, too, said we must fix our eyes on Jesus and press on to know Him (Philippians 3). Even John, the great disciple, needed to have his eyes on the Lord (Revelation 1).
When we look to God and focus on Him instead of our problems and worries, we gain His perspective and our distress begins to subside. It doesn’t mean we won’t go through difficult times or experience pain. But we begin to know and believe that we can trust Him in the midst of our circumstances, for He is trustworthy.
© 2015 by Back to the Bible.
“From Replacing Worry for Wonder, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc. Used by permission.”