Fear No Fear

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

“You therefore put your belt on your waist, arise, and say to them all that I command you. Don’t be dismayed at them, lest I dismay you before them.
Jeremiah 1:17 (emphasis added)

Being dismayed is experiencing or showing feelings of alarmed concern or dismay such as being upset, worried, or agitated because of some unwelcome situation or occurrence. Feelings of dismay are loss of courage or resolution (as because of alarm or fear). This is one of those verses that proves once more that the bible is always relevant. Feelings are no longer the elephant in the room no one is talking about. Feelings are the elephant in the room who got scared by a mouse and is rampaging in a total panic without any clear idea of what to do, where to go, or how to be copacetic again. And the people in the room? They’re either still trying to pretend it’s just a calm elephant in the room they can ignore, or they’re trying to deal with the elephant, or they’re attempting to deal with the results of the elephant’s behaviour while not helping the elephant. No one acknowledges the mouse.

We are in a world where a spirit of bully is active and growing stronger. Where speaking up about what you think or what you believe is starting to carry danger. And if you look at it objectively, it is stupid. Truly stupid. If I was to walk up to people and tell them what I thought about something, and they didn’t agree with me — or were even passionately and fundamentally opposed — what difference would it make in their lives? Have I attacked them? I’m talking about just giving a series of impersonal words here and nothing else. Have I altered their life? Will their day be any different? Will their life be any different? Knowing I’m out there not thinking everything that they are thinking? No. Of course not. But that is not what we are beginning to believe, is it?

We talk about trauma. Again, I am not talking about an attack. Take a hot-button issue. Person A thinks that abortion is wrong. Person B thinks that abortion is a fundamental human right. If either of them states that opinion, what would it matter? Really? They could listen to the other. Tell them they respect their opinion, and go on about their day. The same is true about anything. Anything. Politics. Gender identity. Sexual identity. The pants you bought on sale last week at that sketchy store off the alley. They are just words. They are just opinions. They can challenge thinking, but they don’t cause harm, mental anguish, or anything else. The opinions are not the problem.

The problem is either a real-world problem of taking an opinion and turning it into an action (such as violence against a group you don’t agree with, making personal comments in order to cause distress, encouraging harm, or imprisoning an individual or group you disagree with) or an entitlement problem. Entitlement is belief that one is deserving of or entitled to certain privileges. This is a problem today. We are making a shift as a society from facts to a place where feelings are considered fact. In this new position, one could believe that they are deserving of or entitled to certain privileges, discourse, or language because they FEEL they are. As if you could be at a job and be told to perform one of your agreed upon employment tasks, you say, no. I don’t feel like it, and the boss smiles, tells you that is just fine, and pays you your full paycheque on time. Does that happen in real life? Decidedly not. So why would it be any different when it comes to feelings?

If you are something I am not and I tell you I think that the thing you say you are is wrong (either arbitrarily or based on something concrete), it doesn’t affect you. If you don’t choose to let it, it can’t insult you. It can’t cause you distress. It can’t cause you to be sad or mad. It is only MY opinion. If I call you fat and you ARE fat, I have spoken truth and it doesn’t matter. If I call you fat and you are fat only by MY standards, then I have given an opinion and… it doesn’t matter. It can’t cause an issue in you and for you unless my words have weight. There are only two ways that words have weight in the natural. One is that you value my opinion or I have a position of authority or something like that. Two is that you have heard those words so often that my words are a confirmation to you of other words that have been said. I think this shows that while my opinions cannot harm you, the words I say might, so we should question whether an opinion needs to be given in any particular situation.

But that’s not what is happening out there. We’re not spending time on whether an opinion SHOULD be given — that’s what we used to do way back when: watch what you say, be polite, hold your tongue, etc. What we are doing now is saying that if you don’t agree with someone you are an enemy. That you as a holder of a dissenting opinion (arbitrary or factually based) are a bigot who causes stress, mental anguish, trauma, and could be responsible for people harming themselves or even taking their own lives. CAN that be true? Of course. There are bigots, racists, and people who want to hurt and harm others. But we’re shifting to a society in which that is considered true for everyone all the time. Where something like pronouns (which grammatically are not something you get to choose for yourself ever) can be what brings the police to your door. Leaving all these very real social issues behind, where does this emerging worldview leave the believer?

Ironically, in the same place we have always been. “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you” (John 15:18). Jesus said that the night before He was crucified. The world has never been in step with the Lord or the Kingdom. “This is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light, for their works were evil” (John 3:19). “Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head. Those who want to cut me off, being my enemies wrongfully, are mighty” (Psalm 69:4). “They hate him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him who speaks blamelessly” (Amos 5:10). “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are dying, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:19). The believer who loves God and walks in His ways is diametrically opposed to the world and all its thinking. Good thinking or bad thinking. It doesn’t matter. The world bases its thinking on the self. The self as an individual or the self as a collective force (group, race, or nation). The world wants to see humanity as part of the natural order (a mammal albeit a very developed one) and nothing else.

