Fear No Fear

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

Don’t be afraid, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel. I will help you,” says Yahweh. “Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 41:14 (emphasis added)

God isn’t into insults. God is the Truth and only deals in the Truth. Genesis 2:7 says “Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.” God has a great memory (which is why His Grace regarding sin is so wonderful) and He knows what we are. Psalms 103:14 says “For he knows how we are made. He remembers that we are dust.” Compared to the Lord God Almighty, we are pretty much nothing. He gives us worth. He made us and values us. Each and every one of us — dust though we are — are a treasure that our Heavenly Father longs to hug and hold. To see face to face. No barrier. No stain. This is why He sent Jesus to pay the price for our sin. This is why He gave us the Faith to accept His Grace and Mercy and receive His Spirit which transforms us into a new creature with Jesus’ Righteous Spirit. This is marvellous and amazing and proof of His steadfast love for us that never ceases.

Oh, if only we could keep our human out of the equation. But we seem to be unable to do that without working at it. We put our own value on things. Often puffing ourselves up. Almost as frequently putting ourselves down. And so, we need reminders. The Lord is merciful and He gives them. To the proud, He reminds that we are in fact dust. That we are not made of special stuff. That we, for all our talents and bluster and achievements, are walking dirt. To the downtrodden and self-deprecating He reminds that He gave us the breath of life and a living soul. That what He put in us made us special. Not what we do, but what He is inside us. That each and every one of us is a wonderful creation of Him. To those who misstep, fall down, and otherwise aren’t perfect — and face it, none of us are — He reminds us that He knows what we are. That He is merciful and His mercy lasts forever. Because He knows we’re dust. He remembers how He made us. That it’s okay. That the facts of our creation and nature are why He gives His Grace and Mercy and Love and Spirit. And that He loves us unconditionally anyway and always. In spite of ourselves and because of ourselves.

There are a lot of people who God has used over the years. Great men and women who have made it into the annals of faith and service. Each and every one of them were the same dirt you are. Many of them were not brilliant every step of the way. Noah? Built the ark, but he didn’t go into it until he was forced by the floodwaters (Genesis 5:7). Sounds like something I might do. Maybe not so eager to get into the boat with all those animals where I’m going to be stuck for a long time. On the other hand, maybe he didn’t believe it would really happen — it didn’t affect his obedience. He followed through. But maybe he wondered if it was really real. Maybe, he was just like us. And after he got out of the ark he planted a vineyard and got drunk on the harvest. Sounds a lot like us. But none of that was what got him into the book of Hebrews as a great example of faith. What got him in was simple: God said do, Noah did. Period. He may have wondered if it was really going to happen. He may have liked the happy juice more than he should have. But he believed the Lord. He followed through. Without doubting. Without grumbling. He did the thing.

What about Abraham? Amazing man of faith. Focused on the words of the Lord and ignored what was before his eyes. Was a FRIEND to God. But he also sold his wife to save his skin — without any evidence that he was in fact in real danger. He loved money a LOT. But he also did what the Lord said. Got delivered from a love of money. Got delivered from not trusting God in every area of his life. He learned and grew and strengthened his faith until he got more convinced about what God said than what was before his eyes.

David is a man after God’s own heart. To the point that any king of Israel who followed God was called a Son of David. To the point that he was promised the Messiah would come from his descendants. He committed adultery, murder, and on purpose – in the face of firm advice reminding him of his responsibility – disobeyed the Lord. But David? David wanted to be close to God. And every time he did something that took him away from the side of God, repented and moved back. He changed his actions, never repeated the same mistake, and always re-centred his life and thoughts on the Lord.

These men were dirt like we are. They were nothing more special than we are. They were not made with store-bought, fertiliser infused, mulch-packed, premium dirt. They were side of the road, watch the cigarette butts, dry, and crumbling in the hand dirt. Ordinary. What made them extraordinary – what made them mentionable – was the choice to believe the Lord. The work they did making their minds focus and refocus on what the Lord has said. That is what they did. They worked their faith muscle. We are all given the same measure of faith (Romans 12:3). But it needs to be used. Developed. Strengthened. If you walk into a gym off the street and try to lift a thousand pound weight, you’ll rip your arms off. But if you develop your muscles and work your way up to it, it is possible (Hafthor Björnsson did two reps with one thousand pounds in 2020). Faith works the same. Ignore it, or be weak with it, and you will either not be able to accomplish everything with it or you’ll do very, very small things. Work it, develop it, strengthen it — the scripture often gets translated ‘grow it’ — and you will be able to do more today than yesterday, more tomorrow, and eventually amazing and mighty things like building a boat in a desert for animals that in the wild would look on you as a snack.

In every situation we face. Every time adversity rears its head, the Lord has the same message for us. Don’t be afraid. Though you are nothing on your own. Though you have accomplished things in the world. BE you rich or poor. Talented in the eyes of others or useless in your own eyes. He says ‘I will help you’ (John 16:33, Isaiah 41:10). He reminds us that He is the Holy One (Isaiah 12:6). That He is our Redeemer (Titus 2:14). That He did it all for us from the foundations of the world). From before the foundations of the world (Ephesians 1:4). That His power radiates out from the cross across all space and all time bringing healing, prosperity, success in His service, abundance, and every good thing (Job 26:7-14). That the fruits of the spirit are indwelling in us for the taking and using (Galatians 5:22-23). That He has given us authority against Satan and all his works (Luke 10:19). That we can walk in supernatural success when we walk under His wings (Psalm 91). From our spirits outward into the rest of our being, in Jesus alone, we are able to stand fast and become everything that He wants us to be (James 1:2-25). To prosper from the spirit outward. This is prosperity and this is where we can walk – in faith. Faith cannot be stored up. It must be used. Daily. In all things great and small. Work it, walk in Jesus, and you will get very praisy at what can happen. We get to be bold in this.

Don’t you dare be afraid. Don’t you dare forget that we are low and He is high. Don’t talk down to yourself. Don’t say woe is me. Just look at the facts: we = dust, the Lord God = Holiness above all things. And that Holiness above all things is intimately interested in that dust. He loves us and wants to be with us and talk with us and share life with us. It is liberating and gives such a great sense of peace. The Holy One of Israel, Redeemer of all humankind, the very One who breathed life into us and gave us a soul at the moment of our conception; this One the Great I AM stands beside us, resides inside us, and has told us that He will help us. He gives us our faith and then helps us develop it, strengthen it, and deepen it until all things are possible by it through Him (Mark 9:23). Bye-bye fear. I’ll take His security and promises. He NEVER lies (Numbers 23:19).

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: Hebrews 10:12-18

Jesus became Christ or Messiah when He offered up Himself once and for all time a single sacrifice for sins and through that became the Anointed One of God. He perfected for all time those who are sanctified through that Anointing. The Holy Spirit testifies to this. The Father approved and gave His Son for us. And what is the promise that God makes to us? That He will remember our sins and our lawless deeds no more. That is a wonderful gift. That is love. In Him the sting of all that past can also fade. He can wash it away. We’ll be aware of it, but it will no longer have the power to affect us, wound us, hurt us, or create a negative mental landscape in it. No more trauma. No more triggers. Just peace. The Lord will renew our minds and hearts to get into alignment with Him so we can abide with Him if we let him. By getting into the Word and reading it — not as a book or a novel or a historical record — but as a living conversation about God’s heart to us and all that He has for us to live in. To live in now, not later. Now. Today. Victory. Praise God!

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.