Fear No Fear

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

“The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. God saw the earth, and saw that it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. God said to Noah, “I will bring an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them and the earth..“

(Genesis 6:11-13)

Although at the end of chapter 4 humans began to worship the Lord (Genesis 4:26), time has passed and people have also begun to turn away. There are those who look at the book of Genesis and see multiple authors of it. One of the reasons given are the different views of God or the differences in which God related to humans in various parts of the book. But instead of needing different authors from different times with different ideas of God, you can clearly see the deteriorating relationship between God and humanity. You can see how humans turn away, separate themselves, and refuse to interact face to face with God. having free will, they are allowed to choose their path – but God still strives to meet with them where they are. This is the cause of the differing relations between God and humanity. And when you turn away from the light, you are left with its absence: darkness.

Humanity knew the meaning of life (to worship He who created them), the purpose of life (to do the works prepared for them to do), and their identity in life (reflections of God). But they did not want them. They rejected them. Starting with Adam, continuing with Cain, and many others after that, humanity moved away from the Lord. They rejected knowledge of God and instead forged their own way with their own desires. They CHOSE to do this, and being a just God, the Lord permitted them their choice – although it grieved Him (Romans 1:24-32). They rejected God and chose ungodliness. “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and traded the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, four-footed animals, and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to uncleanness, that their bodies should be dishonored among themselves; who exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen” (Romans 1:22-25). Like a cancer, it spread. “The wicked walk on every side, when what is vile is exalted among the sons of men” (Psalm 12:8).

“Help, Yahweh; for the godly man ceases.
    For the faithful fail from among the children of men.
Everyone lies to his neighbor.
    They speak with flattering lips, and with a double heart.
May Yahweh cut off all flattering lips,
    and the tongue that boasts,
who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail.
    Our lips are our own.
    Who is lord over us?”“

(Psalm 12:1-4)

When evil is chosen, it responds (Genesis 4:7). Like stage four cancer, it spreads to every part of the body and soul that it can. And when evil is called good, good is called evil (Isaiah 5:20), only God can turn that around. Only God can keep you safe in that environment – the soul and spirit being the MOST important things to keep safe because they matter in the LONG run (Matthew 10:27-29). When all around us is evil, ungodly, and all about human ideas, human feelings, and human desires, we need to look to TRUTH to get perspective (Romans 12:2). We need to stand on the Word (James 4:7). We need to know it and we need to think, speak, and act in accordance with it. We need to align with God and God’s moral character. It can be hard. It can take effort. But God is right there waiting to help us. He WANTS us with HIM (2 Peter 3:9).

“For this cause, I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that you may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, to the end that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be strengthened to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and height and depth, and to know Christ’s love which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.“

(Ephesians 3:14-19)

Knowledge of God’s love for us is how we know the Truth and how we see that truth operating in our lives. The power that works in us ( ) is activated by our knowledge of Jesus’ love for us. This is the Light that will keep us from darkness. This is the Kingdom that Jesus brought us into (Colossians 1:13). Jesus warned that people would again turn to their own thinking as their guide (Matthew 24:37-39). He said it would be EXACTLY like it was in the days of Noah. In Noah’s day there was a VAST majority embracing darkness and VERY FEW embracing the Light. It will be that way again, and we are seeing it budding all around the globe in our day. “But know this: that in the last days, grievous times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, not lovers of good, traitors, headstrong, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding a form of godliness but having denied its power. Turn away from these, also. For some of these are people who creep into houses and take captive gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:1-7).

When all around is dark, we do NOT lose hope. Instead, we hang on to our eager expectation: the Light of the Love of Jesus. He is THE hope. He is THE light. He is THE life and that life is the light of humanity (John 1:4). The more we know about the love that Jesus has for us, the more we are equipped with hope that builds our belief, which directs our eyes to the Word which develops and deepens our trust in Him. Jesus is our help. Jesus is our strong tower. Jesus is our salvation.

Summary

Humanity chose and continues to choose ungodly ways. Not liking the need for obedience and humble submission to Almighty God – even though it is right, proper, and good – they seek to replace Him in their hearts with their own broken thinking and give themselves over to their broken desires. But we have trust in Jesus. We have hope in Jesus. We have help in Jesus. Though disaster may be coming, though tribulations may strike, we have our Lord Jesus to shelter in. He has overcome the world (John 16:33), so in Him we too will overcome. Darkness CANNOT stand in the presence of His Light (John 1:5).