Do not be fearful

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Genesis 15:1     After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

Deuteronomy 1:21, 29-30     ‘Look, the LORD your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the LORD God of your fathers has spoken to you; do not fear or be discouraged.’          

Deuteronomy 3:22     ‘You must not fear them, for the LORD your God Himself fights for you.’

 Deuteronomy 31:6-8      Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you.  He will not leave you nor forsake you.”  Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them  to inherit it.  And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you.  He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”  

Psalm 56:3-4     When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.  In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust and am not afraid.  What can mere mortals do to me?

Joshua 1:9     ‘Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.’

Joshua 8:1o     Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.  Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai.  For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people,  his city and his land.

Joshua 10:25     Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.  Be strong and courageous.  This is what the LORD will do to all the enemies you are going to fight.”

Isaiah 41:10     So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Luke 12:7     Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

2 Timothy 1:7     For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Hebrews 13:6     So we say with confidence, “The LORD is my helper; I will not be afraid.  What can mere mortals do to me?”

 

I certainly think God recognized that we would face times of fear, anxiety, and lack of courage and be dismayed.  He urges to go forward, recognizing that we may feel fear, but reminding us we are not alone.  But His word promises He is with us, and that makes a lot of difference for me and my life.  I sometimes have to remember these scriptures and remind myself Satan is a liar—the best of them, but with that fact in my mind, I know God is with me and will fight for me.  it is my job to continue marching forward in God’s plan.  Hooray!

There are times in our lives when we are afraid, and sometimes those are justified events.  We are in a war in another country, facing a wild situation nearby as violence is becoming more common, and apparently many seem to think life is worth less or nothing to some.  We can be fearful when we feel the wheels of our car slip and suddenly we have lost control on ice and things are spiraling out of our control. Maybe we have lost our job and bills are building up  while prospects are not appearing.  Occasionally, we have made a poor decision and things are catapulting into a huge mess, and we are unsure how to make things right again.  Perhaps, there’s been a horrific diagnosis and the treatments and prognosis all sound grim and uncertain.

Fear is a human emotion that God instilled in us.  It is to help us be cautious walking into unknown or dangerous situations, it is to keep us mindful and ready to ‘fight or flight’ as the situation calls.  There are sometimes we would be foolish not to be somewhat fearful in some situations.  I am not a good or strong swimmer and because of my healthy respect of the ocean when its waves are large and powerful, I don’t go further than my knees. 

Often God commands us to have courage; ‘do not fear nor be dismayed.’  Our senses can give us information that can certainly give us reason to be fearful.  The our minds can translate some of that info and make things seem so much scarier.  Walking casually through a den of hungry lions or other big cats in Africa would be foolish; and certainly sinful if one chooses to walk through with some people holding guns ready to kill these creatures because of one’s foolish desire to be close to these creatures.  So, God gave us sense, smarts, and He never urges us to be daring and risky.

He does urge us to trust Him, and even when faced with fear and uncertainty; and the devil is filling our thoughts with thoughts of running, “step back, save yourself, don’t take the risk, you’ll be badly hurt or dead….dead is forever.” (But please remember, Satan lies, and if you know Jesus and you have claimed Him as savior in your life–even if your body dies, you have eternal life).  God is steady and with us when He tells us to do something.  He promises to be with us.  

Sometimes, God tells us to move forward to test our obedience and trust.   Sometimes, God has chosen us to be a warrior for Him—Gideon, Judges 6 and 7, and David with the many books written of him and his feats.  David did not seem to be fearful often, but certainly he was when it was his own son who hunted him. 

Fear is a good thing unless it paralyzes us into being immobile, unwilling or unable to move.  We have jobs God’ wants us to do.  It is not good if we let fear prevent us from doing what God’s purpose for our lives is.  But God’s words repeatedly tell us to not fear and to move forward.  He is with us.  His word promises to never leave us.

We have to MEMORIZE our favorite ‘do not fear or have anxiety’ verses, because life is full of ups and downs and stresses and we can feel our tension building.  I have to consciously remember His promises and  remind myself God has already won the war—the Book has been written with a happy ending.  Will it be stressful, violent, and miserable for many?  Yes. Will I experience some moments of apprehension and horror?  Yes, I believe I will.  But I know God is in control, and whatever horror I may experience is temporary.  That is such a relief to me. 

I am a wimp and don’t like suffering a hang-nail, never mind torture and the beastly misery spread by the Taliban, the Assyrians, and so forth.  But I have the hope and knowledge of faith.  So I will experience the moments of fear and anxiety, but I will know that my true future lies with Him.   I am not courageous, but I do know He is with and that He offers comfort and everlasting.

Lord, there is so much sadness, unrest, suffering in this world right now.  But You are in charge—always have been.  My prayers are for those who are being tortured in Your name, and I know You receive them with tears in Your eyes for what they suffered, even as You smile and tell them “Well done, my faithful, servant.”

So I thank You for the fact I know I am Yours, and You hold in Your hands me and ‘mybellaviews.’