Fear Not!
Is 41:10 ¶ Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
One of the over 300 ‘Fear Not’s!’ in the Bible.
Fear is a horrible taskmaster. Deep horrible thoughts, that emanate from the darkrooms of our lives, where negatives are developed. Fear has torment, and it will steal our sleep, our rest, our peace, our judgment, and if we let it, our lives.
“The only thing we have to fear is fear it’self – nameless, unreasoning, unjustified, terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”
—- FDR – First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933
“Fear is a tyrant and a despot, more terrible than the rack, more potent than the snake.”
—- Edgar Wallace – The Clue of the Twisted Candle (1916)
For us, who know Jesus, there is nothing to fear! He is love, and His perfect love destroys our deepest fears. God is with us, He will never leave us, nor forsake us. He is as close as our next breath, if we would only talk to him.
2Ti 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
The best way I have discovered to conquer fear, is to face it, and get busy.
One night, I was taking my children up the street to a wonderful park we discovered, only about a half mile from my house. It has a little pond, and is quite large, and we had fun walking, and looking for insects, for our homeschool science. As I walk
ed home, I marveled at how we have lived here for five years, and never discovered this park, and suddenly, I realized why: ‘I have been afraid of dogs!
We have had several encounters with stray pit bulls attacking my children over the years, and truthfully, there are still a couple of unrestrained large dogs that walk our street. I suddenly realized that God has protected us. We have never been bitten by one of these mongrels, and I have limited our expeditions, because of these dogs!. Fear brings bondage, and mine broke last night in this area! Sometimes, the best thing you can do in life is face your fears, and go on.
I remember in college at Carleton university, the high diving platform. Anyone could jump off of the high diving board, and some, the first platform, but there were two more higher, and although the third platform did not look too high from the ground, once you got up there, that pool looks mighty small… So, me and this guy named Steve, would climb up there each Saturday night after swim practice, and challenge each other to jump. And, jump we would! Didn’t understand it at the time, but there is an exhilaration that only comes from conquering your fears!
So what fears do you need to face today, in the power of God?
Ever been afraid of the dark, where every creak and sound, sounds like a home intruder or axe murderer?
Did you know that there are actual demon spirits, spirits of fear, that bring those thoughts?
We had a problem with nightmares, and kids afraid to sleep in their own beds, until we discovered the 91st Psalm:
One night, when I woke up, almost paralyzed by fear awakened after a horrible nightmare, I said out of my spirit – ‘Terror by night – get out of my house’ it is written: ‘He gives me sweet sleep!’ – I literally felt the fear leave my room! Peace came, and I slept peacefully. I have remembered that night well, and the lesson the Lord taught me through it, for we have now travelled on countless missions trips, where evil spirits would attempt to attack us in the night, after we had worked to hard that day, and not prayed enough. Yet, each time, I rebuked them, and we sleep soundly.
Let’s pray, for we are children of victory!
‘Father, show me my fears, the things I have been afraid of, often unknowingly. Deliver me from them, and show me how to face, conquer and forever banish them from my life, in Your name I pray Lord Jesus, Amen.
