Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, and that his fear may be before you, that you won’t sin.”
Exodus 20:20 (emphasis added)

I feel this verse sums up our strategy for any bad year. Don’t fear so that you can reverence the Lord. No scary, fearful, terror-inducing worry taking up your thoughts because reverence, respect, and holy awe are before you. The reverential fear isn’t even something that is on us. It isn’t laid on as a punishment or a ‘you better do this or else.’ It’s before us. In front of our eyes. Like glasses so that we can see clearly what we should do and what we should avoid. The testing isn’t an exam. It’s the Lord giving us the chance to prove to US what HE already knows is true.

God isn’t about us experiencing fear. He is about freedom. Giving us strength in our weakness so that the impossible gets accomplished (2 Corinthians 12:9). He knows things are hard. He knows we get weary and weak. But these aren’t things for us to struggle with. These are opportunities to let His Spirit, strength, and glory to dwell inside us. You will be totally renewed if you dwell in Him (Isaiah 40:30-31). Just believe Jesus did it for you. Decide to believe. Make your faith be about that decision. Through faith all things are possible because if we believe God, and if we have faith, then we’re inviting what God has accomplished into our life. We’re reaching out to appropriate what has ALREADY been done.

This is essentially the test Job failed and the test that Adam didn’t get to. Fear approaches, and they’re dwelling on IT instead of on what God SAYS. Job said what he feared had come upon him. Adam hid in the bushes. Neither of these guys had their eyes on God. Neither of these guys were prayed up and ready to stand. Matthew 4:5-6 tells us this: “Then the devil took him into the holy city. He set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and, ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you don’t dash your foot against a stone.’”” Jesus was up high. Satan could have pushed Him off. Also, Jesus was pretty weak at this point. He’d been fasting a long time.

But Satan left out some details – funny how he does that. The scripture he quoted actually says, “For he will put his angels in charge of you, to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, so that you won’t dash your foot against a stone.” (Psalm 91:11-12). That’s a little different. That isn’t blanket you’ll be saved stuff. That’s you are doing something you’re supposed to and they’ll guard you. Don’t think of it as they are going to ignore you if you’re not accomplishing something either. This isn’t performance based. This is simply that if you are in the place God puts you, they are able to bear you up. If you’re not in the place God puts you, they will be unable to bear you up. Your mindful positioning is either putting you under God’s protection or preventing God from protecting you (Matthew 18:18). But what are we supposed to be doing? Where is this position we should be in? Walking in God’s ways (Psalm 128:1). We’ll be guarded in our ways when WE aren’t the focus. OUR ways are supposed to be HIS ways.

Look at how Jesus answered Satan in verse 7: “Jesus said to him, ‘Again, it is written, ‘You shall not test the Lord, your God.’” We shall NOT test God. When trouble is around, or worry, or fear; we don’t throw it on God and beg and yodel and wail. We don’t throw ourselves on the floor of the prayer closet and kick up a fuss (2 Corinthians 12:7-8). We’ve been told what to do. We’re supposed to be doing it (2 Corinthians 12:9). But that isn’t how the human mind works. Because we’re housed in this flesh. And flesh is SELFISH. And WE’RE selfish. We’re childish, really. We are almost automatically in the position of lifting our arms up to the heavenly Father and asking for uppies. For succour. For Him to do all the things. But we are NEW creatures in JESUS. IN JESUS we can do the things we need because it is HIM doing it through us. That requires action on our part. Surrender. What’s our roadmap when trouble comes?

“Examine your own selves, whether you are in faith. Test your own selves. Or don’t you know about your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you? -unless indeed you are disqualified… For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. For we rejoice when we are weak and you are strong. We also pray for this: your becoming perfect” (2 Corinthians 13:5, 8-9).

God doesn’t test us to see us fail or to ramp up our stress. We are supposed to test OURSELVES. To make sure that we believe what we say we believe. God only tests us to PROVE US (Psalm 26:2) – which is to let us prove we are whole and honest about our faith (Psalm 139:23-24). What do WE mean when we say ‘test’? This isn’t an exam. Instead of a trial or a pass/fail scenario, think of cooking. You want to fry something in a pan. The pan goes on the stove and you turn on the heat. When do you put in the food? When the pan is preheated. If you’re going to bake something, you preheat the oven. When do you know it’s preheated? In both cases, you test it. With baking, our modern appliances do the test for us. It beeps, tells, or sings at us to tell us the internal temperature we want has been reached. With pan frying, we hold our hand over it and feel the heat. We test it to see if it’s ready to receive food.

This is what the Word is referring to. God knowing that the spiritual temperature He wanted in us has been reached. Us testing to see if we’re ready to receive from Him. You won’t defeat an attack of the enemy if you aren’t tested up, knowing what you believe, and standing on the promises of God. Diving into the Word every day and thinking on it. Renewing our minds with His Word. Then when attacks come, they fizzle out. We have our armour on, we have our faith ready, and we stand and are able to enjoy the victory we have in Jesus. God won’t pour into us the next thing He has if we’re not ready to receive it. If we’re not worked up, developed, matured, obedient, and praise-y. In both cases – our actions and His pouring – our ways need to be firmly established.

