Fear No Fear

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

Don’t fret yourself because of evildoers, neither be envious of the wicked;
Proverbs 24:19 (emphasis added)

The world is full of a lot of nonsense. Our desperate attempt to run things and survive what we see around us. But every so often some wisdom sneaks through. Crisis management. How to treat each other in the workplace. You never know where you might find it. When I looked at today’s verse I thought about all the successful people in the world who are actually nervous wrecks. All the people who have, but are so worried about keeping it that they aren’t having the life they present as having. Anyone who has been on social media at all knows that the snippets and tidbits we see are often carefully crafted moments to show all the YAY and none of the OH-NO. I started to think about the stock market. All the people who have won and lost over the years and how they manage all the fluctuations of the market. Turns out they have a lot in common with how the Lord wants us to function in this world of flesh.

First rule of surviving a market crash is not to panic. They advise never panicking. To make informed decisions and not let emotions take over. What did the Lord say from the beginning? That we should walk with Him (Genesis 3:8). That we needed to remember we were made in the Lord’s image (Genesis 1:27). Why would emotions get in the way of that? Because when we say EMOTIONS what we really mean is FEELINGS. And feelings aren’t real. They ironically FEEL real, but they are just the sensations that we are getting from the flesh which is exactly one-third of our experience on this planet. Unfortunately, since we lost the most important part of it – our living spirit – that input seems to be very, very real to us. It makes sense, but it doesn’t track with the Word.

Everything we see can change. Everything that is so solid and ‘real’ was made by that which is to us ‘unreal’. The Word tells us the seen was made by the unseen (Hebrews 11:3). If we understand this – even a little – then we can begin to see things from the Heaven side of things. All this ‘seen’ stuff is building blocks. It’s movable. Malleable. Like putty and Lego. The unseen was the source, so it is the unseen that regulates the seen. God made it. God can change it. God changes things by words. HIS Word. The Lord tells us to command Him concerning the work of His hands (Isaiah 45:11). He can do things with what He has made. He does things according to His Word. When we pray according to His Word, we are asking the Lord to do what He said He was going to do. It is US getting in tune with what God wants and what God wills. Which is the next point in surviving a crash.

Second tip: think long term. Don’t let what is happening NOW take your eyes off the long run. The lengthy plan. That even if it is disastrous in the moment, there is plenty of time to recover and even thrive. The Lord has told us this how many times? The entire book of Revelation is all about learning what the Lord laid down and realising He wins. And since we’re in Jesus, we win too. You need to take things to their natural conclusion though. If we are supposed to think long-haul and not let the present distract us, then no matter WHAT is happening in the now we shouldn’t focus on it (2 Corinthians 4:18). Doesn’t mean deny it or pretend it isn’t happening. It means acknowledging the transient nature of what we SEE and the permanence of what the Lord SAYS. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35).

Hope is about tomorrow. It is about what you do not have. Faith is about now. It is about what is in your hands. BUT the hands holding them now are spiritual. That is how we can be rich while having no money. Content while being poor. Things don’t have to stay that way. That is how we abide in Christ while He does what He is going to do. We prosper in all things and stay healthy as our soul prospers (3 John 1:2). We can stand on health, stand on abundance, stand on victory, because of the Word and what the Word says. If our spirit is focused on the Lord, everything else follows (Matthew 6:33). We don’t set the timeline. We don’t arrange the manifestation. We say that though it is unseen, we have it NOW in our spirit. After that, we have nothing left but to thank the Lord and obey what He says – because the resolution of our have is HIS choice, not ours. To stay in faith though, we must never waver from our HAVING.

When circumstances tried to give me a headache last week, I refused it. I didn’t refuse it on my own. I stood on the Word. Matthew 8:16-17. 1 Peter 2:24. I did not have a headache. My body thought it had one, but I did not. I took no pills. I spoke to it and stood on the Word. I knew I was free from headaches and did not waver. The important thing is, it was biblically based and there was nothing I had done that counter-acted that. Like not eating for a day and doing something strenuous. That can trigger headaches. Or staying dehydrated on a hot day. Or not getting sleep. All those things can cause issues in the human body. But I had been a good steward. There was no REASON for a headache, so I refused it. It left within a few minutes and stayed gone. But if the Lord had told me to take a pill, I would have. If I had caused it, I would have told my body sorry and done what I needed to rectify the situation. Faith can always work like that every time whether it is a headache, a bill needing paid, or stage four cancer.

The Lord didn’t give us His faith so we can think small. The Lord gave us His faith so that we could think WORD. The Lord didn’t break the altars of the curse so that we would stay chained to them. The Lord didn’t allow us to be resurrected into Him so that He could keep struggling to get us victory. It was FINISHED on the cross (John 19:30). It was manifested in Jesus’ righteous spirit given to us (2 Corinthians 5:21). It is as done as done can be. Why would you WANT to walk in fear or sickness or poverty or anything that is of the curse? Why wouldn’t you want to walk in the victory Jesus won for us? You want to do what Moses did? You can. You want to do what Jesus did? You can. But you have to do what they did. Give yourself over to the Lord’s leading. Moses missed it, just like us. Jesus didn’t. He did ONLY what the Father showed Him and said ONLY what the Father told Him to say. If THAT is what we are striving for, that is what we can have. How? Third point.

