“I Was Afraid This Would Happen”

Job said, “For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me” (Job 3:25).

Have you ever said, “I had a feeling something like this was going to happen”? Sometimes there's a reason why we have that nervousness. We've seen it happen before. We know the people involved. We're not surprised when it happens.

But many things we are afraid will happen never do. David was sure in his mind that his father-in-law Saul would kill him. He said, "There is but a step between me and death” (I Sam. 20:3). But what he feared never came to pass. Jacob was terrified when he heard that his brother Esau was coming with 400 men. Esau had vowed to kill him years earlier. But to his surprise, Esau was kind to him (Gen. 33:1-15). We are not prophets of God. We don't know the future. And it's a mistake to follow our feelings when they are not grounded in facts.

Job was a very conscientious man (Job 1:5). That doesn’t mean he was a worrier, but the thought of something bad happening had crossed his mind and it scared him. But he didn’t let that fear rule him. He didn’t forget about God. He didn’t neglect his responsibilities to his family. He certainly didn’t wallow in self-pity. He felt fear but he didn’t wallow in it.

But in his case, his fears did happen. When he lost his ten children, his livestock and his health, he uttered those dreadful words. But he refused to give up. He held on to his faith in God.

We fear the future. Some do this more than others, but I suppose all of us think about “What if…” We fear tragedy striking and leaving us without enough money to get by. We are afraid of health problems, especially as we age. We fear for our children and grandchildren as they face the future in a dangerous world. We fear that they will turn away from God. We fear losing loved ones, especially our mate. We are afraid about the future of this country.

And what good does that fear do? Sometimes the fear of something bad happening can be worse than the tragedy. That happened with David when his child was sick (II Sam. 12).

But we can face even the worst of our fears and trials if we trust in the Lord. I don’t know at what point in his life he wrote Psalm 23, but David’s words reassure us to this day: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4). Even if the worst does happen, we can get through it by putting our faith in God. Surely if Job made it, so can we.

Kerry

West End church of Christ • October 26, 2025