“Life as a disciple is not bedded on roses.” The Lord had just explained this to the disciples by introducing them to an unbeliever who seemed to revel in wealth without a care in the world. In contrast, He says that believers on this earth cannot always draw from the full. There can be times of scarcity, difficulties, hardships, and worries. As the Lord knows the anxious hearts of His disciples, He immediately follows this up with a special encouragement – another “Do not be afraid!”
First of all, it is nice that He addresses the small group of disciples as a “little flock.” Two nice insights for us:
- Compared to the rich, seemingly carefree living unbelievers (or sometimes believers?), we can sometimes feel small, puny, unappreciated, a marginal figure. But the Lord does not overlook us – we are not less valuable because our bank account is less full or because our “worry account” is full to bursting.
- He calls His disciples His “flock”. That must have comforted them beyond belief: We have our own personal Shepherd who cares for us. Just as sheep do not worry in the morning whether the shepherd will lead them to good water and grass, we, too, can be carefree.
“Those who worry think they have to do everything themselves. But he who trusts knows that God does everything.” (Ernst Modersohn)
Now, for this reason, do not be afraid. The Lord gives the disciples an insight into His perfect plan that His Father would give them the kingdom. Because this plan will be fulfilled in the future, the disciples can be free of fear today.
One of the most encouraging Bible verses fits in with this: “We know that all things work together for good to those that love God” (Rom 8:28). All things – without exception, everything in our lives – will come to a good end. You can’t see that today? That may be true, but it is nevertheless true. We certainly cannot imagine how our difficulties can lead to something good. Nevertheless, it is true.
William MacDonald tells the story of a sole survivor of a shipwreck who was cast away on an uninhabited island: “He was able to build himself a hut in which he kept everything he had saved from the wreck. He prayed to God for salvation and anxiously searched the horizon to make himself known to any passing ship. One day, to his horror, he saw his hut on fire: everything he owned had gone up in flames. But what had looked like the worst thing imaginable was actually the best thing that could have happened to him. ‘We noticed your smoke signal,’ said the captain of the ship that came to his rescue. Let us always remember that when our lives are in God’s hands, ‘all things work together for good.'”
Here are a few biblical examples:
- About 20 long years after Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, he finds out why: “So now, it was not you who sent me here, but God… But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive” (Genesis 45:8; 50:20). He may have felt like a pawn in the hands of the brothers, Potiphar, or Pharaoh, blindly at the mercy of fate. But he learns that God had everything under control the whole time! Even if it can take 20 years to find out—perhaps even up to heaven in some cases—we can hold on to the fact that everything leads to God’s perfect plan, in this case, the salvation of many suffering starvation.
- “Why are we sitting here bound in prison?” Paul and Silas may have thought (Acts 16:19-34). Well, the prison guard would probably not have been reached any other way. So, the two missionaries had to go through this seemingly superfluous hardship so that this man could be won for heaven. Everything worked out for the good.
- When Stephen was stoned to death, his Christlikeness was revealed – he prayed for forgiveness for his enemies just like his Master (Acts 7:60). For him, this hardship was like the chisel of a sculptor who creates a beautiful image from the block of marble – translated: the image of the Lord Jesus. So if we can see absolutely nothing good in the difficulties of life, then there is one thing: transformation into the image of Christ.
We can hold on to the fact that everything happens literally according to plan!
The Lord Jesus tells you today: “Don’t be afraid! I have a perfect plan for the situation that is currently causing you trouble. Even if you haven’t discovered it yet, you can trust me and my foresight. Everything works together for good – you will find out!”
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