Fear No Fear

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

who made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel.

Psalm 103:7

Adonai is not hiding for the few and uber dedicated. He is not laying down mystical puzzles to be worked at, laboured on, and only in old, old age nuggetted out into some wisdom. He is not hiding for the elite. He is not Marco Poloing for the power brokers. He hides so that we FIND Him and think about the SIMPLE journey where HE did the heavy lifting. He reverse toddlers us. Which is good, because historically we look in ALL the wrong places. It’s exhausting. And there He was through it all, an elephant in the middle of the room, who we consistently missed.

“The hidden things belong to Yahweh our God, but the revealed things belong to us to know and to our children forever, in order to do all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29). Adonai revealed Himself to the people of Israel so that they would be obedient. NOT because He has a set of rules to beat their heads over (or ours). But because if we will live in covenant with Him, life becomes worth living (John 10:10). There is a level of excellence that is achieved when we live at the level He suggests. Every commandment is given in love, because He IS love. We don’t have to look to anyone else to meet our needs. We won’t need to bed idols or sign up with government programs. He’ll look after all our needs. He’ll look after us better than anyone else. That’s all Exodus 20:1-2, no other gods before Him. What about Exodus 20:14, do not commit adultery? That’s telling us that if we take someone else’s wife, we won’t be under the BLESSING. If we want a wife or husband, we need to trust completely in Him and He will get us a mate that will truly match us. Exodus 20:15? Why steal when we can go to Him and He will give us what we desire? And in abundance? Jesus said the same thing in Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” Adonai showed them – and us – right from the beginning that He was GOOD and that He was LOVE and that He wanted to BLESS us. We just needed to cooperate with Him on the HOW it should be done.

So often we have forgotten that He is LOVE. That love doesn’t set out to hurt or injure or maim or shame or anything. We only FEEL some of those things when we are in the WRONG. And it is US who feels it, not the loving person who makes us feel it. Correction only ‘hurts’ because we don’t like being corrected. Adonai let us know who He was, what He was like, what He expected, WHY it was good for us, WHAT we were avoiding by cooperating (what life outside of Him is like), HOW we should do it, WHEN it was important (all the time), and held NOTHING back. He gets REALLY detailed in Deuteronomy. No matter what your position is in the Kingdom, there is something in there about what you should do and how to do it. That’s not even including Leviticus and Numbers where it goes into the nitty gritty about what priesthood means, the moral laws covering all aspects of life, and why we NEED a saviour to pay the price for Sin. None of it was given to make rules and punishments. All of it was given to show what FREEDOM was like. All of it was give to show how SIMPLE it is to live in love and in covenant with Him. “For this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too wonderful for you, and it is not too far from you” (Deuteronomy 30:11). Praise Adonai, we’re walking in the reality of it in Jesus today!

He showed Himself so that we will SEE Him, FOLLOW Him, ACCEPT Him, and humbly SUBMIT to Him. Because it is right and good. Because He IS Elohim Almighty. Our thankfulness should extend to Him making Himself real to us. He didn’t HAVE to reveal Himself. He didn’t HAVE to establish His ways in our lives and the lives of our ancestors. He didn’t HAVE to come and teach us how it all works. He didn’t HAVE to give us the freedom that He gives us. But He DID. Isn’t that worth a few million praises? Shouldn’t there be a point every day that we glance at the Bible or think of the people who first truly introduced Him to us and we praise Him for it? That we thank Him for it? We have a heritage available to us because He took the time to make Himself real. He didn’t make us flounder around hunting for Him. He didn’t make us spend centuries trying to figure out the truths and methods to transcend to His level. He came to us. He came near. He stayed where we could get to Him. He made a Way. He tabernacled with US, instead of making us discover Him (John 1:14). Isn’t that something to be truly grateful for?

