Yes, I am beginning another blog post
with a basic statement. You see, my basic statement
this time is a statement that should not exist. There are many, many people who
are afraid in this world. What I find even worse to hear though is the fact
that many Christians are afraid in this life.
Whether the fear is financial,
emotional, medical, spiritual, or of any other origin, people find all kinds of
things to be afraid of. Now, it would be easy to say that fear is irrational or
that some fears are grounded in common sense; after all, it would be foolish to
jump out of an airplane without a parachute (though I think it a bit strange to
jump out of an airplane anyway).
Yes, it would be easy to say one of
those things however I don’t think that we, as Christians, should be afraid of
anything.
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.
Oh yes, I know that you are reading
this and thinking, “easier said than done.” After all, what do I know about
your personal fears and worries? I don’t know what it is that you are afraid
of, but let me tell you a little story.
When I was younger, I used to have
night terrors. I’ll spare you the details, but suffice it to say that one
recurring factor was of demons attempting to drag me to Hell. Then, when I was
older (but still young), my father scared me. He didn’t mean to scare me as
terribly as he did, but it bothered me for a long time.
You see, he hid beneath a church pew
in the dark and grabbed my leg as I walked by. In an instant, all those night
terrors flooded back; all my fears came together at once. It took a long time
for me to get over that, silly thing though it was and to this day, I’m still
not comfortable in dark churches at night.
Why am I telling you this? Because I
understand what it is to have a fear; something that may seem irrational to
others but still gripped my heart in terror. So now comes the obvious question:
if I don’t think Christians should be afraid of anything, then why is it I was
afraid for so long? The answer is quite simple, really. I’m still human and
need to remind myself of WHY I shouldn’t be afraid. I’m still a work in
progress, just like you, and have not reached perfection.
Still, it is obvious to me that since
God has “not
given us a spirit of fear,” we do not need to live in fear. But why?
What reason do we have to not fear? I don’t believe it is enough to simply say
that we shouldn’t be afraid. I think we should know WHY we shouldn’t be and don’t
need to be afraid. So, without further ado, let’s look at why we don’t have to
fear.
Namely, we don’t need to fear because
we have God on our side. Look at what Jesus said when faced with arrest in
Gethsemane:
52 But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who
take the sword will perish by the sword. 53 Or do you think that I cannot now
pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of
angels? 54 How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen
thus?” (Matthew 26:52-54)
Did you get that? Jesus said that He
could have been provided with more than twelve legions worth of angels had He
so wished. That’s impressive! How impressive? I’m so glad you asked.
A Roman Legion, a military grouping
Jews of that age would have been familiar with, could comprise of up to 6,000
soldiers though the average was some 5,400. So when Jesus says that He could
have called down more than twelve legions of angels to aid Him, He was
indicating that He could call upon a massively overwhelming force to rescue Him
from the soldiers that had come out to arrest Him. The number, in case you are
curious, was (more than) 72,000 angels.
Now, I can just hear some readers
thinking to themselves, “Well that’s all well and good, but that was Jesus; not
me. I can’t call down one legion of angels much less twelve.” I believe Jesus
would refer to you as being "of little faith." While it is true that Jesus is
and was fully God and we are human, I think we forget the great truth of our
new kinship with Him.
Romans 8:16-17 - 16 The Spirit
Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if
children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we
suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
Yes! Look at those terms:
Heir/Joint-Heirs – Partakers,
sharers, one gaining a portion.
We are partakers in the promise of
God! We are bought with a price and brought into the family. I know that my
last post was about the fact that we are slaves to righteousness, but we are
also sons and daughters of the Most High God! We share the promise of God and
we can know that He watches over us.
Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I
will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous
right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)
So, we don’t need to be afraid because
God is watching over us and we are joint-heirs with Christ; we are partakers of
the promise and we know that God is on our side. Additionally, we can see in John 14:12-14:
12 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works
that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I
go to My Father. 13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the
Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything in My name, I will
do it."