We are not part of the natural order. It was completed in Genesis 1:25. Adam and then Eve were created in the image of God — the very first and only beings made with a spirit, soul, and body as a copy of our Creator Yahweh God. The bible doesn’t even say that Adam was the first man as in Class: Mammalia, Phylum: Chordata, and Genus: Homo. Adam was very unique. There is a reason we follow Adam and Adam’s line in the bible beyond the life-giving fact that it was unbroken between Adam and Jesus. Adam was unique, special, and worthy of being both recorded and followed because Adam was the very first man created in the image of God. Any other Mammalia, Chordata, Homo that God created was not in His image. Every other living thing is part of the natural order. Adam and Eve — humanity — had a body and a soul like all animals did. But they had a SPIRIT. They were in God’s likeness. They were above all the rest of this earth. We were given authority and dominion over it (Genesis 1:26). Not because we earned it or deserved it, no. God gave it because He wanted to. We were images of God then and we are images of God now. We are NOT part of this world. We are simply IN it.

Because we are unique spiritual beings, we don’t have to follow the rules of the natural order. If an animal has a feeling, they experience that feeling until another feeling comes along. There is no choice involved. If we have a feeling, we were created so we could choose not to experience it. Our spirits are in charge, not our flesh. Feelings are flesh. They are sensory input. We should pay attention to the signal, but we decide whether we experience it or catalogue it. I recently heard someone saying ‘One of my personal mantras of late is to live in the world of experience rather than the world of thought. Thoughts and emotions make up a small portion of what life is.’ Sad attitude. That’s a lost attitude. A captive. Why slave ourselves to flesh? To living in the moment? Of being a slave to our experiences? Why not inform ourselves from the spirit outward? It’s what we are called to do. Why? Because our spirits were renewed in Jesus to be as Jesus’ spirit is (2 Corinthians 3:18).

We’ve fallen from where we were supposed to be. We’ve damaged this earth and ourselves. We’ve created dozens upon hundreds of types of social conditioning and training that messes with the mind. Without God’s help, we are often unable to function as designed. Our warranty is still good, but things are going wonky. We don’t know we can refuse feelings without burying emotions. We sometimes need medicinal assistance to overcome physical deficiency or imbalance. It’s a giant kettle of jumbled bumbling around and only the Lord God Almighty can sort it and us out. I thank Him that Jesus is there to be with us, guide us, teach us, redeem us, restore us, heal us, and empower us in Him so that we can leave the melting pot and stand beside Him in clarity and wholeness.

But standing there in clarity and wholeness we are charged with being a light in this world. Being an example of Jesus to those who haven’t seen Him yet. How do we do that in a world that is opposed to what we believe? In a world of ignorance who hates the Truth? I mean, if people are going to be bent out of shape and need personal sick days for the mental trauma of being called a woman when they want to be called a man or getting body dysphoria because some internet crackpot pasted your face onto a pornstar’s body; how are they going to treat you when you come telling them they are lost? Or that they’re choosing hell as their ultimate destination? Historically? Nothing good. Yet we are called to go to the world and let them know the Good News that they don’t have to pick sin anymore (Matthew 28:19-20). It doesn’t say to cram it down their throat with a serving of condemnation.

We have a choice. We have been told to go. God doesn’t tell us to do something without giving us the authority and ability in Jesus to accomplish it. So we know we CAN do it. But WILL we? We need to set our faces toward where we are called to go. And continue in that direction. Ever forward. Ever forward. Ever forward. We can choose not to fear them. We can choose not to fear their words. We can choose not to fear their retaliation. We can choose not to be intimidated by them. We can choose not to be ashamed of this gospel we carry. You know He will help you because He has promised to do just that. We have strength in Jesus. We have ability in Jesus. We have authority in Jesus. We have victory in Jesus. We have all that we need in Jesus, because it is Jesus in us who has authority, majesty, victory, and the Name Above All Names. Why choose to be timid when we can choose to walk in the steps of Jesus?

The major thing we should start with is what this verse directs: tie on your belt (Ephesians 6:14). The Belt of Truth is one of the pieces of the Armour of God. But it is also more than something to wear around your waist to lock everything in place. 1 Peter 1:13 directs us to also “gird up the waist of your mind” or “put on the belt of the waist of your mind” as you prepare your mind for action. This also ties in with the Holy Spirit because Jesus tells us in Luke 12:11-12 “When they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, don’t be anxious how or what you will answer or what you will say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that same hour what you must say.””

At the time of the New Testament, the Roman soldier had a belt. It was there primarily to hold the sword and enable the soldier to carry it into battle effectively. It was also a status symbol — often being worn off-duty. Strips of leather also hung off the belt, giving protection to the lower portions of the body. It secured the other pieces of armour that protected the rest of the torso. It was a key aspect of their identification and identity.