In the stock game, the third step is continuing to buy high-quality stocks. To get those dream stocks at a good price and hang on while things improve. Short term losses to trigger generous returns when the market stabilises. What does God tell us to do? Crucify ourselves daily (Luke 9:23). We need to crucify our flesh and follow Jesus, staying broken and obedient to His commands – whether we agree with them or not – (Matthew 16:24). With our old self crucified, we are freed from being slaves to sin (Romans 6:6). We are NO LONGER SINNERS. We’re not sinners saved by Grace. We’re saved by Grace so we are not sinners. If we don’t choose to let sin in, it will stay out (Genesis 4:7). We’ve crucified the passions and desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:24). Every time you do something or think about doing something contrary to that, remind yourself. I’m free from (insert bad thing here). Stand on Galatians 3:13 that tells us that we were redeemed from the curse of the Law by Jesus Himself. When your flesh rises up, remind it of Colossians 3:5 “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.” Don’t alter to a flesh habit, a flesh idea, or a flesh feeling. Those things will take the Lord and put Him beside you, not in front of you. NOT the thing to do.

We are in a flesh world. A world we see and interact with in an intimate way. If we are not keeping the Word before our eyes on a DAILY basis, we will struggle. We need to read it, think about it, take it in, and submit to what we find there. We need to put the Word first so that it illuminates every step we’re thinking of taking. So that we are reminded of what we have NOW in the spirit and not let go of that. Eternal life began when you got saved. Jesus said that eternal life was knowing the one true God and Jesus, whom the Father sent (John 17:3). Jesus was given authority over ALL flesh and He gave that authority to us (John 17:1-2). The Word purifies us and sanctifies us so that we can walk in that (John 17:17). It is so simple and it is all right there in black and red and white — if you have a red letter translation anyway. Otherwise it’s black and white. Both ways it is simple. Not easy, simple.

It isn’t easy because the spirit world isn’t a seen thing. A felt thing. An experienced thing. It can BE those things, but to us that is not what it IS. What it IS is the unseen. If it wasn’t we wouldn’t need faith. We wouldn’t need to believe. We wouldn’t need to retrain our minds. We could take it in like so many self-help classes and ‘three simple rules’ it to success. The Lord didn’t want this for us. The Father never intended any sickness. He never intended us to die. He never intended to be separated from us in any way. The situation in the Garden was meant to last and improve and expand and stay forever. We messed it up, but God didn’t come to judge us. He came to save us from judgment (John 3:16-18). He wants to change hearts because it is at the heart-level that we choose or reject Jesus. Evidence won’t convince anyone who doesn’t want to believe. Just look at Matthew 28:17. They were standing there looking a resurrected Jesus in the face, hearing Him speak, and some doubted. Can you believe that?

The world can seem like they know what’s going on, but there are always those who will doubt. Why? Because the world is crazy and full of horrors we have brought on ourselves. There is no peace there. They may look like they have it all together. Like they have a grand plan for things. But in the end, they are as panicked as little children in a storm. Things happen, will continue to happen, and as cool as they are on the outside, there is nothing but smoke and ashes inside. We, on the other hand, can continually rely on the greater things of the Lord. We can focus on the unseen and what we KNOW the Lord has going on. We can stand on the Word and use it to traverse every single thing that happens in this world.

We can live in the faith that is NOW. We don’t need to rely on hope, wishes, or well-laid plans. We can simply yoke to Jesus and live the eternal life of glory right now. Today. Not living in fear, but thriving in peace. Not strategising, but praising in our freedom. Shining out the light of Jesus for all the world to see. Victorious in the victory that Jesus won for us all. A witness to the world of the wonders of the Father. Not in envy, in patient love. Not fretful, but faithful and obedient to what the Lord has for us. Now and always. He’s a GOOD Father and He has GOOD things for His beloved children. He will never let us fall off the rock He’s laid down for us. No matter what anyone else sees. Our unseen trumps the seen every time.

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: Matthew 28:18

When the son came home in the parable of the prodigal, the father had his servants put a ring on his son’s finger. This was the ring of authority. It was the seal that the wearer could put on anything and it would be honoured. In the famous story A Christmas Carol, the character Scrooge was so rich that his signature alone was good for anything he put it to. Whether a house or a doughnut, he was good for it. That was the kind of authority the father gave the returning son. He was totally accepted into the family again. When Jesus was resurrected to life, He took up His position as the Name Above All Names. All authority in heaven and on earth was given to Him. Ephesians 2:6 tells us we were raised up and seated with Jesus. 1 John 4:4 tells us that Jesus who is in us is greater than anything that is in the world. 1 Corinthians 15:57 says we have victory in Jesus. Ephesians 6:10-11 says we have the armour of the Lord Himself and have permission to both wear and wield it. If the Word is true, how can any one of us choose to be anything but the everything the Lord says we can be? Why stay sick? Why let the world get us down? Why be worried about legislation? Why be worried about ANYTHING? We are in Jesus and more importantly, JESUS IS IN US! We are FREE from sin. FREE from defeat. FREE from the curse. FREE from everything that isn’t faith in the Lord – faith that is NOW and not later. Not hopeful assurance, but eager expectation of set in stone, right now, complete victory and possession of all that Jesus is and all that Jesus does, has done, and will do. By Grace through Faith, in Jesus, by Jesus, through Jesus, and for Jesus, we become the all in all of the Lord’s GOOD design.

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.