Fear No Fear

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

I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.
1 Corinthians 2:3 (emphasis added)

Was Paul fearful? No. But he WAS human, and this verse is all about his humanity. Paul is reminding the church in Corinth that he did not come to them as Super Evangelist. He did not come full of his intelligence and wisdom and awesome-pawsomeness. He came like anyone else. Nervous, weak, and worried about what was going to happen – this is a guy who had been through a few things, so it is an understandable attitude (2 Corinthians 11:25-27). He came determined to meet them as Jesus would have. To see only Jesus in them. And not to rely on himself, but to rely on the Spirit in order that their faith would be built up by the power of God and not the persuasiveness of a man (1 Corinthians 2:1-5).

This was a theme of Paul’s and one that we all should take up both in our personal walk and also in our public one. “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that concern my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, he who is blessed forever more, knows that I don’t lie” (2 Corinthians 11:30-31). If we are weak, He is strong. If we can’t do it, He must have done it. There is glory in our weakness: the Lord’s. Alone, we are nothing. In Jesus, we are everything Jesus is because HE is the one doing it, not us. When we are connected to Him, submitted in humble honesty, then we invite Him to work in and through us. THAT is where our victory lies. THAT is where abundant life is. THAT is where success – spiritually, physically, and spiritually – can be not only found, but claimed and walked in.

There are things in life that seem big to us. Like REALLY BIG. From God’s perspective, they aren’t. That is one of the hardest lessons to learn. What is it that keeps us from learning it? Our habit of religious thinking. Religious thinking is thinking rationally in a spiritual way. God ‘can’ but logically, He probably won’t. It doesn’t even matter what you’re talking about. There are how many billions of people on the globe? All of them are precious to the Lord, right? So why would He pay attention to you above the others? Why would He move in your life? Why should we expect Him to change reality, alter the harvest, or speed us anywhere we want? It is so easy to think that God is ABLE to, but WON’T.

Too often we see miracles not happening. We know people dying from cancer. We know children who have suffered. We know of wars. We know slavery still exists. We know sex trafficking is out there. We know that spouses are being abused. We know there is injustice. We know dementia is real. We see people struggling with eating disorders, addiction, and anxiety (among other mental illnesses). How could we think that with all THAT going on that our personal problems amount to a hill of beans in the scope of the Lord’s attention?

These are big questions and this one verse doesn’t have all the answers, but this verse in context holds the key to those answers. God cares. We’re told that, sure. But here, Paul SHOWS that. He is being brutally and humbly honest with the recipients of this letter. This is PAUL we’re talking about. He wrote two thirds of the New Testament. He was a great theologian and thinker – even Peter looked to his teaching as good information to digest and full of Godly wisdom (2 Peter 3:15-16). He firmly started churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea, Colossae, and Hierapolis – but many places like Ephesus had more than one so the count could be anywhere from 14-20. Paul was accomplished. Paul did a LOT. Paul worked hard, travelled constantly, and never let up. He was enthusiastic. He was a great example. And he was nothing in his own eyes. Not a depressed, pitiful worm. But someone who could have done NONE of it without Jesus. Someone who realised humbly and honestly that he needed God for everything important in life.

This is the key because it shows in a vivid example that on his own Paul was nervous, trembling, worried about what was going to happen, and not up to the task physically, mentally, or emotionally. He was weak. Yet look at what was accomplished! He was just like we are, but achieved big things. He did it because Christ in him did it. Paul was Paul because Paul was being like Jesus by abiding IN Jesus and Jesus was IN Paul. Jesus did the works. The Father called the shots. The Holy Spirit was there encouraging, correcting, comforting, and instructing. They were a great team helping Paul do everything that he needed to do. Paul accepted their help, submitted to their help, and obeyed them. That is how things got done. By the LORD.

Now, if God didn’t care about us none of that could happen. Paul was brilliant, but not THAT brilliant. Paul was driven, but who was driving? Paul was gifted as a man, but supernatural things occurred around him. Paul was a living, breathing, walking, talking example that there is a God who cares about what we do, how we do it, and why we do it. And a great thing about God is that He doesn’t hold one of us above another. We are all equal in His eyes. “Peter opened his mouth and said, “Truly I perceive that God doesn’t show favoritism; but in every nation he who fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:34-35). ANYONE can be acceptable to the Lord if they revere (fear) Him and walk in His ways. Basically, deciding to do what the Lord finds good because He is the Lord God Almighty. If the Lord is seeking for those who revere Him, and anyone can be someone who reveres Him, then automatically and logically the Lord is looking at us all. And remember: He didn’t come to judge us but to make a way for us to get back to Him (John 3:16-18).

