Fear No Fear

Yahweh appeared to him the same night, and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Don’t be afraid, for I am with you, and will bless you, and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.“
Genesis 26:24 (emphasis added)

Issac was not having a good day. He had been digging wells. In fact, re-opening the wells dug by his father Abraham. But the locals fought over them and chased him off. Not once, but twice. He kept moving farther and farther away from where he wanted to be. Boy, does THAT sound familiar. Finally, possibly not in the best of spots, he dug one and they left him alone. Whew. IMMEDIATELY, he thanked the Lord.

Then the Lord spoke.

The Lord did NOT speak while he was having issues. Issac had not sought Him. The Lord did not guide him in a direct way. Issac hadn’t asked Him to. The Lord did not help him take back the land used by his father. But as soon as Issac got space for himself, he thanked Yahweh. “That same night” the Lord spoke. Issac didn’t ask for a word, but he got one. It often happens that way. When we think we’re the most alone, we’re the most on God’s mind.

Issac was on the Lord’s mind. God wanted him to know it. The Lord spoke and told him not to be afraid for two very good reasons. First, God was WITH him. Second, Issac would be BLESSED and FAVOURED with the blessing of his father Abraham.

Through Christ, Abraham is our spiritual forefather (Galatians 3:29). We’re part of the family. Grafted into the Jewish nation – under Grace, not Law. We get to share his blessing. God was WITH Issac and Issac was BLESSED and FAVOURED. We are too. These are three VERY powerful words.

With:

• accompanied by
• having or possessing
• indicating the instrument used to perform an action
• in opposition to
• indicating the manner or attitude in which a person does something
• indicating responsibility
• in relation to
• employed by
• in the same direction as
• indicating separation or removal from something

Think about God and what He has said in the scripture. All those things are aspects of our relationship with Him. We are accompanied by Him; we are both possessed by Him and have Him inside us (Holy Spirit); we are the instrument through which He has chosen to do things on this earth; He is in opposition to those who try to stand against us; He does things with us, as we align with His will, believe, and obey; He gladly assumes responsibility for us, His obedient children; we are co-heirs with Christ Jesus and in the family, related to God our Father; we are employed by Him to do things; we walk with Him toward the goals the Lord has for us and those around us and we are – in HIM – separated and removed from both our old sinful selves and the world around us.

Wow. And that’s before we get to the REALLY good stuff.

Bless:

• pronounce words to invoke blessing

Blessing:

• God’s favour and protection

Not bad. But to be BLESSED?

• If blessed with a particular good quality or skill, they HAVE that good quality or skill
• empowered to prosper

God confers on us and invokes within us His favour and protection which means He gives us HIS favour and HIS protection to operate in. Sounds nice, but what does His favour MEAN? Protection is easy. Protection is something that prevents one from being harmed or damaged by unpleasant things. It doesn’t stop the things, but it protects us. We are in the calm and the storm is around us (Psalm 107:29-31). We are inside trouble and pressure, but we are not troubled BY it (Matthew 8:23-27). And if we have been BLESSED with it, then by definition we HAVE it.

Favour? That’s something else.

Favour:

• approval, support, or liking for someone or something
• an act of kindness beyond what is due or usual
• prefer something over all the other choices available
• treat someone better or in a kinder way than you treat other people
• support something/someone and think that it is a good thing
• helps you or gives you an advantage
• to be chosen first, instead of the other thing which is rejected
• a small, inexpensive gift to guests at a party

(That last one isn’t applicable like the others, but the world works really hard to believe it.)

God’s favour means we have His approval and support. He LIKES us. He acts toward us with kindness – He ISN’T mad at you, ISN’T convicting you, and ISN’T getting ready to squash you. He just wants a hug! He prefers you over everything else. You want to know what boggles the mind? He prefers us all the same above all the other choices available exactly the same and that’ll make your head hurt if you get into it enough. He treats us with kindness. He does it kinder and better than we behave to others. We don’t deserve the treatment, but He gives it anyway. HE LIKES US!

He supports us because He thinks we’re a good thing. Genesis 1:27-28 “God created man in his own image. In God’s image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them.” And then in 1:31, “God saw everything that he had made and, behold, it was very good.” ‘Behold’ means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. God stopped, observed, gazed, and took notice of US. You are a good thing to the Lord. He helps us. He gives us an advantage. In everything. Big and small. We have an advantage when we go into battle and when we pick fruit from the market. He chooses us first. When teams are picked He shouts your name before anyone else gets a chance to even look over the lineup. He WANTS you, HE LIKES YOU, and HE NEEDS YOU ON HIS TEAM! He wants you to know He wants you before you get a chance to be rejected by anyone else for anything ever. He wants you secure in your knowledge of His love.

