Fear No Fear

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

Yahweh’s angel said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Don’t be afraid of him.” Then he arose and went down with him to the king.
2 Kings 1:15 (emphasis added)

There are times when the conversations we need to have are uncomfortable. We like to always have positive things to say. Nice things. Most people don’t want to have conversations that are uncomfortable. Family members. Friends. A boss. A co-worker. A teacher. A spouse or significant other. The more unpleasant the words you have to say are, the harder they get. They get infinitely worse when the person we have to talk to has authority or power. No one likes these kinds of conversations. We like fluff talk. When facing conversations with real issues we need to stay focused. When we lose it, we can pick up stress, anxiety, and fear.

Elijah didn’t pull many punches. When he dealt with people, he told it like it was. All his waffling or whining he did before the Lord, not to who he was sent – which is how it should be. In today’s verse he had a conversation ahead of him that wasn’t going to be pleasant. He was being asked to appear before the king who wanted to speak to Elijah face to face. The king had fallen and lay sick. He had wanted to know if he was going to live and had sent messengers to ask the god of another country. The Lord God of Israel was NOT happy and He sent a message through Elijah. Elijah stopped the messengers and sent them back to the king with the Lord’s message. The king wasn’t happy either and wanted Elijah. He wasn’t going to be nice. Elijah probably didn’t want to go.

The soldiers didn’t make it easier.

They were doing their job, but they weren’t being nice about it. They were demanding. Rude even. The implication was come with us or we’re going to rough you up and take you anyway. Elijah was used to rough kings and their wives. Ahab. Jezebel. These were not people to treat servants of the Lord well. Jezebel had slaughtered many of them. And here were soldiers demanding Elijah come with them. I doubt he wanted to go. I doubt he assumed it was going to be fine. In fact, it took three separate groups of soldiers to do it. The first two groups were so threatening, telling him that he would come walking or being dragged along the ground, that Elijah appealed to the Lord for protection. It was only the third group who really asked him to come instead of demanding, and that was when the angel of the Lord told Elijah it was safe to go. To not be afraid. Elijah didn’t have to go have the difficult conversation.
But he did.

He only went because the Lord told him it was going to be fine. That there was nothing to worry about. Elijah had seen some great things in his life. He’d been no stranger to danger. He had chosen to walk in faith in the face of no provision you could see. He trusted the Lord. When the angel told him the Lord said not to fear, he didn’t fear. We went, spoke his piece, remained safe and untouched, and went his way. And the king died on his bed just as Elijah said he would. It wasn’t ‘easy’. But God was with him and he did it.

When did we lose that? That attitude? We don’t tell the neighbours about our faith – if we know who they are. We don’t tell our co-workers. When people find out that we are believers, they are often surprised. This shouldn’t be. We’re supposed to be people of faith, aren’t we? Doing what the Lord shows us to do and saying what the Lord tells us to say. When we speak, miracles can come out of our mouths. But they don’t happen because WE want them to (James 4:3). They happen when we say what the Lord tells us to say. It’s what Jesus did. He was fully man, remember? As far as procedural things go, Jesus was the same as us. He was told what to do, when to do it, how to do it, and how to phrase it. He chose to submit to that and look what He did! Jesus told us we could do everything He did (John 14:12). But Jesus was totally, utterly, inside and out submitted to the Father. Are we? Are we even trying? We can’t do it on our own. We need God to go with our flesh. We need Jesus. In HIM we can do all things because He never, ever, EVER does things outside of the will of the Father and we shouldn’t either.

We have an advantage that Elijah didn’t have. The Holy Spirit rested ON him, but resides IN us. The Spirit is here to hold our hands and guide us in all truth. Challenging conversations aren’t about being vulnerable. They aren’t about being wounded or about the wounds of the people you’re talking to. They are about truth. They are about honesty. They are about trust and building the other people up. Truth doesn’t cut or wound or bruise. It just is. The issue is how we present it. It’s our manners, words, and gestures that kick everything up. You know who doesn’t kick up pain? Holy Spirit. You know who always has the right words? Holy Spirit. You know who makes wrongs right, storms calm, and fear love? Holy Spirit. Why aren’t we relying on Him anymore? Why isn’t He the go-to for everything we do? I don’t mean crippling ourselves into needing to hear everything before we do it, but I AM talking about walking so hand-in-hand with Him that we’ll know before we do it or before the words leave our lips if it is a hit or a miss – whether we understand the whys and ramifications or not.

