Fear No Fear

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

For just as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and they do not return there except they have watered the earth thoroughly and cause it to bring forth and sprout, and give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall be my word that goes out from my mouth. It shall not return to me without success, but shall accomplish what I desire and be successful in the thing for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:10-11

What is Adonai doing? What’s His game plan? Is He working? Is this His will? Is this the end? These questions and others like them have been asked throughout history as events have unfolded that are less than desirable from a human point of view. They were valid then, and as the world spins into a crazier and crazier ‘normal’, they are valid today, too. The answer – at ANY time of human history – is that Adonai’s Word DOES NOT FAIL. EVER (Luke 1:37). With all the uncertainty in the world, the promises of Adonai and Ruach HaKodesh’s role in them are a VITAL reality we all need to grasp hold of and not release.

The promises of Adonai (around 8,000 or so in the Word) do NOT fail. If He says a thing, it will come to pass. It may be a prophetic WARNING that came to pass – He warned, we obeyed, things did or did not happen (depending on a positive or negative promise). It may be a prophetic PROMISE that came to pass – He warned or spoke, we did not obey, things happened (usually a negative from our point of view). Look at Nineveh. Jonah gave the Word from Adonai: you’re going to be destroyed because of your wickedness. They listened, repented, the destruction didn’t happen (prophetic WARNING). After a period of time, however, they went back to their old ways and did NOT hold to Adonai. They were destroyed (prophetic PROMISE). Since Adonai is more than forever, His Word is more than forever. Anything He has said in the past that didn’t deal with a specific one-time event (such as the birth of Jesus or the first time the Israelites were called to take the Promised Land like with Jericho) is STILL IN PLAY.

Isaiah gave a lot of Messianic prophesies. Some were ALSO prophesies of things happening in his own time. Double meaning. Double fulfillment. These are the Words of Adonai and promises of Adonai that we look to. We can investigate the Word and see that there is MUCH GOOD promised. Yes, there is a fair chunk coming that is NOT pleasant. But there is MUCH GOOD. What is the mission of Adonai? The purpose of the Church? One of them is RESTORATION. One of them is REDEMPTION. This is what we can hold to. If bad events are going to come down and things on this world are going to worsen, then isn’t it VITAL for us to spread the news that people don’t have to live apart from Adonai? Shouldn’t we share the GOOD promises that Adonai has proclaimed that ALL of His children can walk in – first the Jew, and then the Gentile? Of course we should! That’s what Matthew 28:16-20 is all about.

What’s Ruach HaKodesh’s role in this? He REMINDS us of the promises. He is like a big bucket that has caught each and every single promise of Adonai EVER SPOKEN. When we get the Word in us, He reminds us of them. The ones that apply to us. The ones that apply to our circumstances. The ones that apply to our nations, governments, workplaces, friends, relatives, and world. Ruach HaKodesh is a REPOSITORY of the promises that are active, alive, and full of the Father’s power. We do Him and ourselves a GREAT DISSERVICE not to pay attention to His whispers about the promises. He has gathered the rainfall of the Lord’s Blessing. The drought of events has come. Dip into the bucket and LISTEN to those promises. LISTEN to those warnings. Adjust your behaviour accordingly.

Ruach HaKodesh is also our guide in HOW to adjust our behaviour and thinking. The battlefield is in our minds. HOW we think about what Adonai has spoken is as important as HEARING and UNDERSTANDING what Adonai has spoken. It is VITAL to have revelation knowledge (Ruach HaKodesh commentary) and LIGHT on what Adonai has said. We need to ask for wisdom about it (James 1:5). We need to pray the promises. Heed the warnings. Grab a hold of His yoke and submit to it with all our hearts (Matthew 11:28-30). This is a time of overcoming. A time of the Glory of Adonai being revealed. We can participate or we can cower because we refuse to trust in Jesus and believe what He has said. With the help of Ruach HaKodesh, we can be on the right side of that line. Dip into the bucket and drink deeply of the promises of Adonai. His Word NEVER fails. Spoiler alert: He wins!

Daily Affirmation of the Goodness of Elohim: Psalm 30:11-12

“You have turned my wailing into my dancing. You have removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy so that I may sing praises to you and not be quiet. O Yahweh, my God, I will give thanks to you forever” Adonai is NOT inactive. Adonai is NOT absent. Adonai is ACTIVE. He is PRESENT. He is WITH US. When we take a hold of what He is offering, the fellowship of His presence in worship, it transforms our lives. When we align with His values and His voice, submitted to His will, everything changes. JOY explodes inside of us. Not a feeling, but a FACT. We start to move, our bodies responding to Him with DANCING, not mourning. The SITUATION may not have altered from the outside, but it is TRANSFORMED on the inside – the place where it counts: our hearts and our minds. We are NOT to be quiet about this, but to praise Adonai for all that He has done. To praise Adonai for all that He is doing. To spread the news that WE ARE THANKFUL! Why? Because Adonai is a GREAT FATHER! He is a REFUGE, a FORTRESS, and EVER-PRESENT HELP! Not based on our performance, but on His nature. When we humbly submit to Him, what a BLESSING He can be to us because of WHO HE IS! 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