Fear and Trouble

Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. Ecclesiastes 12:13 NIV

This verse gave me such peace this morning when I read it. I had been watching a live stream of a service from a church in Texas. An old classmate is the pastor and he steams his sermons via Periscope. I'm proud of myself for figuring it out, but I digress. The sermon was on the tribulation and although it was excellent the way he broke it down, I usually experience a fair amount of anxiety when I hear or read about that. It's not pretty. It won't be pretty. I'm pretty sure I don't want it to happen in my lifetime. Selfish, I know but I'm only human.

Anyway, I woke up this morning and read this verse. This summed up what we should do and it's simple: fear God, keep his commandments. We shouldn't worry about what will happen. If we fear him and keep his word, we will be ready. 

We shouldn't fear the unknown. If we pray and follow God, he will make a way for us. He doesn't give us anything we can't handle. He makes us ready....if we fear him and keep his commandments. So now you see why this verse gave me peace this morning.

I'm going to do my best to follow God's word. I want to be ready. I want my children to be ready and my grandchildren. In our house we fear the Lord.