Jesus quoted the first verse of a section of scripture that talks about just what our ways are supposed to be: Deuteronomy 6:16-19 “You shall not tempt Yahweh your God, as you tempted him in Massah. You shall diligently keep the commandments of Yahweh your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he has commanded you. You shall do that which is right and good in Yahweh’s sight, that it may be well with you and that you may go in and possess the good land which Yahweh swore to your fathers, to thrust out all your enemies from before you, as Yahweh has spoken.” So we follow that which the Lord put before us (Psalm 119:105). We behave and obey (1 Samuel 15:22). We fill up on the Word and meditate on it (Joshua 1:8). We let the Holy Spirit teach, lead, and guide us (John 16:13). And we test ourselves so that we have confidence that we are prayed up, fasted up, Word-walking so the type of faith we need comes out of us (Matthew 17:21).

Way back when Moses gave them the Law God gave him and they built the tabernacle (Exodus 25-30), there were instructions given to Aaron and his sons who would be priests. They were consecrated and then (Leviticus 8:33) they were to sit in the door of the Tent of Meeting seven days. This was part of their consecration. For seven days. What were they to be doing? It doesn’t say specifically. But later, two sons of Aaron went and offered to the Lord where they weren’t supposed to and did what they weren’t supposed to.
Leviticus 10:1-3 tells us “Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer, and put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and offered strange fire before Yahweh, which he had not commanded them. Fire came out from before Yahweh, and devoured them, and they died before Yahweh. Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what Yahweh spoke of, saying, ‘I will show myself holy to those who come near me, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” Aaron held his peace.”

They did wrong and Aaron knew it. How? They had spent seven days thinking on and meditating on the Word of God. The instructions that Moses handed down from the Lord. Whether they were reading words Moses had written down or whether they were remembering them or whether they were reciting them to each other, they spent seven days being focused on what they were to do and not do. They were being consecrated. Built up. Readied. They were to be testing themselves. But not all of them did. Not all of them were ready. Nadab and Abihu did what they wanted, not what they had been told God wanted. They failed their testing.

If we teach a child to ride a bike and they tell us they have it, we believe them. We stand and watch them – ready to leap in if there is a problem, but giving them space. We let them test their abilities. We let them show us what they’ve learned, what they know, and what they can do. We don’t make demands on them and insist on a certain speed, or jump, or manoeuvre. We let them show us what they have practised. And don’t we puff up and tell everyone about it. Look at that! See what my kid did! If they fail and fall and injure themselves, we’re there to comfort them, tell them we’re proud of them and their efforts, and help them to go again.

God is no different. He is our loving parent. We say we have it, He gives us space, and we test ourselves to see if we do, in fact, believe. Unlike Nadab and Abihu, we are in a new covenant with the Lord. We are abiding in Jesus and Jesus is in us. We are NOT sinful people trying to get a covering, we’re CHILDREN OF GOD living in the righteous spirit of Jesus able to deal with the Father face to face. We have no penalties waiting for us. We have intimacy or we have no intimacy. Our tests are tests of the strength of our faith, the depth of our believing.

When we pass the test of believing? God celebrates! He praises us! How much easier it becomes to do it again. And again. Keeping our tremendous awe and reverential respect for Him in front of us so that we will not choose sin. By choosing the fear of the Lord, we can choose not to sin – we may stumble, but we’ll rise up again in His Grace and Mercy. Again and again. As long as it takes. This isn’t about perfection. Jesus is perfect. In Him we can walk in His perfection. But we will miss it at times (1 John 1:8-10) and need to actively repent. Jesus will be right there to correct us, help us deal with the consequences of our actions, and get us walking on His path once again.

Read what the Word says. Learn it. Say it and think on it. Decide to believe it. Let it get inside you. Then claim it. Pray it according to the Word and the will of the Lord. Let those words become a part of who you are. Don’t waste your times of consecration. Think on His ways. Make them yours by keeping them before your eyes. Walk in faith, not in fear. As you build up your faith, that fear will recede. Keep your eyes on the Word. Keep your ears on the voice of Holy Spirit. Let your Shepherd lead you to quiet water, green pasture, and true rest. Fear the Lord as the word should be translated: reverence. Reverence the Lord. He is worthy of it.

Psalm 111:10 says: “The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom, All those who do His work have good understanding. His praise endures forever!“

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: Romans 5:1-11

God loves us. So much. He gives us the Grace to believe. He pours His love into us through His Spirit. And He did it all before we wanted Him. “While we were still sinners Christ died for us.” Before we were worthy, He died for us. Before we cared, He loved. We tend to love people as we get to know them and withdraw our affections as we are hurt by them. That isn’t real love, but human affection. God shows us real love. He loved us before we existed, loves us no matter what, and in fact pours out more love the more we have weaknesses. Why? Because Jesus’ blood justifies us and saved us from God’s wrath. Sin has been paid for. Period. Thousands of years ago for all of time. Peace on earth, goodwill to mankind. All that is left after we’re saved is love. No punishment (taken care of if we accept Jesus’ sacrifice), just hugs (He’s got a LOT of them). God loves us. SO much.

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.