That tells me that (since God is
watching over us and we belong to Him and He protects us) we can call on Him
for help and know that He will provide help! ALSO, we can know that nothing
happens to us without God’s knowledge and permission. Note that I am not saying
that God causes bad things to happen; I am simply saying that He allows it and
is aware of it.
Job 1:6-12 - 6 Now there was a
day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan
also came among them. 7 And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So
Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from
walking back and forth on it.”
8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job,
that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who
fears God and shuns evil?” 9 So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job
fear God for nothing?
10 Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and
around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands,
and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But now, stretch out Your
hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”
12 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your
power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the
presence of the Lord.
Then in Job 2:1-7 we
see:
1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present
themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself
before the Lord. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Satan
answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from
walking back and forth on it.”
3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job,
that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who
fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although
you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.” 4 So Satan answered
the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his
life.
5 But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh,
and he will surely curse You to Your face!” 6 And the Lord said to Satan,
“Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.”
7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job
with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.
God is aware of what you will face and
He allows it. This bothers some people, but they don’t seem to realize that God
still provides a way through the hard times of life. Look at it this way: if
God allows something to happen, don’t you think that He’ll also bring you
through?
I am reminded of the Israelites in the
desert. Exodus
15:22-25 records:
22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into
the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no
water. 23 Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of
Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah.
24 And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we
drink?” 25 So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he
cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet.
A lot of people skim through this
passage or look only at the miracle of the waters being made drinkable. What
they miss is how God provides! Have you ever stopped to think about the tree?
Probably not! After all, that was just a tool in the miracle, right?
What about the fact that there, in the
desert, in a place with bitter water, in a place where the Israelites would one
day stand in need of good water, grew a single tree? Does that seem odd to you?
It sure does to me until you factor in God’s providing nature. The Lord knew
that His people would one day stand at Marah needing good, clean water.
He knew that they would be in need and
that a hard time would come their way. Did He remove the obstacle? No! He
allowed them to face it and learn to trust in Him all the while providing the
way out. He caused that tree to grow for that specific purpose. I find that
amazing!
I know you’re thinking that I’ve gone
off on a rabbit trail; it IS late after all. But no, I say all that to say
this: God provides for you. Whatever fear you deal with, whatever situation you
face, whatever uncertainty, no matter how difficult, God is with His children
and will protect them.
Psalm 139:16 also says, Your eyes saw my
substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days
fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.
The Lord knows what the days of our
life will amount to. He has His plan and the Enemy cannot stop it. Sure, we
could each shorten our days with foolish living, but God has a plan that the
Enemy cannot end.
Why fear for your life? God holds it
in His hand. Why fear the Enemy? He is defeated and even if that roaring lion
tries to attack you, you can call on our Lord who will send him whimpering back
to Hell. Why fear financial troubles? Why fear what you will eat or what you
will wear?
Matthew 6:31-34 - 31 “Therefore do
not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What
shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your
heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all
these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow,
for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own
trouble.
I understand that this has been a long
post, and if you have stuck with it until the end, I applaud you. My point
through all of this is rather simple. Don’t be afraid. When you grow afraid or
anxious, remember who you are. You are a child of God; someone who has been
purchased and washed in the blood; a joint-heir with Christ.
You are precious to God and can call
on Him, expecting and knowing that He will deliver you. You can know that no
matter what the Enemy throws at you, you can stand firm on the name of Jesus
and call on the Lord. And when that happens, you know that you have the power
of all Heaven backing you up.
I hope this encourages you, reminds
you of who you are, and Who you belong to. I hope that you smile and feel stronger
as you realize that you can call on the Lord, the Master of all, the Creator of
the universe, the Mighty King, the Most High God, and know that He will take
care of you.
So readers, do not be afraid. Rather,
rejoice that you are saved, that you belong to God, and that all of Heaven
stands ready to do battle for you at the call of Jesus’ name.
God bless you and strengthen you,
Binyamin