Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the NET, netbible.org, all rights reserved)

Lord, you have always been fair whenever I have complained to you. However, I would like to speak with you about the disposition of justice. Why are wicked people successful? Why do all dishonest people have such easy lives?
Jeremiah 12:1 (emphasis added)

This is an AWESOME verse ESPECIALLY paired with one in the Gospels (two Gospel accounts have it and the principle is in other places as well). This is THE anti-smitey verse in the bible. It shows us so much about the nature of Elohim, His relationship to us, and how He sees us. Very few other verses pack as much punch to me as this verse. It is the witness of so many other scriptures like John 3:16-17 “For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him.” This verse SHOUTS the kindness of Adonai.

We have heard this question a million times: why do bad things happen to good people? It’s a backwards question, especially for a believer. A believer knows that ALL creation has fallen. “For the creation eagerly waits for the revelation of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly but because of God who subjected it—in hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers together until now” (Romans 8:19-22). In a creation that is fallen and in bondage to decay, it is NORMAL for bad things to happen. Sickness is normal in that place. Disease is normal in that place. Death is normal in that place. Bad things are normal in that place. Asking why they happen is backwards.

First of all, a believer is IN the world, but not OF the world. “If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you do not belong to the world, but I chose you out of the world, for this reason the world hates you” (John 15:19). A believer has been REDEEMED. They CAN walk in divine health because we get our health from the Father, not from nature (Romans 8:11). We eat, breathe, and sleep the WORD OF ELOHIM. It is inside us and giving life to us (Proverbs 3:8). We do not function according to the natural laws of this fallen world because we are in a divine place. A place of LIFE. Of HEALING. Of RESTORATION. It is the Will of the Father and the Father is our SOURCE. We do not HAVE to put up with the way things are for the unbeliever in this fallen world (Psalm 91).

Second of all, in a creation that is fallen it is logical to expect bad things. That does NOT make logical sense is for GOOD things to happen. So we should ask: why do GOOD things happen to BAD people? That is the question and it is both given, explored, and answered best by Psalm 73. I encourage you to look it up. It is a good answer to get into our hearts and meditate on, because so frequently we see the bad people of this world appearing to have success. I will say this, no matter how good they have it now it is a MOMENT compared to all the endless time that they are facing. Fifty years of good things while you do evil? Seventy? Ninety? A hundred and twenty? Nothing compared to the other side. I’d rather have a momentary suffering that covers my entire life than face eternity away from Adonai. What can man do to me that compares to what I will enjoy with the Father (Psalms 118:6-7; Romans 8:31)? But this truth is not the focus of my joy in this verse.

I enjoy this verse because it is SO MUCH like a young child crawling into their father’s lap. They start out saying: Adonai, you are fair when I complain. That’s awesome. We have a God that isn’t telling us to shut up. We have a God who LISTENS – even when we are being whining, childish people. We have a God who LETS US COMPLAIN! How many parents do that! Don’t we all get impatient? Get tired of the complaining? Want to throw up our hands and tell the kids/employees/co-workers/students/friends to try it themselves? Adonai doesn’t do that! In fact, He ENCOURAGES discussion. “But examine all things; hold fast to what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). “Come, let’s consider your options,” says the Lord. “Though your sins have stained you like the color red, you can become white like snow; though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet, you can become white like wool” (Isaiah 1:18). THAT is an awesome God!

We can ALWAYS feel that we can bring our concerns to Adonai. Now, we need to LISTEN. We don’t bring the same things to Him over and over and over and over. Adonai Elohim knows what we are going to ask before we ask it. And He answers us – EVERY TIME – as soon as we ask according to His Word (Daniel 10:12; James 4:3-6; 1 John 5:14-15). When He answers, we need to listen and then to obey. If we hit a doldrum in the spirit, we need to go back to the last thing He told us to do and see if we have in fact done it. The only deserts in our spiritual walks will be those of our own making because HE gives us deep roots through the Word. “My blessing is on those people who trust in me, who put their confidence in me. They will be like a tree planted near a stream whose roots spread out toward the water. It has nothing to fear when the heat comes. Its leaves are always green. It has no need to be concerned in a year of drought. It does not stop bearing fruit” (Jeremiah 17:7-8). Sure, you’ll still be in a desert. But you won’t be parched, dry, or lacking. He has promised to NEVER leave us and He honours that (Deuteronomy 31:8). Adonai isn’t the one who wanders off. It is ALWAYS us.

