Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

But I say, live by the Spirit, and you will never carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, for these are in opposition to one another, so that whatever you want, you may not do these things.

Galatians 5:16-17

People are good looking, aren’t they? There are billions of us on this planet and innumerable ones that we’re attracted to. Different hairstyles, skin tones, body shapes, eye colour, ways of moving, sounds of voices, and a thousand other things. A lot of good food too, right? Different cultures, ingredients, spices, combinations, fusions, and flavours. Music. Entertainment. Activities. Jobs. Paycheques and pay scales. Places to live. Transportation. The amount of THINGS and VARIETY on this planet is almost unending. We’re attracted and drawn to a lot of it, aren’t we? But there is a VERY large difference between a godly and ungodly attraction. Between things that are proper and things that are improper. We don’t always LIKE that, but it is very much a real thing.

How do we know where we should be putting our energy? The easy answer is to put it into the Kingdom of Adonai. But while everyone has a call of witnessing to those we come into contact with, not everyone is called into full-time ministry. Also, ALL good things come from Adonai (James 1:17) and RESTING is also part of our mandate (Exodus 20:8-11; Matthew 11:28-30, 12:8). That means that not everything is going to be about work. Not everything is going to be about Jesus, although Jesus should properly be part of everything. It is not WRONG to have desires, whether for people or food or entertainment or whatever as long as they are framed within the values of Adonai.

Where do we draw the line? We can do it one of two ways. Hard way: look up all the information about immoral behaviours and attitudes in the Word and align with it. Easy way: be led by Ruach HaKodesh. That means making and maintaining a relationship with Him. That means training your ear to hear His voice. That means making sure to make sure that we are letting the Word renew our minds (Romans 12:2) and changing our behaviour and ideals to align closely with Adonai’s. This is not a haphazard action, but a steady and consistent one – luckily, faithfulness is one of the Fruit we have access to in Jesus. There will be times when we want to avoid it. To sleep in. To watch something instead of studying. To hang out with friends instead of sitting at the feet of Jesus. To have an ‘I got this’ attitude instead of the much more accurate ‘I need constant refreshing’ attitude. The Way goes from the Cross to the Throne, and until we get from one to stand before the other, we need to be faithful and drink deeply of the Living Water every day.

We NEED to know His voice so that we can take His correction (Hebrews 12:7-11). We need to know what we do is right when it is right, and wrong when it is wrong, so that we will stay in the center of His Way (which is His will). We can do that by asking, but if we aren’t familiar with the voice we won’t hear the answer – or mistake it. Everyone who is a believer has the ability to recognize it (John 10:27-28). Like with ANY voice, practise helps in recognition. Familiarity helps in recognition. That over and over again until you know that you know that you know. It is a great blessing that Ruach HaKodesh NEVER stops talking to us, so we have UNLIMITED opportunities to hear Him and learn it.

Once we know His voice we will have an ever-present source of proper desires. Whether we are asking Him what is proper and listening, or whether we are looking to a thing and basing our involvement on His reaction, He is a barometer that we have available to us. There is NO SENSE in ignoring Him or avoiding Him. He’s here to help and keep us safe. If every good thing comes from Adonai, then the ONLY things He will say no to are things that will hurt us in some way – whether we see that or not. He will NEVER withhold a purely good thing. He ONLY warns and withholds when there will be sorrows (Proverbs 10:22). Cultivate the relationship you can have with Ruach HaKodesh and His reactions will ALWAYS steer you proper.

Daily Affirmation of the Goodness of Elohim: Psalm 107:9

“for he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good.” Adonai is NOT trying to keep things from us. He WANTS us satisfied. He WANTS us enjoying good things. He WANTS ua having fun. But in order to have those things, we HAVE to be founded in Jesus. It’s the ONLY way to have things and have no suffering, sorrow, or pain attached to them. Adonai wants us to have pure things from Him, gotten through His systems, with none of the world’s garbage attached. Free and clear with no debt. That is what is satisfying. That is what is filling. That is what He provides us. What a GOOD God!

Your Daily Confession of Elohim’s Goodness:

I taste and see that Yahweh is good; I am blessed because I take refuge in Him.

Psalm 34:8