Fear No Fear

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

“When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. The first came out red all over, like a hairy garment. They named him Esau. After that, his brother came out, and his hand had hold on Esau’s heel. He was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.”
(Genesis 25:24-26)

The name ‘Jacob’ can mean ‘supplanter’ or ‘taking hold of the heel’. The root word can ALSO mean ‘May God be at your heels’ or ‘May God be your rearguard’. In verses 19-23, God tells Rachel of the two nations within her. He covenants with her about the future of her sons. God created in Jacob the desire to rule from the front. A zeal for the things of God. Jacob received no real blessing in his life until God bequeathed it personally – and in fact the blessing he stole from Esau was an inferior blessing (not the blessing of Abraham or Isaac). If God isn’t providing the zeal and the seal on your life, you are living in a substandard house.

“Unless Yahweh builds the house,
    they who build it labor in vain.
Unless Yahweh watches over the city,
    the watchman guards it in vain.“
(Psalm 127:1)

God builds. God gives. God blesses. God founds our lives. You may have some terrestrial successes in your own thinking and under your own power, but they will be nothing in comparison with God’s plans. God truly needs to be our Source.

“Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first God’s Kingdom and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore don’t be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day’s own evil is sufficient.“
(Matthew 6:31-34)

So much time and energy is spent worrying about what is going on. Not even productive good stewardship forward thinking, but anxiety and depression and panic. What if this? Oh, look at that. What about this? We get so concerned about it. So uptight about it. The media in the West doesn’t help either. They ramp up the fear. They want you anxious and concerned – first, because you’ll tune in for more, and second, it helps them sell the products advertised on their programs. But with God as your Source, you don’t have to worry or be anxious or be depressed. There is a HUGE difference being swamped in circumstances and being ABOVE the circumstances. Being in a BOAT instead of at the mercy of the waves. God doesn’t promise to take you out of every situation that is negative. But He DOES promise to lift you, uphold you, and put you ABOVE the situation. You’ll have His perspective, His thinking, and His plan. You’ll be able to act effectively while being at peace – no matter how panicky those around you get. It’s a choice of replacing fear with seeking Him. In Jesus, we can ALWAYS succeed.

Summary

A source is something you draw from. When it is anything but God, we end up with an inferior product. When God is our Source – by choice, no matter what we are observing around us – we have the resources and tools we need to operate in peace, clearly, and without negative feelings clouding our judgment. We can see the same report as everyone else, but hear a VERY different message. Instead of panicking or getting anxious for what we see, we can pray for others and lift them up with compassion – because maybe they don’t have the safety and security of God operating in their lives. When we lean into Jesus, there is nothing that will truly disturb us because we can always turn to Him who has the solution, the game plan, and the tools for us to see it through.