Today’s verse shows us we can bring everything to Him, we can listen to Him, and we KNOW that He will not be ticked off or angry. We can even bring up something like the other side of the fence. Is it greener, Adonai? Is their car better? Their kids better behaved? Their TV larger and with more channels? Their spouse better looking? Their clothes newer? Why do they always seem to have money in the bank? Why do they always seem to be happy? Why do they always blah, blah, blah, blah? It is a line of questioning we can bring to Him, but it is also a line of questioning we shouldn’t stop at. Asking why someone is doing well when they seem to be horrible people is a legitimate question. But to obsess over the issue is a BAD idea. What breeds from that seed is envy, which is a very bad weed. “A tranquil spirit revives the body, but envy is rottenness to the bones” (Proverbs 14:30). When we take a natural question and turn it into bitter envy, we are headed for trouble.

What verse echoes todays? “If you then, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11; also Luke 11:13; Romans 8:32; Psalm 34:10). Elohim is GOOD. He is SO GOOD to us. We know because He lets us come to Him. He lets us complain. He lets us bring our issues and ask for answers – which He gives. He is GOOD. Only good fathers let THAT amount of kid talk happen. Only PATIENT fathers manage to put up with all the silliness (which is super serious to them) that kids brings up. Good fathers seek to do good to their kids. It is NOT dependent on the kids doing good back. It is NOT dependent on the kids accepting the gifts. It is NOT dependent on the kids saying thank you. Good fathers are quick to give. No matter what.

Adonai Elohim is a VERY good Father. We NEED to know that. If we can get a hold of that, we’ll truly understand that He is trying to get healing into our hearts. He isn’t saying it once and walking away. He isn’t mentioning it in an email. He has written it again and again and again through His Word. He is GOOD and He wants us to have ABUNDANT LIFE. You CANNOT have abundant life while you are sick. Why? Because abundant life is MORE THAN and sickness is LESS THAN. It isn’t a sin to be sick, but our Father wants something better for us. A bad father doesn’t really care about his kids. He isn’t quick to give. He isn’t encouraging. He isn’t helping them be the best they can be – and there are thousands of ways to do that. But a GOOD father DOES. He GIVES GOOD THINGS. So does Adonai (James 1:17).

“Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). Do we trust that He is good? Do we trust that He is a GOOD FATHER? Without trust that He is a good father who gives good things, it is impossible to please Him. That’s what that verse is saying. How can we receive from Him if we don’t believe it? If you don’t think He’s good, you might decide you need to do things to EARN the gift. To show you DESERVE the gift. That’s not how it goes. We DON’T deserve it and CANNOT earn it. We get it by GRACE. We get it because Adonai is MERCIFUL. We get it because He is a GOOD FATHER. This should be one of the lynchpins of our trust in Him. Since we KNOW He is good, we KNOW He gives us good things. Since we KNOW that, why wouldn’t we RECEIVE it? Believe is a GOOD FATHER and receive your healing. Jesus took a beating to get it to you (1 Peter 2:24).

Daily Affirmation Jesus IS Messiah: Isaiah 53:8

“He was led away after an unjust trial—but who even cared? Indeed, he was cut off from the land of the living; because of the rebellion of his own people he was wounded.” Messiah would be killed. He wasn’t getting a warning. He wasn’t going to get away. His persecutors would be committed to ending Him. In spite of being innocent. In spite of not committing a single sin or transgression of the Law. In spite of being truly good. Messiah would die. “But Jesus cried out with a loud voice and breathed his last. And the temple curtain was torn in two, from top to bottom” (Mark 15:37-38). Jesus was innocent. Jesus was tried. Jesus was beaten. Jesus was tortured. Jesus was nailed to wood. Jesus suffered. And Jesus died with a sign unlike any other sign before or after that He was the Son of Elohim. Jesus IS Messiah!

Your Daily Confession of Jesus/Yeshua’s Identity:

Yeshua is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Matthew 16:16b