Fear No Fear

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

Stay with me. Don’t be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life. You will be safe with me.”
1 Samuel 22:23 (emphasis added)

We are not alone. You could stop right there. Lesson over. Relief achieved. Jesus said He will NEVER LEAVE us OR forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Right there all your needs are taken care of and there is nothing to fear. How can you fear with Jesus beside you? But we do indulge in fear. Things come against us and we worry. Things are less than ideal, so we feel depressed. Something is coming up and anxiety grips us — maybe just the thought of dealing with other people. Abiathar certainly felt that way. His entire family was just killed. Men, women, children, and infants AND oxen, donkeys, and sheep. All killed. Abiathar alone escaped. He couldn’t appeal to a higher authority because the king was behind it. Talk about worry, depression, and anxiety. Everyone was against him. Almost. Since King Saul was the one behind the killing, Abiathar went to the only person in the country who was not with Saul: David. David was also on the run from Saul. Abiathar ran to him as fast as he could and poured out his story.

David immediately reached out and told him (1) he wasn’t alone and (2) he was safe with David. More than just safe. The Hebrew word implies being safeguarded, preserved, and the act of being watched over. That’s more than just being safe, but taken care of completely. Your worries removed. No fear of physical harm from without or within. A place to sleep, food to eat, and no harm headed your way. That’s safety. It’s how the Lord likes us to be. And it’s borne out in scripture.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls, and doesn’t have another to lift him up.”
In our New Covenant, who are the two? You and Jesus. He said in Matthew 28:20 ““Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”” More than just a promise to be with you, Jesus also promised to safeguard us (in John 6:35): “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will not be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”” That’s pretty safe. So much of our lives are ruled by hunger or want. Here Jesus is promising us more than physical safety. Jesus is offering eternal safety. Jesus said we would be persecuted in His name. Jesus didn’t promise us easy. We aren’t retired. We’re in the trenches. We’re taking a stand. It’s just that with Jesus’ kind of safety, we won’t mind the persecution. We can take joy in Him wherever we find ourselves. Like Paul and Silas in Acts 16, we can be beaten, in chains, in the dark, and still be thankful and praise the Lord for His safety and our living in His blessing.

The Holy Spirit was sent to us to be with us and to help us understand all things (2 Timothy 2:7). We are partners with the Spirit. And He can be part of all of our life – from the mundane to the amazing – if we let Him. He wants relationship with us. What relationship is truly deep if we keep the other person at arm’s length? More so with the Holy Spirit! This is the very Spirit of God. Part of the Trinity. The Righteousness of God. And He wants to abide in us as we abide in Him. Ephesians 1:7-9 says “In him we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him to an administration of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in him.“

This abiding goes beyond a teacher or comforter to a student or friend. There is a closeness that the Lord desires with us. “The friendship of the LORD is with those who fear him. He will show them his covenant” (Psalm 25:14). Those who reverence, respect, and seek the Lord will be friends of the Lord. Abraham was called a friend by God Himself (Isaiah 41:8). This is more than just buddies. This isn’t some frivolous playdate stuff. This is confidentiality. God didn’t hide things from Abraham (Genesis 18:17). God didn’t hide things from His prophets (Amos 3:7). God doesn’t want to hide things from you either. He wants to sit up late conspiring together. He wants to get up early and sit down to plan out the day. We are called to be the Bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:22-33). When you covenant with someone in a marriage relationship, you are close to each other. You love each other, trust each other, respect each other, and protect each other. Because of that, you can share the deepest, most intimate pieces of your hearts with each other. You can open up to each other. Expose yourselves because you have trust. You know they are there to build you up. For each of you to strengthen the other in this bond. You also don’t keep things from each other. The things that concern you. The troubles you see or the troubles you have had. You confide one with the other. Everything is open. Nothing is hidden.

This is the quiet confidence that He seeks with each of us. This is why He gave us the Word. What the Father wants is fellowship in our hearts. He wants to covenant with us. But you can’t access the heart except through the mind. And our minds cannot handle the things of God on their own. We need renewal. We need restoration to the level that we were once at. Science tells us that we use ten percent of our minds. I often wonder if we will use it all once we are fully renewed. Once we are in our spiritual bodies, standing before the Father, will we have full and complete use of our minds again? Interesting thought. But right now we have ten percent that is not able to perceive the things of God. When we read the Word with intent, seeking to see Jesus and hear the Spirit in every word, it renews our minds to the things of God. That’s why it is so important to keep it in front of our eyes and on our hearts. It is life to us. It is sustenance to us. It is the cleaner that keeps our windows clear enough to see what is outside. When we are renewed, then He can touch our hearts. When we are touched in our hearts, He can begin and we can begin to build a covenant relationship together. As more than friends. As Bride and Groom. Constant companions.

Not only has He given us a constant companion in His Spirit, not only has He given us Bread so that we never go hungry and Living Water so we never thirst (in our spirits where it counts), but also He gives us the chance to learn about His will. In everything. Heaven above, earth below, and all they contain. Why everything? Because God created ALL things and redeems ALL humankind. His plans concern ALL things and ALL people. If we need it, if we abide in Him so that we’re close and connected and listening, He will give us wisdom and insight about everything that we see. Our whole life. He can guide us like no one else can — this is more than just sharing confidence. This is true wisdom and leadership. Taking us past and through pitfalls, troubles, and all the fluff the world likes to kick up. Past and over all the wiles and weapons of the enemy, because he is a defeated and powerless foe. Past and through our feelings — no matter what they are about. Through and in spite of circumstance, situation, resources, or what’s arraigned against us. Safe and secure within any persecution for the sake of Jesus that we may endure. We already have victory over everything. Each and every single thing. Now we’re just walking home hand in hand with Jesus.

Safeguarded. Preserved. Without fear. Covenant partners. Confidants. Together.

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: Psalm 146

Isn’t it nice to have things done for us? Those little things our loved ones do to make us feel wanted, special, and appreciated? Beverage in the morning without having to make it. Foot rubs. A word. A smile. Driving a certain route because you like the view. Little things. Makes us feel nice, right? It can also help us love them a little more than we already do, can’t it? It doesn’t work like that with God. There is nothing you can do to make Him love you more than He already does. There is nothing you can do to make Him love you less. Nothing. What you CAN do, is praise and thank Him for that unthinkable, unfathomable love. It won’t change HIS love, but it will totally alter what YOU feel. If you take a single sentence — regardless of length — a single sentence about your partner and why it is that you love them. A single sentence said or texted to them every day. Describing new ways every day that you love them. For their laugh, for their smile, for the way they do this, the way you admire that, or how you appreciate this. If you do this every day, it won’t be very many days before your love has deepened. You’ll feel closer. You’ll be more intimate in your thinking, looks, and emotions. Because you are focusing on your love with intent. You are delving into you to see what you’ve delved in them. It will change the way the two of you interact with each other. We can do the same thing with God. No, we won’t change Him. His love won’t deepen. His attitude won’t change. But we will. We will begin to understand His love for us. We will begin to appreciate Him in ways we don’t now. It will never stop. His depths don’t end. We can be on this journey of deeper intimacy forever. Love on Him today and feel His love for you as you deepen your love for Him.

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.