We can operate in love and joy by choice. Not letting fear in. Not letting the worry about being hurt in. Not letting judgment over success/failure be a factor. Not getting hung up over whether it is doctrinally accepted by the whole church or not. Uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure CAN be vulnerable-feeling situations. We do need courage to face them. But feelings are not real. They are simply sensory input. We don’t need courage because of the feelings. We need courage to obey. Obedience to the Holy Spirit. Letting Him guide us. Letting the Word guide us. “Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path. I have sworn, and have confirmed it, that I will obey your righteous ordinances. I am afflicted very much. Revive me, Yahweh, according to your word” (Psalm 119:105-107).

The WORD. Why was Jesus able to do what Jesus did considering that He was a full man? We’re full men. Totally human. He was totally human. What was the difference? The spirit. Jesus did not have the spirit that descended from Adam. The dead spirit we have. Jesus had a living spirit. A righteous spirit. We approach all these things from the fallen side. Jesus was approaching them from the unfallen. The WORD became flesh (John 1:14). The Word is the will and the heart of the Father. And that is what entered the flesh. Jesus had all the choices we do, but He was being informed by the spirit. His flesh told Jesus the same stuff our flesh tells us. But He had another voice in His inner self. The spirit that was righteous and living and connected with the Lord. He studied the Word (Luke 2:46). The Word informed Jesus. It was His nature.

We’re believers. We are redeemed (Galatians 3:13-14). We have the nature of Jesus in us (Galatians 2:20). We all have the spirit (1 Corinthians 12:7). He gave it all to us by Grace through faith. We are new creations. Redeemed. Unique. Do you know how you know you are unique? You were created in His image (Genesis 1:26). What is His image? “Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is unique. “For Yahweh your God, he is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, the mighty, and the awesome, who doesn’t respect persons or take bribes” (Deuteronomy 10:17). He is unique. We are unique. How can the spirit of the Living God dwell in us? We were made in His image, so we are compatible. We were made to commune with Him. To be able to recognise Him and worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24). Jesus says in John 15 that we are to live in Him and He will live in us. He is the vine, we are the branches. We get from Him the ability to do all things because He is in us doing the things. Jesus does it all. What is our part? Choice.

We can choose to be obedient. We can choose the fruit of the spirit. We can praise God instead of worrying. We can praise God instead of being fearful. We can praise God instead of being anxious. We can praise God instead of being depressed. It isn’t that we’re denying those things. I have been all those things. But what are we putting in our heart? Will we take what is in our head and internalise it? Or will we seek the Word, put it into our hearts, and let it rise up under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to alter our head? Getting into reading the bible and having a song of praise on my lips is the only thing that rescues me. Don’t just push things back for a time (whether with medication or with therapy – not saying they don’t help or that it is wrong to take them. I’m saying there’s a better way. Jesus’ way.). Seek Jesus first and the need for other paths falls away. It happens over time or instantaneous, depending on what the Lord wants to accomplish and what you can handle. Jesus can do it though and do it for all the rest of always. Pushing things back for a time is Old Covenant thinking.

We are in the New Covenant of Jesus’ blood. We have no barriers between us and God. None. We can come singing and praising through the Outer court, Inner court, Holy Place, and right up to the throne and the innermost Holy of Holies. God loves us. He is happy that we believe. We will please Him when we are obedient. He loves you and will correct us. He is joyful about us. When we take up our cross and sing our way down the road, a righteous peace awaits us. Give your thoughts to Jesus. Bring them into submission through Him (2 Corinthians 10:5). What He gives us back through the spirit is SO much better.
A peaceful mind. Free from fears, agitating passions, and moral conflicts. Peace. Real peace. What a gift! Open yours today.

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: John 13:27-30 & 17:20-24

First Jesus gets betrayed by one of the people He was closest to. Someone He kept near and dear, holding back nothing. Second, Jesus prays for all the disciples that are with Him and then for you. ‘but also on behalf of those who will believe.’ That is us, my friend. And nothing has changed. Jesus knows EVERYTHING about us and STILL LOVES US. He loves us enough to accept us. Jesus loves us enough to corrupt us. He intercedes for us (1 Timothy 2:5). He will never stop loving us, pulling for us, vouching for us, and everything and anything else you can imagine. Right up to the line. Us in Jesus and Jesus in us. Seeing the glory of the Father in Jesus and submitting to it totally, completely, and desperately. God loves us so and He is DESPERATE to get us home with Him. Be broken. Submit in joyous freedom. Live the abundant life Jesus came to provide and thank Him for each and every moment of it.

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.