Remember, Boston: Fear Not But Be Alert,Strong and Courageous
Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.
April 16th, 2013 will go down in American history as another attack against our great nation by Extremists. According to current information it looks like two suspects are from Chechnya, which is know as an Islamic hotbed of terrorism. Is this an act of terrorism? Absolutely. Is it another statement of war from Islamic radicals? That is still to be determined, but I think it is safe to say it was.
When terror and tragedy strike I think it is probably pretty natural to begin to worry and maybe even to let fear begin to creep into our hearts,; but if we can, for just a second, put that worry and fear aside to look at a few things.
Since 9/11 Islamic terrorists have carried out 20,730 attacks across the world with 115,000 killed and another 187,000 critically injured by a very limited estimate. If that wasn’t enough to wake you up, according to a Pew Report 1/3 of Muslims believe that Islamic Extremism is ok and somewhere between 18-22% of Muslims polled believe that suicide bombings are ok.
So let me break that down to you in layman’s terms (because I am not very bright when it comes to math). If this survey is accurate 330,000,000 Muslims believe that extremism is ok and, out of those, 240,000,000 of them believe suicide bombings or IED bombings like Boston are ok.
In a day when terrorism can strike at any time, we should be vigilant. God reminds us to be sober-minded which is being vigilant, cautious, careful, alert, and aware of your surroundings. Being sober-minded isn’t being fearful.
Take a deep breath, rest in Him and let’s go back to the idea of worry and fear. The Bible tells us that we are not to be a people consumed by fear. On many occasions God re-affirms His statement to Joshua to “be strong and courageous”; and not fear the things of this world. In 1 Timothy we are told, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
In times of uncertainty, fear, terror, random attacks, schemes of evil the God of creation tells us not to fear but to rest in Him. So: Be Strong and Courageous!