Fear No Fear

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

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

But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. Don’t fear what they fear, neither be troubled.*

{Isaiah 8:12 “Don’t call a conspiracy all that this people call a conspiracy. Don’t fear their threats or be terrorized.}

1 Peter 3:14 (emphasis added)

Isn’t it funny that the Word is always up to date? That it is always relevant to humanity? We have conspiracies on top of conspiracies coming out of the woodwork. Everything from particular politicians being shady to organisations plotting things to secret labs to illuminati-style governments. The thing is this, some or none or all of it COULD BE TRUE and it still wouldn’t matter to my day to day life as much as other things. And face it, some of it could be true. That’s all world stuff. Flesh media. What about the spiritual? Well, there are a lot of prophets who are saying a lot of things about what is coming. While it is true that some could be missing it, the better assumption is that whether we understand what they’re saying and whether or not we can imagine it coming to pass, it is most likely true.

Don’t knock prophecy. Don’t malign prophets or prophetic words. If they are accurate and true, then they will come to pass. Period. Done. The thing to remember in the natural is that a conspiracy and a warning are two different things. The thing to remember in the spiritual, is that the Lord God is almighty and will win the day. When dealing with anything that doesn’t touch on the free will of mankind, God acts however He wants whenever He wants. When dealing with something that touches on the free will of mankind, all God requires is one person to give Him permission to move. With eight billion people on the planet and growing, it is highly likely the Lord can find someone to give Him permission.

In the natural and in the physical there is a lot going on. The world is swirling in a chaotic pattern these days. Supply chain issues, diseases, war zones, political upheaval, etc etc. There is hardly a corner of the globe that isn’t in some kind of flux right now. The news media is right there recording it and spreading it. We’re getting to see more and more of what is happening around the globe. We’re more connected and more informed and more aware of all the interconnectedness of the globe than ever before. And people are getting anxious and people are getting worried and people are getting fearful. Looking at the headlines and clickbait, they aren’t to be blamed. Except…

Remember that the basic principle we operate on is that we can choose to fear (John 14:1). God would be wrong to tell us not to fear if we could not make that choice. And we can. We can choose to have faith instead of having fear (Proverbs 29:25). We can choose to see the problems and issues that surround us but choose not to let them dominate our thinking. It isn’t about being in trouble or not being in trouble. It’s about letting trouble not be your focus. God should always be our focus (Hebrews 13:5-6). We have issues, we take them to God. Where is God? He is in heaven on His throne. So we take them to Him there. How do we get in? We go before Him with thanksgiving and praise (Psalm 100:4-5). We aren’t to go before Him snivelling and crawling. We can walk in, heads high, praising and thanking Him (Hebrews 4:16). Then we talk about our troubles (Ephesians 3:12-13). And then we thank and praise Him some more and go home. When we’re at home, we keep up thanking and praising Him — both by doing it and by reading the Word and the promises He has made to us — until the problem resolves or we’re given specific instructions. Every time we feel fear or trouble, we stop. Say ‘No. I refuse that. I refuse to fear. I refuse to be troubled. God has it. God’s dealing with it. You want to talk about it, go take it up with Him. Me and mine will praise the Lord.’ And then do it. Even a ‘Thank you, Jesus! You’re Lord of this, Lord of me, and Lord of all. I worship you!’ before you go back to the laundry.

The reality is that Jesus told us we would be persecuted (John 15:20). They persecuted Him, they’ll do it to us. Whether that is ridicule, a loss of what society has deemed are our rights, imprisonment, or death. We may not enjoy it, but it won’t last forever. It will be a moment. A moment within the long life that we will enjoy. Eternity is a long time, after all. Jesus also said, “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:10-12). Paul suffered a lot. His attitude was that as bad as it got, it wouldn’t be forever. Days, months, or even years are nothing compared to eternity. While praising God, anything is better. The early church sang for being beaten (Acts 5:41; 16:25). Others were killed. Beheaded, crucified, fed to lions, boiled in oil, burnt, and more. None of it was happy. All of it physically, in the natural, hurt. But the Spirit of God was on them, and they didn’t suffer as an unbeliever suffers. In some cases, there was no suffering at all. Only peace.

We have not been promised happy good times. We are blessed (2 Corinthians 9:8). We are favoured (1 John 3:21-22). We have victory (1 John 5:4-5). We are prosperous in all things (3 John 1:2). But we are promised that victory we have, not happy circumstances. In war, victory comes as an overall achievement. Individuals can be lost, battles can be lost, whole campaigns can be lost, but victory in the end achieved. It shows us that victory isn’t tagged to one hundred percent natural success and well-being. There are times when victory isn’t pleasant to our flesh. But that is a narrow viewpoint. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed toward us (Romans 8:18). They overcame him because of the Lamb’s blood, and because of the word of their testimony. They didn’t love their life, even to death (Revelation 12:11). Those don’t sound pleasant, but they do sound very victorious.

We might not like what might happen to our flesh, but we can choose not to fear it. We might not like to suffer, but the Lord Jesus can rescue us from its effects. We might think there is a lot of smoke so maybe also some fire during the news reports, but we can choose not to be troubled. It can be things that are happening, but not things that are inducing anxiety, worry, depression, or fear. We can stand on Jesus Christ our rock. We can read the promises in the Word and say ‘Yes. I believe and I receive and it will come to pass’ not in a positive-thinking way, but in a trusting God way. God promises to protect us (Psalm 91), stand on it. God promises to keep us safe and guide us (Psalm 23), stand on it. God promises never to leave us or forsake us (Joshua 1:5, Matthew 28:20, Hebrews 13:5), stand on it. God has promised us victory (Revelation 12:11 and Revelation 20). God is to be trusted. Jesus has it right and He said, “Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful” (John 14:27). Embrace His Peace today. Choose to stand with Him.

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: Psalm 100

It doesn’t matter when you’re reading these verses. They will apply. It doesn’t matter if there is a major test looming, money issues, custody issues, identity issues, food issues, school issues, work issues, roof over your head issues, focus issues, health issues, or being believed issues. It doesn’t matter if you think you’ve handled or are handling your issues or whether everything is out of control and you are in no way focused, okay, or managing. That’s all temporary things. We have an outlet. A spiritual reset button. A way to have everything be okay even if nothing changes. We can worship the Lord. Not abstractly or sitting in a dust-filled, shag carpeted, white emaciated Jesus on the wall Sunday School room. Not in a prayer closet or in a prayer meeting of like-minded humans. Before the throne itself. At the feet of the Father Almighty. We are watched over, shepherded, given all we need, and let into His presence where we can — in spirit, truth, and joy — worship Him for being Him. What favour! What a privilege! No petitions. No begging. No having to be worthy. No striving for enlightenment or purging ourselves of anything. Not giving up name or identity. We get to be in Jesus and for Jesus. In the throne room. In His courts. Living under the blessing of His loving kindness, faithfulness, and mercy. What love! And it’s for you. Yeah, you! He loves you!

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.