Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you.  He will not leave you or forsake you.”   I recently read a daily devotional by Rick Warren about the difference between grief and fear and will use it as a backdrop to our Challenge this week.  As we begin the new year of 2019, we should have no fear about what is coming and the unknowns that will occur.  Some of us will lose a job, our health, our resources, some friendships. our reputation (not our character) or even a loved one in our family.  We will all have stresses and trials as they are a part of life.  We will face these with either fear or grief.  The Bible does not tell us that grief is bad and that we are to “grieve not.”  The shortest verse in the Bible is found in John 11:35 where Jesus saw the grief of Lazarus’ family and we are told that “Jesus wept.” He had no fear and grieved with them.  God’s Word tells us to “Fear Not” some 365 times, one for each day of the year.  Grief is an outlet but fear can paralyze us with worrying in advance of something that may or not happen or after a trial arises.

As we read in Psalm 23: 4 “We are to fear no evil.”  Why?  Because God is with us and will protect us and lead us through whatever we face.  Dark times are never easy and often cast a shadow that can make us fear.  We have to remember that there is ALWAYS a light behind any shadow and for us that light is Jesus Christ.  He is the light of the world.  In 2019, we should resolve to trust the light and not fear.  It’s okay to grieve and there are times that we should but we must cast our fears and anxieties on Him for He cares for us and will NEVER leave or forsake us.  Make this your New Year’s resolution for 2019.  It’s more important than losing weight.