What do we do when Satan projects false, fearful future scenes that we can’t eliminate from our racing minds?  The only antidote is right thinking about who God is and His promised supplies for whatever confronts us.  Here are two of my recent ‘daily devotional bites’ as I call them.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9a NIV

J.I. Packer in A Quest for Godliness writes how God protects us, “often allowing one evil to touch our lives in order thereby to shield us from greater evils.”

So, what do we do when we FEAR ‘lesser evils’ with their potential pain?

Two of my friends struggle with fear of something bad happening to family members. Familiar with that favorite weapon of Satan, I turned to Paul’s example for help.  Transparently, he models how to face potential dangers and evils.

He learned to think correctly about God. Hardships taught him that God’s ‘dynamis’ (power, abundance, influence, resources) and His grace are always more than ENOUGH to enable one to bear pain, not asking for its removal.  He describes how this divine power and grace take possession of and live within believers.  For God has given a perpetual supply of supernatural help to all His children.

Let’s turn our backs on fear.

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for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. 2 Cor 12:10 Berean Study Bible

Yesterday, I talked about how to handle fears of potential evil and suffering.  That each time Satan predicts false future realities, we need to remind ourselves that God’s power and grace are enough.

For decades Paul practiced this kind of thinking until he had ‘LEARNED to be content’, to delight in hardships (Philippians 4:11)

Content or to delight in are the same Greek verb, ‘eudokeo’. Other meanings are: to be ready, favorably inclined, of good courage, and willing. When God announces that He is ‘well-pleased’ with His Son, Jesus, He uses the same verb.

For Paul, what was the happy outcome?  What did he learn? He grew skilled in transforming a dread or fear picture (nurtured by Satan) into a cause for rejoicing. He knew that strength was coupled with any future hardship.  Thus, he rested easy in his mind.

Brothers and sisters, let’s practice this way of thinking as well!