Fear No Fear

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

“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king, Nebuchadnezzar, “We have no need on this matter to present a defense to you. If it is so, our God, whom we serve, is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire. And from your hand, O king, let him rescue us. And if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, and the statue of gold that you have set up we will not worship.“

Daniel 3:16-18

I heard a pastor who had been on a radio program where he was part of a discussion but forbidden to quote scripture. He was asked what right Adonai had to keep people out of heaven? That if someone felt they were a good person, and Adonai didn’t let them into heaven, then Adonai was performing a hate crime against them because they were good. The pastor answered saying, ‘Go to the richest, nicest home in the country and knock on the door. When they answer, demand entrance because you are a good person. Will they let you in to live there?’ The host had to admit they wouldn’t. The pastor said it was because he had no relationship with those people. It had nothing to do with being good. They had NO RELATIONSHIP. Why do we know we are going to be with Him eternally? Because we are with Him NOW and that won’t ever stop. We are in eternity RIGHT NOW. Our relationship with Him gives us CONFIDENCE.

When Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were facing death, they told the king that they didn’t even need to answer because the idea of them NOT TRUSTING their God was laughable. They had CONFIDENCE that their God could save them, but they didn’t even care if He DIDN’T. Either way, they would never betray their relationship with Him. Saved or charbroiled, it didn’t matter to them. What mattered to them was that they stayed submitted to the will of Adonai, which meant putting no one and nothing ahead of Him – even their own lives. Belief and trust in Adonai wasn’t a Sunday School story. It wasn’t a myth. It wasn’t badly interpreted history. It was real. It was daily. It was a relationship that they participated in. They loved Adonai and revered Him. Nothing and no one was going to stand in the way of that. They had total confidence that they were in the right because they had total confidence in their relationship with Him.

“And this is the confidence that we have before him: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked from him” (1 John 5:14-15). This is the same kind of confidence. It is rooted in RELATIONSHIP. We KNOW. That is the confidence you get in a relationship. Through our trust in Jesus, we are children of Adonai (Galatians 3:26). We build our trust when we hear the Word of Adonai (Romans 10:17). The whole things runs on our trust in Jesus, the founder of our trust in the first place. “But what does it say? “The word is near to you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim), that if you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:8-9). That confession that gets us plucked from darkness into the Kingdom of Adonai (Colossians 1:13) is the first step of our journey. The Word illuminates the rest of the path we are to follow (Psalm 119:105) as we walk over a lifetime from who we WERE to who we ARE in Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21). We can’t walk that walk without CONFIDENCE.

Our confidence is based on trust. Our trust is developed by hearing the Word. The Word when heard also renews our mind from broken thinking to righteous thinking (Romans 12:2) as we re-learn the patterns of behaviour that were originally established for humanity by Adonai Himself (Genesis 1:26-27; Matthew 22:36-40). The issue is that we are in a body that is sensory oriented. It likes shiny things. It is distracted by shiny things. The world is designed to PROGRAM us to be distracted by shiny things. It is NOT a coincidence that we are seeing an uptick in attention-related mental deficiencies and conditions. It is all part of the plan to keep us from both being still, quiet, and studying the Word; and resting in our relationship with Adonai by leaning into it with thinking on Him, praising Him, and being grateful toward Him. Anything to undermine our focus on Him and His point of view.

Ruach HaKodesh was given to us to live inside of us (1 Corinthians 6:19). This was so He could be right here with us. The whisper in our ear. All day. Every day. If we will LET Him, He will remind us of all the things that the shiny stuff wants to distract us from. He is not only our living, breathing, speaking reminder (John 14:26), but He is the booster of our confidence in Jesus BY that reminding. How often do we find ourselves struggling in a relationship and remind ourselves of the good stuff? How often do other people cut through our nonsense by reminding us of the goof stuff? How many relationships have been saved by people simply looking past the feelings of the moment and reminding themselves about the foundational goodness and attraction (mind to mind, not just body to body) that started the relationship in the first place? How many relationships have failed because people have failed to remind themselves? In order for us not to find ourselves in that situation, Ruach HaKodesh reminds us.

He reminds us of all the things Adonai has done for us. All the ways Jesus supernaturally came through for us. He walks us through our past with Him and helps us to see how Adonai is always there, always helping, always teaching, always guiding, and always correcting. He shows us how the Word is trustworthy and true. He shows us how Adonai is trustworthy and true. He teaches us about the consistency and SECURITY of Jesus. How things aren’t hidden to be swept aside and ignored, but to be searched out and FOUND. About His peace, goodness, and the Fruit we can grow from Him that helps us to weather the storms, get lifted above troubles, and turn problems into situations with solutions ready to implement. He reminds us of the VICTORY we are WALKING toward, not struggling to see. He is the One who helps us remember the confidence we have and can have in true relationship with Jesus. HE is the One who reminds us to nurture that relationship and spend TIME on it. To invest in it. To let it be the guiding compass of our lives in every way. Because that confidence will help us walk where Jesus says the Father told Him that we are allowed to walk – and the Word backs it up 110%. It is a confidence we NEVER should put aside and with the help of Ruach HaKodesh, we NEVER will.

Daily Affirmation of the Goodness of Elohim: Proverbs 14:26

“In the fear of Yahweh, there is confidence of strength, and for his children, there will be refuge” Reverence for Adonai is a generational BLESSING. When we lean fully into Jesus, we’ll be a good example to our children and our children’s children. We can show through our lives how much reliance on Adonai and trust in Jesus can transform, overcome, and create a zone of BLESSING directly from Adonai into our lives and the lives of those around us regardless of the circumstances that we walk in. We might be in a situation that isn’t pleasant, but we can meet it with love. Not regular love, but the love of Jesus. The love of Jesus for us and for those who are in the situation with us. When we experience that love, our confidence strengthens, and trust naturally grows. Why? Because when we know we are loved, we know there is a solution. We have confidence that we are not meant to fail, but to succeed in Jesus. That we are meant to shine. Those in our lives see that Light that cannot be explained away. They see us at peace. They know the source of it and can meet Him for themselves. We can teach the next generations how to trust in Jesus just like Abraham did. Adonai is faithful with us and Adonai will be faithful with those we entrust to Him. Adonai is ALWAYS faithful and ALWAYS a blessing to those who choose to trust and rely in Him. 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