Sign up for our free newsletter:

Q. What should I not be afraid of?

A. Don't be afraid of fear. Those who don't come to grips with fear risk compromising their commitment. During a tense time in Sri Lanka, a Youth for Christ staff worker and two volunteers were attacked and badly wounded in a distant town. Someone needed to bring them home, passing through terrorist-dominated areas. YFC had one van, only a few months old. (We usually travel on motorcycles.) We were advised against taking the van, since it could be commandeered by terrorists. Some said that the senior YFC leaders shouldn't make the trip because, if something happened to us, the movement would really suffer. But would it be fair to send a junior person on such a risky trip? As we struggled with the options, my stomach was in knots.

We prayed as a community and came to feel that it was God's will for me to go with my next most senior colleague, driving the van. We were extremely tense when we didn't know God's will. But once we felt we knew it, we experienced peace, because when we do God's will we're moving along the stream of His sovereignty. His will must triumph. It may be through death. But that death will become a building block in the construction of the eternal kingdom. Eternity will show it was a triumph.

What should I be afraid of?

Be afraid of disobedience. God is sovereign over history, and those who obey Him are moving along the stream that leads to eternal triumph.

Ajith Fernando is the director of Youth for Christ in Sri Lanka.

Adapted from Spiritual Living in a Secular World (Monarch [distributed by Kregel in N.A.], 2002)

Prayer for the Week

Lord, I want my life to carry a bold witness for You and Your kingdom. Give me the courage to follow through.

				Try an Issue of Men of Integrity Free! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. Click here for International orders. If you decide you want to keep Men of Integrity coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive five more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless. Give Men of Integrity as a gift Buy 1 gift subscription, get 1 FREE!

FREE Newsletter Sign up for the Men of Integrity Newsletter    RSS Feed   RSS Help