Fear No Fear

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

Therefore Yahweh, who redeemed Abraham, says concerning the house of Jacob: “Jacob shall no longer be ashamed, neither shall his face grow pale. But when he sees his children, the work of my hands, in the middle of him, they will sanctify my name. Yes, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel. They also who err in spirit will come to understanding, and those who grumble will receive instruction.”
Isaiah 29:22-24(emphasis added)

The other side. Of our problems. Of our situation. Of our struggle. When we get there, we look back over what happened and can see it quite differently. This is a dangerous time. With what eyes will we look back? With what eyes are we seeing what happened? We have a tendency to rose-coloured glasses. Putting all of our actions into a nicer frame. To say that it wasn’t that bad. Instead of that, when we see that God eased our situation, we should be thanking Him. Standing in awe of the God of Israel, we should sing His praises and thank Him for His works. Are we blind to what is going on, or are we seeing clearly and worshipping accordingly?

When we are in trouble, we have two basic responses as people. Either we are confident or we are fearful. We either strut around saying ‘I have this’ or we’re cowering and begging for help. When we are confident, we tend toward blindness. We don’t see the dangers as dangers. We don’t see issues as issues. That will never happen to me. I won’t do that. That’s not my problem. These are common themes to our thoughts. It has been said that failure has taken down its fair share of people, but success many more. We are often victims of success. Victims of our complacency. Victims of our ego. We can do anything. The rules don’t apply. How often have powerful people been caught at wrongdoing? Stealing money, infidelity, cheating on taxes, shoddy business practices, abuse, you name it. They’re almost shocked that they were caught and that they can be punished.

In that same way, they can be people who never seem to need to call for help. They attack their attackers. They have plans within plans within plans to keep themselves and their businesses afloat. They don’t need anyone. They have this. Historically, there have been many instances of nations who fell when they were at their most confident. Today we have companies that go bankrupt and banks that fail. Many of them tell how everything was fine and then overnight disaster struck. Were they blind to the signs? Did they fail to heed warnings? That is often the case.

What is it about people that causes this kind of blindness? Pride usually. I will. I want. I, I, I. We get obstinate in our I-ness. It was the reason Gideon was asked to send Israelites away before the battle with the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the children of the east (Judges 6). In Judges 7:2 God tells Gideon “The people who are with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel brag against me, saying ‘My own hand has saved me.’” God wants to save us. God wants to help us. God doesn’t want us to stumble. But He won’t interfere with our free will, which means often conditions need to change so that we won’t get prideful and refuse to recognise that it was God that got us through. He wants us to rely on Him. Not because He is egotistical, but because it is only in Him that we accomplish anything (John 15). If we refuse to submit to that idea, if we choose to stride about in our own power, He will let us. But the perfect will of God is for us to rely on Him.

The flip side of this are the beggars. The grumblers. Those that are fearful, seeing the forces arrayed against them and ‘knowing’ that they will never make it. Never survive it. In fact, why did this happen in the first place? The Israelites were known for their grumbling. “You murmured in your tents, and said, “Because Yahweh hated us, he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us” (Deuteronomy 1:27). These murmurers had witnessed the might of God in Egypt. They had seen Yahweh’s power at the crossing of the Red Sea. They had been spoken to by God from the mountain. They were guided in their steps by a pillar of fire and a pillar of smoke. They were surrounded by the supernatural, but they were not seeing it for what it was. I have no answer to this, really. To us, to whom the supernatural is not a daily occurrence, it seems ridiculous. How can they not see and acknowledge a God who is working so powerfully around them every day? I can only point to technology.

We live in a technological age. We are surrounded by wonders born of the human mind–by inspiration of God from whom all good things come. We have ways to communicate instantly across the planet. To have light and heat at the touch of a button. To be able to cool our environment to a level of comfort on a whim. Hot and cold running water in our homes in multiple locations. Sanitary systems that deal effectively with our waste. Food from around the world steps away from our door. The ability to fly from place to place, drive across continents, and dress in clothes that protect us in whatever environment we find ourselves. Yet in what way are we amazed? Do we marvel at them, or do we yawn and complain because our burrito isn’t being warmed fast enough? The flesh is selfish and it takes for granted what is repeated. Why? Because we get the idea that we deserve it. That somehow by our very existence we are owed whatever it is that we want. It is a dangerous attitude.

The Lord warned the Israelites about it before they went up to the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 6). He warned them not to be complacent. Not to sit back enjoying all the trappings of prosperity that the Lord brought them into. Not to think back on the fights and what they did as something they accomplished. Not to forget the reliance they had on Him. Not to forget that He led them out of slavery. That He guided them. That He sustained them. That He gave them all they needed and brought them through all their trials to the land of plenty. Because when we take our eyes off the Lord and stop being thankful, we start thinking that we did it. Not only that we did it, but that we can handle whatever is coming. “Pride goes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).

