WHILE I am writing this comment, the news is full of the incident with nerve agent in Salisbury recently and threatening letters being sent to Muslims in the post.

There have also been increases in knife and acid attacks and muggings for mobile phones in London. The world can be a scary place. It can seem like nowhere is safe and we become afraid to go about on our normal daily lives.

And fear — whatever form it takes — has this way of shaking us to our core. That’s human nature. We get in a fearful place and can’t see how things can work out well for us.

But God knows that and that’s not how He wants us to live. So, time and time again in His Word, He says to His people: “Do not be afraid! — almost always just at the time when the people He’s talking to have every reason to be afraid because of their circumstances.

God spoke to the Israelites when He was about to set them free after 70 years and three generations of slavery in Babylon. It sounds great, but the way He planned to do that was through King Cyrus of Persia waging war on the Babylonians and winning. The Israelites were petrified — as powerless slaves, they couldn’t even remember what freedom tasted like, let alone dare to hope they could become free. All they could see was that there was a dangerous war brewing, a war in which they could well end up as ‘collateral damage’.

But God said to them, “Don’t worry — I am with you. Don’t be afraid — I am your God. I will make you strong. I will help you. I will support you with my right hand that brings victory.” (Isaiah 41:10).

So, if you’re shaken to the core by fear, remember what God said to those Israelites in Babylon and take hold of His promise to help them, support them and bring them through their fear. He can still do the same for us if we trust Him and turn to Him.

Alan Evans — Pastrow Benefice