Prepare for Worship | The God Who Hears and Cares
Last Sunday, Pastor Matt Denton preached from Genesis 38-39 and pointed us to the hope that God breaks through man’s sin to preserve his promise.
Read: Genesis 40-41
This Sunday, Pastor Jason Finley will preach from Genesis 40-41 and will exhort us to trust God’s good providence by his word. As you prepare for our Sunday gathering, be encouraged by these words from Ed Welch.
Reflect: “The God Who Hears and Cares”
“Don’t be afraid.” “Don’t worry.” They can be said so casually. I have said them to my wife when we have been on airplanes together and her palms were sweating before takeoff. My words, of course, were meaningless. They veered off into self-serving platitudes because I didn’t really want to hear about her fears. Already engrossed in the flight magazine’s crossword puzzle, I didn’t want to be bothered. But God’s words are nothing like my own. Think about them. God never says anything just to get you off his back. The sheer number of times he speaks to your fears says that he cares much more than you know. He is not so busy that he attends only to macro-level concerns. Instead, he is close and speaks to the details of your troubles.
Do your troubles seem trivial, at least when compared to the dangers other people face? He knows you and has compassion. He does not compare your worries to those of others, decide which ones get priority, and then give everyone a number based on need. The way he repeats himself suggests that he understands how intractable fears and anxieties can be. He knows that a simple word will not banish our fears. He knows that our worries aren’t patiently waiting for permission to leave.
Search Scripture and find that our fears are not trivial to God. “Do not be afraid” are not the words of a flesh-and-blood friend, a mere human like yourself. They are not the hollow words of a fellow passenger on a sinking ship, who has no experience in shipwrecks, can’t swim, and has no plan. These words are more like those of the captain who says, “Don’t be afraid. I know what to do.” When the right person speaks these words you might be comforted. Remember, “Do not be afraid” are the words of the one who can match speech with action. He is the sovereign King who really is in control. The efficacy of the words is directly related to the authority, power, and love of the one speaking them.
Excerpt from pp. 61-62, in Running Scared: Fear, Worry, and the God of Rest, by Edward T. Welch.
Sing: Song List for Sunday
1. “Rejoice,” by Keith & Kristyn Getty
2. “The Cup Was not Removed,” Arr. Shane & Shane
3. “Jesus, What a Friend for Sinners,” Arr. Shelley Moore Band
4. “Sovereign Over Us,” Arr. Shane & Shane