This covenant relationship He offers us is unique on this planet. It is the only mortal-divine relationship that is real. It is the only time the divine does all the hard work. It is the only truly loving school of thought out there. Everything else has thorns in one way or another. Every religion that humanity has developed mimics one or more of the true relationship and covenant possibilities we have in Yahweh, but twist them so that WE are the centre of it. Our efforts. Our work. Our study. Our sacrifice. But with Jesus, it is all about Him. His efforts, His work, His teaching, His sacrifice, and all through His mercy, grace, and love – all of it undeserved by us. The world gets so hung up on the ideas of what Adonai permits or what Adonai is keeping from them that they miss it completely. He holds back nothing good from us. He doesn’t want us participating in anything bad. He’s waiting for everyone to get the chance to truly make an informed decision about Him, and then He’ll restore our environment from a broken one in which bad things happen to the perfect original in which there is nothing bad. But because it isn’t RIGHT NOW and because it isn’t indulging their WANTS and FEELINGS from THEIR point of view, they claim Adonai is a bunch of stuff He isn’t and then run from Him.

I am grateful and thankful that Adonai revealed Himself to us. I am grateful and thankful for those who came before me and enabled me to discover Him. To notice the elephant in the room. I am grateful that He gave us Ruach HaKodesh so that I have a CONSTANT companion who is ALWAYS talking to me about Adonai. About Jesus. About the Father. Who is ALWAYS reminding me of who I am in Him. What He did. What is possible. I am grateful that He was revealed to me so that I could accept Him, make Him Lord, and walk while being corrected. Always turned back in His direction. Always having somewhere solid I can put my foot. I am grateful I don’t have to manage on my own. I am grateful for everything He does and how He chooses to do it – I LIKE that He knows better than I. Life with Him is so FREEING. So JOYFUL. So FULL – and I don’t do it to perfection (none of us do). There is ALWAYS more, better, and His best waiting for us.

Thank you, Adonai, for revealing yourself to us. Thank you, Ruach HaKodesh, for being the reminder of His ways. Thank you that we don’t have to look blindly in the dark. Thank you that you come near to us when we come near to you. That we find you when we seek. That we can open the door when you knock. That we have what we have and what we will have in You, through You, and because of You. Thank you, Adonai, for the GIFT of Yourself. You are WORTHY of our praise. Thank you for revealing yourself to the saints and guiding and teaching them in what to write and how. Thank you for it all. You are a GOOD God! The ONE and ONLY for me.

Daily Affirmation of the Goodness of Elohim: Exodus 3:3

“And Moses said, “Let me turn aside and see this great sight. Why does the bush not burn up?”” Moses knew he was meant to save the Israelites, but he tried to do it his way – and twenty years early. It didn’t go well and he ended up a shepherd in the desert. He didn’t stop looking for Adonai. Looking for his opportunity. But it took him forty years to stop running his mind and running his mouth and planning how HE was going to do it. When he was ready to LISTEN, Adonai IMMEDIATELY showed up. Moses was a STUBBORN man, which was a good thing when he got stubborn for Adonai’s ways. It was a good thing when he decided nothing but what Adonai said was worth doing. No, he still wasn’t perfect – who is? But it took a LONG time for him to let go of his education, let go of his thinking, let go of his training, and be willing to LISTEN. Adonai didn’t stop working with him. Adonai didn’t stop him from thinking of his role in life. Adonai didn’t stand in his way. Adonai didn’t punish him for his missteps. Adonai whispered. Adonai worked. And as soon as Moses was ready, Adonai lit up a bush ten feet tall on a mountainside and got his visual attention. Isn’t it a good thing that Adonai is so long-suffering? Isn’t it a good thing that Ruach HaKodesh NEVER stops speaking to us about how we can trust Jesus? Isn’t it a good thing that Adonai’s silence speaks to us as loudly as His voice? Isn’t it a good thing that we are NEVER left on our own? That He is ALWAYS there? We have SUCH a better covenant than Moses, yet how many of us are ready to LISTEN? How many of us are willing to finally put away all of the I CAN DO IT and listen to how HE CAN DO IT? Adonai is SO good to us. He NEVER gives up. He ALWAYS has a Way to get it done. And He CONSTANTLY communicated it to us. We really need to grasp and hold onto the idea of LISTENING to Him, because He has so much to say to us. So much great advice. So much freedom. So much love. So much mercy and grace. So much that we could be full of it all the time and there would still be enough to overflow from our lives into the lives of those around us. The bush is burning. The words are whispering. The path is straight and level and lit. He’s made it all ready for us. He’s made it so simple. He loves us so much. 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