Fear No Fear

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

“Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and is a rewarder of those who seek him.”

Hebrews 11:6

All forms of lack build in us the mindset of poverty. One by one, like rocks, bushes, and grass, they made up our mindscape. They leave us viewing everything from their point of view. We filter our experiences through them. All they do is chip away at the foundation of trust we need in Adonai in order to please Adonai. The trust we need to activate the promises of Adonai. The trust we need to truly experience life. Poverty thinking promotes the separation of humanity and Adonai. Separation from Adonai is DEATH. Connection to Adonai is LIFE (John 10:10). Poverty is death, so the lack of LACK should be the goal of our lives and THAT is ONLY available in and through JESUS (John 14:6).

Ecclesiastes is an excellent book that demonstrates this principle. Throughout the book the author (Solomon) goes into extensive detail about the pleasures, the relationships, the work, the efforts, and the possessions that he devoured in his quest to find fulfillment. He found that all of them – ALL of them – were empty passions with no real value at all. He WASTED his time on these USELESS efforts. In the end, he could ONLY conclude that a life lived with Adonai as your source was the ONLY life which was fulfilling in ANY real way. Everything else is superficial, only partially satisfying, or a total void causing depression instead of joy. Life outside of Jesus has no value (John 15:1-8).

If there is any area of our lives where we are not experiencing what the Word says that we should be experiencing, there is poverty thinking at the core of it. We need to really pause when we discover one of those places and think hard about what we believe. Then we need to examine and explore the scriptures until we find what Adonai says about that place. Not cherry-picking verses, but finding really grounded examples of what Adonai thinks about it – Ruach HaKodesh’s guidance is invaluable for this. Then we need to read those passages of scripture in more than one translation. We need to think about them. Imagine them. Pray about them. Listen for what God thinks about them. Read commentary on it. Test it all with the Word. And then start agreeing with what you find. We don’t just read the Word. We humbly submit to what we find and we OBEY it. We choose to accept it and we choose to be obedient to it. As we consistently do this, we will find our thinking changes. Our thinking aligns with Adonai’s thinking (Romans 12:2). When we live our lives in alignment with Adonai, THAT is when we start to see the victories. Where Jesus is, there IS victory (John 16:33).

“And God is able to cause all grace to abound to you, so that in everything at all times, because you have enough of everything, you may overflow in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8). This is Adonai’s heart for us. This is His will. Us having access to more than enough AND THEN CHOOSING OBEDIENCE. “Give, and it will be given to you, a good measure—pressed down, shaken, overflowing—they will pour out into your lap. For with the measure by which you measure out, it will be measured out to you in return” (Luke 6:38). That is how He wants to give. He wants YOU to be a blessing so that He can be a blessing to you (Genesis 22:18). He wants YOU to be obedient out of love so that YOU are in the place where He can bless you (1 Kings 17:4). Adonai is all about getting all of what He has into our hands because we WANT and will ACCEPT Him AND His things. Our motivation should be two-fold (both of which are in direct opposition to poverty). First, we should obey because we love Him and want to bring Him pleasure. Second, we should want to glorify Him with all that we receive because all that we receive is His and from Him.

We can’t do any of that if we don’t TRUST Him. We won’t trust Him unless we HEAR trustworthy reports. It works the same as with anyone else. If we hear a bad report, we believe negative things. If we hear a good report, we believe positive things. This is why companies pay for good reviews. They make a HUGE difference in whether or not we deal with those companies. We find ourselves looking in specific places for trustworthy reviews. And the betrayal we feel is SO REAL when we hear about companies that allow fake reviews. Well, OUR review of Adonai is His Word, His reporter (Ruach HaKodesh), and the lives of fellow believers. We should be cheering each other on since every believer who is forging a true relationship with Adonai encourages us to do the same (Hebrews 10:24-25). Going deeper and deeper into the trust we have in Jesus because of the belief we have in His character because of the evidence of it in our lives and in the lives of believers around us.

The more we hear about the GOODNESS of Adonai, the more we are able to combat LACK in our lives by putting away POVERTY thinking and replacing it with the Mind of Messiah (1 Corinthians 2:16). This is how we get abundant life in every area. Creating prosperity by replacing poverty thinking with Kingdom thinking. Ruach HaKodesh is our guide and teacher in this area, constantly reminding us who we are in Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21). He gives us lights to follow, words to work on understanding, and scripture to be a foundation for our feet (James 4:7). All so that we can be what Jesus said we could be in Him: true children of Adonai. Whole and healed, lacking NOTHING.

Daily Affirmation of the Goodness of Elohim: Galatians 6:2

“Carry the burdens of one another, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Gossip creates poverty. It seeks to share a negative opinion and draw negative comments to shackle relationship and destroy fellowship. Gossip keeps us poor. We don’t talk behind each other’s backs. We ask permission to share stories so that more people can come together in encouragement and support. We shut our mouths when we have no permission or when we know it will cause more strife. We CAN do it. Adonai gave us self-control as a character of our spirit in Him AND as Fruit of HIS Ruach that we can engage as we need it. We can do what Jesus did and what Jesus does: encourage, support, help, build up, and help to restore. We are in partnership with Ruach HaKodesh and in cooperation WITH Adonai. Jesus wants the WHOLE BODY to be helped by the WHOLE BODY. Encouraged by the WHOLE BODY. Supported by the WHOLE BODY. To have such fellowship and love going around and around that we will NONE of us have poverty of relationship OR poverty of support. So that GOSSIP will choke and die in starvation. So that supportive, positive SIBLINGSHIP in Jesus will be the default position of us all. Known for our LOVE. 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