We don’t have to rely on who we are on our own. We don’t have to rely on what WE know intellectually. We don’t have to face the big things of this world alone. We can rely on the Lord (Psalm 28:7, Ephesians 2:8-9). We don’t have to rely on what we learned in school (Titus 3:4-7, John 14:26). We don’t have to be alone (Genesis 2:18, Psalm 62, John 14:18, Deuteronomy 31:6-8). Isn’t that a great feeling? Isn’t that great to know?

The Word is a living thing. It is not cold words on pages. It is Jesus and Jesus is it (John 1:1-5, 14). We can believe it. We can believe it verbatim. Word for word. As it is written. We don’t have to let the rational mind cloud it. Sure, there are things we don’t understand. But science (any discipline) cannot ‘disprove’ the bible. There is no conflict there. It is because true science is ‘the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation, experimentation, and the testing of theories against the evidence obtained.’ Science doesn’t TELL us truths. Science EXAMINES the world around us and tells us what it observes. Then it tests it to see if it is correct. Well, God was the instigator of the scientific method. “Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

That is one of the greatest verses in the bible. It spells out that IF you believe that Yahweh exists AND that He IS a rewarder of those who seek Him, THEN you WILL be pleasing to Him. If you please God, who is a loving Father, why wouldn’t He treat you like a loving child? In fact, again and again the Word tells us IF WE, THEN HE. That means that IF WE do the thing, THEN HE will do the other thing. That is the scientific method right there. Do one thing and the second thing happens as a result of it. That’s a test right there. Something you can demonstrate to yourself, since you know what you believe in your heart of hearts. Take Matthew 6:33: “But seek first God’s Kingdom and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.” IF you seek God first and strive to walk in His righteous ways (which we can do IF we stay abiding in Jesus), THEN everything else (food, clothing, etc.) gets added. We’ll have it. All you need to do is seek Him before everything. Let Him take the place in your heart and life that belongs to Him.

When we have things in this life head our way, we can look to the Lord and know that we are NOT alone. That we are NOT insignificant nothings floating on a ball of rock in the universe. That the Lord loves us, pays attention to us, and will interact with us IF we let Him. We do not need to pick up fear or dwell in fear. We do not need to be anxious or worried. We do not need to assume that bad things will happen to us. We do not need to accept sickness. We do not need to fail around feeling unanchored as we deal with whatever we need to deal with. Most importantly, we do NOT need to be strong. We do NOT need to feel happy. We can get our strength from the LORD. We can get Joy from the LORD. We can get Peace from the LORD. It can be stuff that logically makes no sense. It can be in spite of everything this world can show, see, measure, or mark. It can defy the human experience. It can be HIS atmosphere that WE get to enter.

God did not stay in His realm. He came to US. He came to repair the bridge. He came to make a way. He does the work, gives the Grace, supplies the Faith, renews our minds and spirits. The LORD does everything. We need to recognise that. Recognise His position. Submit to it in humility because we recognise ours. We can leave behind our weakness and trembling. We can walk away from fear. We can abide in Jesus. We can walk in His power, His love, and the self-control He has enabled us to have. We can CHOOSE what we experience. Victory because Jesus is He Who Overcomes. When we CHOOSE to abide in Jesus and seek the face of the Father first, foremost, and above all else; WE get to share in HIS victory. If THAT isn’t wonderful, I don’t know what is.

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: Lamentations 3:25

There is security in the Word. It can be believed. Not because of anything man does to explain it. It can simply BE BELIEVED (James 1:6). What that can mean for us is that we can treat it as being true (Psalm 119:160). If the Word is true, then what it SAYS is also true and that is a truth to shake the foundations of this world (Psalm 82:5). Do not despise the Word and what it says. Yes, we don’t ‘get it’ all. Yes, there is mystery and confusion and contradiction in the world around us. Yes, we get lost and don’t know how the two line up. But the WORD is TRUTH. The question is simply what are you wanting? Do you want to understand what He has written down? Do you want to understand Him? Then the Word is the only way to go. My son, if you will receive my words, and store up my commandments within you, so as to turn your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding; if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of Yahweh, and find the knowledge of God. For Yahweh gives wisdom. Out of his mouth comes knowledge and understanding (Proverbs 2:1-6). He is a LOVING Father who gives us His attention. He pays attention and He speaks to us. Do you have the ears to hear? Will you decide to obey? Cleanse your heart and seek the Lord. Open the Word and seek His face.

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.