Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4
“A large part of the pain of life comes from the haunting “fear of evil” which so often besets us. Our lives are full of supposes. Suppose this should happen, or suppose that should happen; what could we do; how could we bear it? But, if we are living in the “high tower” of the dwelling place of God, all these supposes will drop out of our lives. We shall be “quiet from the fear of evil,” for no threatenings of evil can penetrate into the “high tower” of God. Even when walking through the valley of the shadow of death, the psalmist could say, “I will fear no evil”; and, if we are dwelling in God, we can say so too.
But you may ask here how you are to get into this divine dwelling place. To this I answer that you must simply move in. If a house should be taken for us by a friend, and we were told it was ready, and that the lease and all the necessary papers were duly attested and signed, we should not ask how we could get into it—we should just pack up and move in. And we must do the same here. God says that He is our dwelling place, and the Bible contains all the necessary papers, duly attested and signed. And our Lord invites us, nay more, commands us to enter in and abide there.
Hannah Whitall Smith (1832-1911) in her classic work, The God of All Comfort, excerpt from chapter 8 entitled “The Lord our Dwelling Place”.
“Fear of evil” is a leading hindrance to generosity globally. This fear is rooted in the “supposes” of life as Smith keenly labels them. Thankfully, the Scriptures invite us to “move in” to the high tower of God. The most secure of all places. This is not about living foolishly. On the contrary, it is about finding peace by trusting in the promises of God.
Another leading hindrance to generosity globally is financial corruption. As many of you know, with about one quarter of my time I serve as the International Liaison for ECFA. I help national leaders set up structures to champion financial transparency and accountability to give people confidence to participate generously in God’s work.
Today I board a flight for Washington D.C., where I will meet up with John Van Drunen, SVP of ECFA, and we will fly together to Zurich, Switzerland, and then Nairobi, Kenya. We have been invited to train national leaders and join them in celebrating the formal launch of AfCAA, the African Council for Accreditation and Accountability.
We could allow “fear of evil” or the “supposes” of life keep us from such a journey as many challenges might await us or befall our loved ones back home while we are away through 31 August 2016. Regardless, we go with confidence because we have peace because we reside in the divine dwelling place of God, and because we believe He is with us.