We have the same choice that the Israelites did. We were slaves to sin (John 8:34). God didn’t leave us that way. “knowing that you were redeemed, not with corruptible things like silver or gold, from the useless way of life handed down from your fathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish or spot, the blood of Christ,” (1 Peter 1:18-19). God doesn’t leave us in the hands of our upbringing. God doesn’t leave us in service to sin. We are redeemed from the curse of the Law (Galatians 3:13)–from all those things that we are exposed to when we are walking outside the protection of the Lord. We are saved from all the condemnation and judgement that hangs over sin (Romans 8:1). But we need to not be arrogant. We need to not try and earn it. We can’t! We weren’t saved when we got our act together. Jesus didn’t wait until we showed that we could behave. He chose to die for us before the foundation of the world (John 17:24). Before we were born. Before we had chosen to sin. Before we had a chance to live by His commandments. Before we could be nice and kind. Before anything, He showed us Grace and bestowed Faith on us. He does it all, did it all, and will do it all.

This verse was to Israel in times of upheaval, but we also can benefit from the promise. If we seek His face and if we abide in Jesus, we too can reap this reward. We won’t behave in ways that make us ashamed. We won’t dread the touch of the Lord, because in Him we can be blameless in the sight of the Father. We will be sanctified by His Word and by Jesus who is in us and us in Him. We will stand in awe, boldly in the throne room of Grace, worshipping our Lord and our Saviour. If we have grumbled and complained, if we have lacked understanding, we will be able to stand in new knowledge. Because the Holy Spirit has been sent to teach us all things–bringing to our minds all the Word that has been put in our hearts through our careful study (John 14:26).

Isn’t this a great verse? Isn’t this a great promise? If we yoke ourselves with Jesus, we will get past all those things of ourselves that hold us back. Not by anything we have done, but by the work of Jesus within us. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30 that we should yoke ourselves to Him. That the burden is light. I have always pictured oxen yoking to a farmer, laboriously plodding and ploughing in a field, but that maybe they don’t mind it so much. The Lord gave me a new picture. Not the bridle of an oxen, but the yoke of a racehorse. Being held back by their rider only when pacing is needed or to keep the horse safe. Being directed to the home stretch or the empty field. The place where the horse can run in joy and contentment. Not minding the turns and roads that get there. Not minding hurdles or puddles that need to be jumped over. Knowing the rider will get them to where they can let it rip and run as only they can run–to the fullness of their ability. This is the yoke of Jesus and it is a very light burden.

He is not keeping us back, He is getting us to where we can be all that we were created to be. He is not forcing us to work, we are eager in our desire to do all that He asks. We are not beasts of burden, we are beloved children. We are treasured thoroughbreds. We are prized. We don’t always see it, but the Lord will show us. As we get closer to Him, we see the reflection in His eyes of how He sees us. We walk, we stumble, and sometimes we go off the path. But the Holy Spirit is there to lead us, lift us, and guide us back to Jesus’ arms. We won’t need to be ashamed. We’ll be too busy loving and worshipping the God who loves and treasures us. The work of His hands. Sanctified in Him. Full of the understanding of Him that He placed in us. Take His yoke and learn from Him. It will be a rest for your soul. And fear will be nowhere in sight.

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: Matthew 4:4

The first temptation of Jesus. Feed yourself with your supernatural power. But Jesus refused. He could have done it. It would have been good to eat after that long fasting. He thought about it. But it wasn’t something the Father was showing Him to do, so Jesus pushed those thoughts and feelings aside and focused on the Word. In the wilderness, the people of Israel got hungry. They did everything they knew or could imagine to feed themselves. It didn’t work. They got hungry and God let them get hungry (Deuteronomy 8:3). Once they were at the end of themselves, once they had exhausted all that they were, they were ready to listen. God answered them. Gave them bread from heaven. The lesson Yahweh was teaching was that we don’t live by our efforts. We don’t live by what we cook. We live by what proceeds from heaven. Namely, the Word of God. Everything that proceeds from the mouth of Yahweh Most High. Deuteronomy 8:4 tells us the clothing of the Israelites didn’t wear out. Forty years in the desert and they were still wearing what they wore when they left Egypt. God disciplined them, He let them get to the end of what they could do for themselves. He did it so that they would get it. He was setting them up for success. You shall keep the commandments of Yahweh your God, to walk in his ways, and to reverence him (Deuteronomy 8:6). Obedience. Faith. Doing what He says. Taking what He says is right and good and moral and making those our ideals regardless of our feelings in ourselves. Making them our morals. To seek after Him. He isn’t a dictator. He isn’t whimsical. He is our Sustainer. He is our Provider. He wants to take us into our land of blessing. But He doesn’t want us to forget Him. To take that ease and say ‘Look what I have done.’ He doesn’t want us to forget Him. In our successes more than in our needs, we should seek the Lord. When at peace, thanking Him for the peace. When in conflict, thanking Him for guidance and victory. When in victory, thanking Him for who He is and what He did. The Lord, first and foremost. Find your place in Him and worship Him there–regardless of what is going on around you. We live by more than physical things. We truly live by what He says. He loves us so much. Look to Him. Be sustained. Be cared for. Be good children to our Good Father.

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.