Fear No Fear

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

“Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid or dismayed because of the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude who is with him; for there is a greater one with us than with him.
2 Chronicles 32:7 (emphasis added)

This is a promise more true today than it was then. In the New Covenant we have no barrier between us and the Lord (Matthew 27:51). Sin has been dealt with (2 Corinthians 5:21). But the Lord is Righteous and there is no sin in Him, you say (1 John 3:4-6). That’s true. No argument. Our problem is that we are ascribing EMOTION to Righteousness. Righteousness isn’t an emotion. It is a state of being. It is the Lord God Almighty’s state of being. He IS Righteousness. When we ascribe an emotion to that, then every time we do wrong or feel/believe something that Word shows us is contrary to righteousness we ASSUME God is angry/disappointed/disgusted/vengeful. But God ONLY had hatred toward sin. Jesus paid the price for sin. Sold. Off the market. Unable to be reclaimed. Now, thanks to Jesus we only face one question. The original question: do we walk with God in His garden or not? And the only emotion attached to that is Love.

We can’t anger Him. We can’t disappoint Him. He is with us through everything and at all times. Don’t get me wrong, unrighteousness cannot be in the presence of righteousness and survive. That’s why the Father sent Jesus to us. That’s why Jesus agreed to become a man and die for us. We can touch Jesus. He is a living man who is also the Living God. It is a non-issue. The Father cannot get angry with something that isn’t before Him and all He sees is Jesus in us. Remember: PRICE PAID.

Do not ever forget this truth. God is love and God loves you. Period. Always. No matter what. His love for us doesn’t ever, ever, ever, EVER change – even when we need a correction of our course or a change in our actions. If you don’t believe me, spend some time in Hebrews.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). “Having therefore, brothers and sisters, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh, and having a great priest over God’s house, let’s draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and having our body washed with pure water, let’s hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering; for he who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:19-23). “for he has said, “I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6)“. So that with good courage we say, “The Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me?”” (Hebrews 13:5b-6 and Psalm 118:6-7).

Doesn’t that sound like our 2 Chronicles verse? With good courage we can choose not to fear being strong and not dismayed no matter what is arrayed against us? It does, and it is the same. From the beginning of the world until today the future of our God is with us. Remember that He is the beginning and the ending (Revelation 22:13). He knows what will be, has planned for it, and will bring it to pass (Isaiah 46:9-11) because His plans never fail nor His Word end up void (Isaiah 55:8-11). That’s something. The Lord God, Father in Heaven, is. He named Himself I AM THAT I AM in Exodus 3:14. ‘I AM’ is the Hebrew word {haw-yaw} which means to fall out, to come to pass, become, and be. ‘THAT’ is the Hebrew word {ash-er} which means who, which, and that BUT that also has an origin as a relative pronoun of every gender and number. So God named Himself as being, becoming, and coming to pass in every conceivable way. Past, present, and future all in one name. And just so we are clear, the Lord again and again throughout scripture while being in every conceivable way; has clearly chosen His pronouns. In a day and age that the world is holding up respecting pronouns as a seminal part of culture and a basic human right in any free society, let’s put to bed all the God is a woman stuff. God clearly chose His pronouns. Respect them and Him. Use them.

Now. We serve and worship a God who is alive. Who speaks to us. Who gives us a Counsellor, advocate, intercessor, consoler, comforter, and helper (John 14:26) to dwell inside us. And who has taken the burden of our rebellion on Himself and paid the blood price for our failings. A God who exists outside of time and throughout all of time. This is the God who we get to have fellowship with. Who we get to seek and talk to and walk with. A God who knows the future and so can guide you into perfect actions that will mesh with all of it. Not a doom and gloom future, but a righteous and upright future where all our own foolishness is taken care of, dealt with, and put behind us. Who else has a God that even comes close? No one. Yet we spend more mental energy on thinking He’s ticked at us than we do on meeting with Him. It’s crazy. We are heirs to so much more than tiptoeing past Daddy’s study.

The Father loves on us. The Son died for us and loves on us. The Holy Spirit lives in us and loves on us. That is an amazing thing. God loves you. Get a hold of it. Find one of the verses that speaks to you (like Joshua 1:5) when the Lord says that He won’t leave you. Or Deuteronomy 31:6 where “He will not fail you nor forsake you.” Or John 3:16 where He tells you He loves you. Write it (or them) down and stick it to your bathroom mirror, your kitchen cupboard, the back of your front door, your fridge, or anywhere else that your eye will see it. As you get ready every day, read it out. Think about it. Proverbs 4:20-23 says: “My son, attend to my words. Turn your ear to my sayings. Let them not depart from your eyes. Keep them in the centre of your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and health to their whole body. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it is the wellspring of life.” This is not just physical health, but spiritual. The life of the Spirit is in us (1 Corinthians 3:16). Always and ever (Romans 8:38-39). That life flows around in us and transforms us when we let it. When we surrender to His perfect will. “For it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

Believe it. The Lord is with us. Each one. Just because He loves us. How can you worry when that is true? How can you get anxious about a meeting when that is true? Why stay up all night rehearsing your upcoming conversations and interactions (I can’t be the only one who has done it) when God is with you? When He is with you both now and in the future? God can tell you what to say. The Spirit speaks to us. Jesus speaks to us. The Father speaks to us. Jesus said “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). Jesus can’t lie. It goes even further.

When Jesus was talking to His disciples about their future lives, He told them they’d be called before the authorities. He said, “don’t be anxious beforehand or premeditate what you will say, but say whatever will be give you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit” (Mark 13:11, and also Matthew 10:19 and Luke 12:11). Don’t think that applies to your job interview? Speech in health class? Zoom meeting? Sitting around the dinner table with your family? Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So is the Father. So is Holy Spirit. They are love. Pure, righteous love. They love you. But they love everyone else too. Why would He want you to hurt another’s feelings? Or say something that doesn’t build them up? Be unsupportive? He wants us all to support and love and help each other (one of the commandments Jesus gave us in John 13:34 and 15:12). If you open your ears and hear, Holy Spirit will speak to you. If you renew your mind by reading scripture to find Jesus, He’ll renew your mind as you find Him. Meditate on the verses that speak to you. It won’t just be your own voice speaking. Holy Spirit is here to guide us into ALL TRUTH (John 16:13-15).

Why go through life without this valuable gift and tool? It eases every interaction. It enables you to be a blessing to others with your words without you even knowing it (or how). It enables them to be a blessing to you. It reduces strife. It increases love. How can this be bad? Why let fear take hold? Or anxiety? Or depression? When you know you are hearing and repeating the words of the Living, Breathing, God of the Universe, how can you feel bad? It is lovely. And love defeats fear. Every time. Because love is of faith and fear is of death.

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: Isaiah 40

What a great God. Above all. Incomparable. You cannot compare Him but there are those that try. I love verses 28 & 29: “Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard? The everlasting God, Yahweh, the Creator of the ends of the earth, doesn’t faint. He isn’t weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak. He increases the strength of him who has no might“. Right there is says it all. You cannot do it. You cannot hope to do it. He gives you Himself to do it. The ultimate tool. His strength. His power. What do we do? Abide. We abide in Him. He does all the heavy lifting. What a GREAT God!

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.