Jesus was comforting His disciples.

He had told them to expect trials.

These trials would come from men who would attack them: "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake, but he that endureth to the end shall be saved," Matt. 10:22. This attack would involve persecution, verse 23, and name calling, verse 25. The Lord Jesus tells His disciples that, rather than being discouraged by all this, they must be bold and preach the gospel from the housetop, verse 27.

How could they triumph through such a trial?

By being fearless: "Fear not!"

Why no fear? "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall to the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are numbered," Matt. 10:28-30.

Our hairs are numbered!

And that by Almighty God. How precious is the truth of divine sovereignty! God is the Creator and thereby the Owner and Sustainer of all things. The cattle on a thousand hills are His. He formed the dry land. He causeth the sun to rise on the just and unjust. His mighty hands span the oceans and reach up to the highest star. How great is God!

So great is He, in fact, that He knows the number of the hairs on your head. That is more than you know - in all likelihood, it is even more than you care to know. The point that Jesus is making here is that our Father is so great that even the littlest details of our life (the number of our hairs) are of His concern. The sparrow cannot fall, but by His will. Not a hair can come out of our head, but He knoweth it altogether.

What amazing control! He cares for every detail of our lives.

What peace this affords at the time of trials!

If this were not true, we would be torn within trying to understand the cause of our trials. We would as Christians be no different from the world of unbelievers who can find no peace in the time of trouble. They attribute trouble to natural causes. If one gets into a terrible accident they see no more than human error or just plain bad luck. If they are in the hospital or at home with a serious disease, it is blamed to virus, bacteria, or cancer cells that invaded the body. Some time or other it happens to everyone. Chance, that's the only explanation. Blind force is moving upon the face of the earth afflicting people and nations.

Still others don't like the idea of chance. They think, more deviously, that there must be some sinister force operating behind the scenes. There must be a vengeful deity who would send such troubles upon us poor mortals. Strangely, even some within the sphere of Christianity explain the trials as coming from Satan, the prince of this world. They view the scene of history as the stage on which the two great powers fight, Christ and the devil. The devil uses disease, war, sickness, accidents, to assault the children of God. Jesus wants us to overcome these, to be financially rich, to be healthy, to live a long life in prosperity. So if you are a Christian and have faith, you may claim the power of Christ and overcome such an assault, be healed through the power of faith as you touch the Holy Spirit. If you want to be rich, give liberally. If you want to be safe from accidents, lean upon Jesus.

If you suffer trials, these people would have you believe that it is of the devil, not of God.

Foolishness!

God is even sovereign over the devil, see Job 1:12, 2:6.

Unless we see God in our trials, we will never triumph.

Your hairs are numbered!

So sovereign is our God.

If this is true of our hairs, surely He determines the condition of our lungs, the number of our heartbeats, our whole body. He is Lord over our life, including all the events that take place. Nothing is by chance.

Rather, we confess in faith, "He will make whatever evils he sends upon me, in this valley of tears, turn out to my advantage for he is able to do it, being Almighty God, and willing, being a faithful Father," Heidelberg Catechism, Answer 26.

Are you experiencing the trials of life, persecution, suffering, dying? Don't look to yourself. Don't look to your fellow men. Don't look to the demon world. Don't study the stars to learn your fate. Rather look to Jehovah, Almighty God.

He rules all things by His power.

If you are to be fearless, you must be reconciled to Him.

While you look to Him by faith, remember, "The very hairs of your head are all numbered," Matt. 10:30.

    "Lord, thou preservest man and beast;
    Since Thou art ever kind,
    Beneath the shadow of Thy wings
    We may a refuge find." Psalm 36

from The Standard Bearer, Vol. 54, page 62

Last modified: 26-Nov-2001