We are BEHELD by the Lord God Almighty. That is HUGE. We have trouble understanding it. Grasping it. Knowing it inside our hearts. Yahweh has us written in the palm of His hand (Isaiah 49:16). Literally. Your name in on His hand. He looks at it daily and thinks of you. He chose us before we could do anything good or bad (Ephesians 1:4-6; 1 Peter 1:17-20). His choosing of us is not dependent on what we do, say, feel, or believe. It is not dependent on our viewpoint, emotions, actions, or in-actions. Because He MADE us. With INTENT. On PURPOSE. He thought about it, decided on it, and went ahead with it (Genesis 1:16; 5:1). He made us like Him. And like all parents, He wants us to grow up to be like Him. To walk in His ways (Leviticus 19:2; Ephesians 5:1). Not to give us rules and Do Not’s. But because of His Righteousness and His desire for us to also be righteous so that we can fellowship with Him.

His liking and love of us is not dependent on our walk with Him in ANY way. His desire for us to be His children and walking in His ways is SEPARATE from His love for us. He loves EVERY SINGLE HUMAN BEING EVER. That does NOT change the requirements for being right with Him. God is RIGHTEOUS. If we want to be with Him, we too need to be RIGHTEOUS. THAT is why Jesus atoned for us. THAT is why we are corrected. THAT is why we need to be humble and submitted to Him. He wants us to be righteous. He wants that for us because He loves us. He doesn’t love us because He wants that for us. How close we get to be with Him is determined by our walk with Him because He is Righteous and only righteousness and faith can be in His presence. But love?

His love and affection for us is not determined by our walk or His thoughts about what we’re doing and not doing (Lamentations 3:22-23; 1 John 4:10; Romans 5:8, 8:35-39). He loves us because He loves us because He loves us because He loves us. For no other reason than He IS love and He has set His mind on us (Psalm 8:4).

The world loves nothing better than to stop you from being with the Lord (John 3:19-20). The easiest way it does that is keep your mind on the world. It can do that with shiny entertainment. It can do that by appealing to your flesh and creating addictions (from drugs to social media). But it also is really good at focusing you on yourself. The whole nature of consumerism is about just that. What do you deserve, what do you need, how can you improve yourself? The focus is all on you, and those foibles and faults start to be really easy to see.

Take a close look at anything in this fallen world and you’ll start to see the effects of death, decay, and the passage of time. We have a minimum of a hundred and twenty years available to us on this earth, yet at 30 we start talking about being old. At 60 we’re talking funeral plans. And at 80 we’re grateful we’re around for another day. How many hundred year olds do you know going for hikes, doing some work, and enjoying their life? Not many.

Jesus is here to remind you that the focus isn’t you. The focus is the Father (John 14:6-7). The image the Father has is the image of you IN JESUS. There are NO faults. There are NO foibles. There is NOTHING bad. There is ONLY good. How PROUD He is of you. How you make Him smile. He loves you SO MUCH. He DOTES on you. He BRAGS on you. He talks to Jesus about you. He checks in with Holy Spirit all the time to see how you are, what you need, and what you like. He enjoys you. He enjoys life with you. You are His Beloved and He is Yours. Isn’t that so much better than what the world wants for you? Isn’t that something that stirs you up? How can you give in to being fearful when you have a loving God as present as the Lord is? Attending you every moment whether you’re aware of it or not. Always there. Always present. Always available. Always smiling on you. Always ready to correct your missteps and bless your TRUE repentance. Ever merciful! What a GOOD God!

Do NOT be afraid. The Lord is WITH you. He BLESSES you. And YOU have His FAVOUR.

HE LIKES YOU.

Give Him a hug.

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: 1 John 4:7-12

God loves us. He is in us and He perfects us in that love. And we can’t get away from it. No matter what we do or don’t. From the moment He starts our heart, He is there beside us. Jesus said He would never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5-6). A constant companion against crime. Someone we can look to for a helping hand when we don’t have the strength to do it (Exodus 15:1-4). Adam got weak and fell. He didn’t HAVE to. He COULD have gotten help. Jesus did. When weak, He called on the Word. We can too. When we don’t feel like it. When we’re weak in it. Jesus is there. Always. Psalm 139 describes how inescapable God is. God is with us even when we aren’t with Him. He’s been there and will be there. He can be depended on. No matter what. And all the time He is loving on us. Hard.

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.