The Antidote for Fear Alexander
Smiley The Secret Place 1907 Fear not, for I have redeemed
you. I have called you by your name.
You are mine. Isaiah chapter 43 verse 1 God
is intensely desirous to rid me of my needless fears. Does
he not give me reason after reason for peacefulness, calmness, and
hope? 1. Fear not, he says, for I have
redeemed you. What a work it was! What a price
it demanded! What a sorrow it involved! It
meant the surrender and sacrifice of his son, his only begotten,
his well-beloved. It meant for the King of Glory
to be born in a lowly stable, with the ox and donkey and camel,
after a life of suffering it meant a stark and dreadful cross
on the hill of shame A Scottish professor, who retained to the
last a childlike heart, speaking to his students one day about
the atoning sacrifice of Calvary, said, with the tears running
down his cheeks, And since God gave all this for
me, then how can he ever abandon me? Let my heart be confident
and strong. 2. There is understanding of
my case. Fear not, he continues, for I
have called you by name. He has such multitudes to remember,
and yet he knows me individually and intimately. The stars lie
along the face of the sky like bright unnumbered dust, but he
knows star from star. The flowers spring up in battalions,
but not a single flower is born to blush unseen. He knows it
and rejoices in it. There are billions of people
in the world today, and I cannot grasp the tremendous aggregate,
but he is familiar with each beating soul. Just so, he comprehends
my special needs and circumstances, my overbearing duties, my sore
temptations, my Herculean difficulties, my subtle and persevering foes. Should I not be strong and courageous
when the Lord of heaven has such perfect acquaintance with me? 3. and there is his ownership of
my soul. Fear not, he commands once more,
for you are mine. In a sense, I was always his
possession. But since he purchased me with
Christ's blood, I am among his jewels, his trophies, his special
possessions. His redeemed children. Why should
I be afraid? I am Christ's redeemed child
and He owns and keeps me.