Protected, by Faith!
Gen 15: . 1 ¶ After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
Love this verse! Abraham had just come out of battle, and had renewed his covenant with God through the bread and wine with Melchizedek, and God appears to him with this promise. Gotta love the promises God made to Abraham, because they belong to you, through the shed blood of Jesus:
Gal 3:7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
Notice here that God’s message to Abraham is the same as Jesus to Jairus:
Luke 8:49 While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master.
50 But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.
Stop the fear! Be courageous, choose to believe!
Many years ago, I discovered that an ex-convict in our church, had committed staturtory rape with a consenting minor. I was told that if I called the polilce, this man would kill me. I called the police, and a SWAT team showed up, and arrested him, and he ended up serving five years in prison for his crime. I was told, all through the trial, that ‘one phone call and this guy will have you killed!’
Many times I awoke in the night, in a cold sweat, scared.
Yet, fear is the real enemy, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, and it is written:
Ps 91:5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night;
I would awake, afraid over creaks in the night, then learned to choose to believe that God was far more able to protect me, that the enemy through this man to kill me.
Obviously, the Word of God has had a good report, for I am still here to tell the story, in fact, I actually visited that man in prison several times, and led him in rededication back to God. Now, over 15 years later that man is married and serving in a local church, and the girl involved visited my church with her husband, and had me dedicate her baby to the Lord! Love never fails!
The early American Indians had a unique practice of training young braves. On the night of a boy’s thirteenth birthday, after learning hunting, scouting, and fishing skills, he was put to one final test. He was placed in a dense forest to spend the entire night alone. Until then, he had never been away from the security of the family and the tribe. But on this night, he was blindfolded and taken several miles away. When he took off the blindfold, he was in the middle of a thick woods and he was terrified! Every time a twig snapped, he visualized a wild animal ready to pounce. After what seemed like an eternity, dawn broke and the first rays of sunlight entered the interior of the forest. Looking around, the boy saw flowers, trees, and the outline of the path. Then, to his utter astonishment, he beheld the figure of a man standing just a few feet away, armed with a bow and arrow. It was his father. He had been there all night long.
Our Daily Bread.
Fear not! He will protect you, but only if you believe!
Let’s pray:
‘Father God, you see the very real dangers that face me and my house, yet I choose to refuse to fear, to only believe, trusting that you love me, and that your power is more than enough to protect me, I believe I receive your protection Lord Jesus, Amen’