The Belt of Truth is to be girded around our waist, locking in the rest of the Armour of God, and also around our mind, preparing it for action so it is in tune with the rest of us. And this key piece is Truth. The Truth. God’s Truth. A constant, an absolute value, an unchanging element. Jesus prays to His Father for us in John 17:17 saying. ““Sanctify them in your truth. Your word is truth.”” Which is a quote from Psalm 119:142 which says “Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness. Your law is truth.” Truth is more than just a constant value, it is the Lord’s Law and connected with everlasting righteousness. Without Truth, we would have no discernment. How can we test the scriptures and all things to see if they are true or not if we don’t have a baseline to judge them by? It is the way that we can walk in Romans 12:2 which says “Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.”

When we put Truth around our waist and around our mind, we will be ready to head out to do what it is we have been asked to do. We have enabled ourselves to be in the position to wield the Word effectively — not bluntly like a hammer but delicately like a razor-sharp two-edged sword. When we are Worded up, we’re in tune with the Will and the Heart of the Father. Our focus is on the Lord, which enables us to hear the Holy Spirit easier. To discern His voice from all the background noise of the world. If we’re dwelling on the Truth, it won’t bother us if retaliation or punishment follow our steps because we know that we know that we know that we are on God’s path, listening to His Word, speaking the Truth, and doing right — what He says, how He says, and when He says. It is our anchor, our life-preserver, and our guidepost. It is vital.

Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me” (John 14:6). Jesus IS the Truth. He tells us to abide in Him in John 15 because we can do nothing without Him. Because He is the Truth that we belt around our waists and our minds. He is the Truth that we judge all things by. He is the Truth that we cling to and guide ourselves by. He is the Truth that we proclaim knowing that He IS Truth. He is the Truth that keeps us from being in fear because we are in Him and He is in us and where is fear going to take root? We will not be fearful and we will not be dismayed at speaking out when He tells us to. We won’t care about any ridicule or shade thrown our way because we know we are speaking Truth because the Truth is abiding in us and we are abiding in the Truth. The Spirit of Truth (John 16:13) will be giving us our words as the Lord of Truth sustains our lives (Hebrews 1:3).

Obeying and stepping out isn’t always fun. It can be a sacrifice, but it is a sacrifice worth giving (1 Samuel 15:22). It isn’t always comfortable, but it shouldn’t be a place of fear. Obedience is the realm of faith. And where faith lives, fear can’t thrive. Where faith is, love is. Where love is, God is. Where God is, fear cannot be. Speak to your heart. Don’t let your heart speak to you. What is there is important, but you grow with intent what is in your heart. Keep it under control. Speak the Word to it. Arm yourself by putting on Truth. Abide with Jesus, in Jesus, and for Jesus. Let Him bind it all together and put the Word where it is an effective weapon and tool. Get up, step forth, and be ready to do all and say all that Yahweh God commands you. The Light of Truth is desperately needed in this world of experience and feeling. The idol of feelings will not win. The worship of experience will not triumph. Jesus has already overcome the world (John 16:33). That is the Truth that needs to shine. Belt on Jesus and be ready.

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: 1 John 3:18-20

There is a comfort in knowing a thing is a thing. It is such a comfort that it is what the entire scientific community and philosophy is built on. It’s all about finding out that a thing is true and making sure it’s true and then resting on the fact it’s true. This isn’t surprising. We fell eating the Tree of the Knowledge. We literally died to acquire knowledge. We are DESPERATE in our own spirits to be sure that we have some. That there was gain. That we didn’t die for nothing. The problem with this desperation for true knowledge is that we can’t experience true knowledge on our own. It’s true. We weren’t being kept from knowledge in the Garden. We were being prepared. Truth is a constant. It is true regardless of feeling, individual, language, culture, location, orientation, or gender. There is weight to it. There is responsibility to it. It is not frivolous or whimsical. It is serious, bold, and deep. When we do things just with words. Or in the moment. We lose out on something. We lose out on real connections. Real communication. We need to operate in Truth. In all we say and in all we do. There needs to be a Truth to us that is so foundational, so constant, that we can always be relied on. We can’t do it in ourselves because we are unable to perceive, understand, and operate in Truth on our own. We can only do and say what we ‘think’ is true. But that thinking changes, because we change. We need a constant. A never changing value. That is Truth and that is Jesus — the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Jesus is there for us. Jesus is loving us. Jesus prayed to the Father for us to be sanctified in Truth. To get what He has so that He can help us to understand it. On the Day of Pentecost that happened. From that day onward the greatest gift in the universe became ours: Jesus. In Spirit, in Truth. Ours to abide in. Salvation, restoration, redemption, and renewal. On a daily basis. On an individual basis. On a corporate level. Everything. Now THAT is love. Giving us everything and spending every day teaching us how to use it. Thank you, Father. You are a GOOD God.

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.