Sleeping Easy

TITLE: Sleeping Easy
DATE: May 26, 2019
TEXT: John 14: 27 – ESV - 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
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Read the paper and you will find a vast array of topics to make a reasonable person afraid. Watch the evening news on Television, listen to it on the Radio and you will hear the correspondent moving from one frightening subject to another.
Maybe it’s all this unresolved fear which is keeping people from watching, reading or listening  to the news.  

You may have noticed, in recent years fears have taken on a global, national, and neighborhood scale. Indeed, there doesn’t seem to be any way we can escape fear. That’s true not just for the common individual, it is also applicable to the select few who have managed to make it to the top of the human heap.

I hope you don’t mind if I give you an example from relatively modern history

Although he was one of the most powerful men in the world, Joseph Stalin, dictator of Russia, lived in constant fear of being poisoned or murdered. He had eight bedrooms… bedrooms in which he could lock himself up, bedrooms where he was as safe as if he had been in a bank vault.

Why eight bedrooms?

He wanted to make sure nobody ever knew in which of these bedrooms he would sleep on any given night.

During my traveling years as Lutheran Hour Speaker, I slept in a lot of homes.  Not a single one of those homes had enough bedrooms to allow the family members to escape their fears by moving around from bedroom  to bedroom.  
True, some of us have equipped our homes with burglar alarms; some carry guns or mace, and most of us try to stay out of neighborhoods where we know we won’t be welcomed.

Still, after all our excellent precautions have been made, we are forced to admit: fear remains. 

Which is just one of the reasons we need a Savior.

Of course, knowing Jesus does not mean everything becomes sweetness and light.

It doesn’t mean there is no evil which can tie your stomach in a knot. It doesn't mean the lion who is prowling this globe seeking to devour souls has been made toothless and clawless. Knowing Jesus DOES mean that although this world has troubles, those troubles cannot have a permanent spot in those who follow the risen Redeemer.  

Indeed, if Jesus is your Savior; and if He remains Your constant Companion, then you have His personal assurances that none of the evil of this world will have the final say, or be able to maintain the upper hand in your life.

These spots are reserved for Jesus, the One Who conquered sin, Satan and death. His victory assures us this world simply does not have a match for our Divine Protector.

And that, dear Readers, is the special Source of comfort we all need in this world of fear..

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, You are so much more powerful than all of the evils of this world. For having committed Yourself to my deliverance and protection, my thanks. In Your Name I shall always rejoice.  Amen.

The music which introduces and concludes our devotions was written by Guy Baumann. He along with three of his brothers perform on the album: The Baumann Brothers which may be ordered here: http://thebaumannbrothers.com/index.html