Fear No Fear

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

“Finally, become strong in the Lord and in the might of his strength. Put on the full armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the stratagems of the devil,”

Ephesians 6:10-11

Ruach HaKodesh is the power of Almighty Yahweh (Luke 1:35). Ruach HaKodesh lives inside us (Romans 8:11). Through Him we have access to His Fruit – that we CAN use, but that we are supposed to use to GROW our own in our own spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).  And through Ruach HaKodesh we have access to the armour that Jesus wears. The suit He wore to defeat the devil and all the works of darkness (1 John 3:8; Colossians 2:15; Hebrews 2:14-15; John 16:33). That is a LOT that we have access to simply because ALL those things are part and parcel of who Ruach HaKodesh is and what He carries with Him. But He didn’t MAKE them for us and He won’t FORCE us to use them. He is a PROVIDER, a TEACHER, a CORRECTOR, and a GUIDE. He is NOT a blacksmith.

It is the age-old question of HOW. Adonai has it for us. Promised it to us. Told us that we have the authority to use it. HOW do we do that? HOW do we receive from Him? The first step (or among the first steps) is to make sure we don’t think He’s an armour stand passively holding our stuff. He isn’t BUILDING anything for us. HE isn’t CRAFTING anything for us. This is NOT custom-built armour for US. It was custom built for JESUS. It has already been made. Already crafted. Already fitted. He is not waiting for US, He is coaching and guiding us to step into the appropriate place so that we can USE the armour that has been made to perfectly fit Jesus. It doesn’t fit US.

If we are not in the appropriate place IN JESUS, that won’t change. That doesn’t mean emulating every bump, curve, muscle, scar, nail hole, and hair. It means resting in Jesus – something we can do at ANY stage of our spiritual development. We are allowed and encouraged to rest in Jesus. When we do, when we let Him be Him and keep Him on our minds, we are relying on Him to get it done. Not us. Not OUR effort. His. That is resting. Not working is resting. We don’t rely on OUR achievements and OUR efforts. We don’t want OUR results. We rely on Him. When we rest in Jesus, we are IN Jesus. And Jesus is ALWAYS wearing His armour.

When we ‘put on the armour’, we aren’t taking a piece of it and fitting it onto a piece of our body. We are aligning part of our body-mind-spirit with JESUS. We are STEPPING INTO something Jesus has on. When we do, it is like we are Jesus (1 John 4:17). The devil won’t see us. He’ll see Jesus’ armour coming at him and assume that it’s Jesus! In a sense it would be. We are in Jesus and Jesus is in us (John 14:20). We have authority because Jesus GIVES us authority. We can ask Him for things that align with the Father’s will because He TOLD us we could (John 14:13-14). It all should be for the glory of the Father. That is what we achieve in His armour. We are walking out the victory that Jesus won through the cross so that the Father is glorified and gets the glory for it all. We get to walk and live in the victory that Jesus proclaimed when He told us He had ALREADY overcome the world (John 16:33). This is the certainty we have. This is the promise. This is our right as believers in Jesus.

At the end of the day, we are not kids shakily pretending to be someone older as we walk around in our Father’s shoes. We can be CONFIDENT as we walk because we are resting in Jesus. That confidence comes from our revelation knowledge of Jesus’ compassion toward us. It comes from our understanding of how much Jesus loves us. He wouldn’t prank us. We’re not rage bait. This isn’t some spiritual ponzi scheme where we end up losing everything and get abandoned to fend for ourselves. We were (and are) instructed by Ruach HaKodesh on HOW to rest in Jesus. HOW to step into His armour. HOW to walk, talk, think, and act just like Jesus. This is what we’re to do because we have salvation from Him. This is the salvation that He shows us. “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, live in him,” (Colossians 2:6). We get to live in Jesus. It is our privilege and it is our right as children of Adonai. More than that, this lifestyle is the mark of whose children we really are. “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are evident: everyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, namely, the one who does not love his brother” (1 John 3:10).

If we were not wearing His armour and if we were not growing His fruit, we would have no way to defend ourselves. We do NOT have it in us to do this. We NEED Jesus’ righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). We NEED Jesus’ victory. And through Jesus’ Ruach, we learn how to engage both of those things. We learn HOW by listening to Ruach HaKodesh and testing what we hear against the Word. The Ruach of Truth and Wisdom does not lie, does not contradict Himself, and does not contradict the Word. They are all in PERFECT alignment. They are tools to teach us, guide us, correct us, and inform us of how we walk in Jesus. How we rest in Him. And how we engage what it is that He is showing us He has for us. It takes a shift of thinking (Romans 12:2). It takes consistent listening to Ruach HaKodesh. And it takes obedience to the Righteous One without whom we would have and be nothing.

The armour isn’t on a stand, but on Jesus. It was made to fit Him and Him alone. Only in Jesus, resting and rooted to Him, can we ever be where it will fit on us (John 15:5). Ruach HaKodesh is the one who made it, the one who understands how this works, and the one sent to teach us how it operates. In HIM we have all we need. In HIM we are clothed in His armour. In HIM we are active like He is. In HIM we have what we need to succeed.

Daily Affirmation of the Goodness of Elohim: Matthew 9:36

“And when he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were weary and dejected, like sheep that did not have a shepherd.” Jesus has compassion toward us. Compassion and a plan cooked up between His Father, Ruach HaKodesh, and Himself. As soon as Jesus saw the crowds, His compassion rose up. He immediately turned to His disciples to entreat them to pray for the people. For a harvest of those people into the Kingdom. Jesus was not willing to let even ONE perish. Neither is the Father (2 Peter 3:9). Jesus’ compassion is always ACTIVE. Jesus’ compassion always involves others. Jesus’ compassion doesn’t deny the present, but moves the present into the future when we let Him. Jesus ALREADY sees us in the Kingdom – and He wants us to cooperate in getting us there. It is a partnership. Like a marriage. Him and us, joined together and going to the same place, the same way, with the same equipment available to us. Jesus doesn’t LIKE being alone. He LOVES being with us. Isn’t that incredible? He loves us and loves being with us and loves making the opportunity so that we can always be with 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