The Antidote for Anxiety and Depression: Trust in Abba Father’s Care – Pt 52
My Faithful Father’s Protection!
But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.
– 2 Thessalonians 3:3
I didn’t trust anyone in my family so I couldn’t tell them my fears and pains. As a child I remember that every time I tried to talk to my mother her response was always that she didn’t want to hear anything because she has high blood pressure and can’t take on any stress. I didn’t know what that meant but her tone of voice and body language told me that she had something really bad that could kill her so I decided never again will I talk to her about my struggles. I was afraid that I would be responsible for killing her should she die. I was so afraid that my mother will die so every time I heard an ambulance siren, I would automatically have a panic attack because the first thought that came to my mind was that my mother was in that ambulance and she would die. This happen even when I was in another country and I would self-talk to cope with the anxiety. Anyway, as a young adult, having learnt what high blood pressure is, even though I was still very much mindful that I didn’t want to cause my mother added stress, once I decided to take a change so I tried to talk to her about the mental health challenges I was experiencing. She told me that I am crazy and only bad minded people go crazy. My mother didn’t believe that anything was wrong with me. She though that I was just evil, selfish and mean and so did the rest of my family. I believed her, after all she is my mother and mothers know best (so I thought) consequently I punished myself all the time for being evil, mean, selfish and bad minded.
Who then can I trust to talk to if I can’t trust my family? I was sinking in the sea of strident silence but no one was listening. By whom and where then am I protected from all the perils that I have been experiencing? These questions are answered by the Apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 3:3 which states, “But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.”
The word “faithful” is the Greek word pistos, which means trustworthy, sure, true, worthy of belief, trust or confidence (Hebrew – Greek Key Word Study Bible).
The word “evil” comes from the Greek word ponēros, which means hurtful; degeneracy; calamitous; ill or disease; culpable or derelict, vicious, facinorous; mischief, malice, or guilt, the devil, sinners or bad, evil grievous, harm, lewd, malicious, wicked (-ness) (Hebrew – Greek Key Word Study Bible).
The Apostle Paul emphasizes that the Lord IS faithful, that is, He IS trustworthy, sure, true, worthy of belief, trust or confidence. This assures me that the Lord IS constantly faithful. In other words, He remains faithful all the time. He does not change. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday and to day and for ever.” Faithful is not something He does but who He IS. It is the very nature of God. He IS my Faithful Father, and yours too.
Our Faithful Father WILL stablish us, that is, our foundation He WILL firmly and permanently set up; permanently accept and recognize us; show us to be truly and certainly His own possession, having determined the fact that we are His righteousness in Christ; and guarantee that we remain more than conquerors in this spiritual warfare. Furthermore, He WILL keep us from evil, that is, from hurtful; degeneracy; calamitous; ill or disease; culpable or derelict, vicious, facinorous; mischief, malice, or guilt, the devil, sinners or bad, evil grievous, harm, lewd, malicious, wicked (-ness). This means that our Faithful Father WILL stablish and protect us from very evil person or deed that the enemy uses to attack us.
I encourage you today to trust your Faithful Father to protect you from whatever evil the enemy of your soul has been attacking you with. He has already won the victory for you.
Multiplied Blessings!
MY PRAYER FOR TODAY
Daddy, I worship You with my whole being and will give You praise all my life. Thank You for being my Faithful Father and for stablishing and protecting me from all manner of evil. I boldly declare that I triumph over all the wickedness of the enemy always because my trust and confidence are in the Lord and His mighty name. I pray this by faith in Jesus’ mighty name with thanksgiving. Amen!
