John Piper Devotional
Five Reasons to Be Fearless
“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32)
The reason God wants us not to be afraid concerning money and things is because that would magnify five great things about him.
First, not being afraid shows that we treasure God as our Shepherd. “Fear not, little flock.” We are his flock and he is our Shepherd. And if he is our Shepherd, then Psalm 23 applies: “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want” — that is, I shall not lack anything I really need.
Second, not being afraid shows that we treasure God as our Father. “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom." We are not only his little flock; we are also his children, and he is our Father. He really cares and really knows what you need and will work for you to be sure that you have what you need.
Third, not being afraid shows that we treasure God as King. He can give us the “kingdom” because he is the King. This adds a tremendous element of power to the one who provides for us. “Shepherd” connotes protection and provision. “Father” connotes love and tenderness and authority and provision and guidance. “King” connotes power and sovereignty and wealth.
Fourth, not being afraid shows how free and generous God is. Notice, he gives the kingdom. He doesn’t sell the kingdom or rent the kingdom or lease the kingdom. He is infinitely wealthy and does not need our payments. So God is generous and free with his bounty. And this is what we magnify about him when we are not afraid but trust him with our needs.
Finally, not being afraid shows that we treasure God as happy. It “pleases” him to give you the kingdom. He wants to do this. It makes him glad to do it. Not all of us had fathers like this, who were made happy by giving instead of getting. But that does not matter, because now you can have such a Father, and Shepherd, and King.
So the point of this verse is that we should treasure God as our Shepherd and Father and King who is generous and happy to give us the kingdom of God — to give us heaven, to give us eternal life and joy, and everything we need to get there.
If we treasure God in this way, we will be fearless and God will be worshipped.