Fear No Fear

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

“Remember what Amalek did to you by the way as you came out of Egypt, how he met you by the way, and struck the rearmost of you, all who were feeble behind you, when you were faint and weary; and he didn’t fear God. Therefore it shall be, when Yahweh your God has given you rest from all your enemies all around, in the land which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance to possess it, that you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under the sky. You shall not forget.”
(Deuteronomy 25:17-19)

“The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way,
    but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.
The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them,
    but the unfaithful will be trapped by evil desires.
When a wicked man dies, hope perishes,
    and expectation of power comes to nothing.”
(Proverbs 11:5-7)

“Why should I fear in the days of evil,
    when iniquity at my heels surrounds me?
Those who trust in their wealth,
    and boast in the multitude of their riches—
    none of them can by any means redeem his brother,
    nor give God a ransom for him.
For the redemption of their life is costly,
    no payment is ever enough,
   that he should live on forever,
    that he should not see corruption.“
(Psalm 49:5-9)

Amalek tried to prey on the Israelites. They damaged them and killed the ones at the back. They did it laughing. They did it feeling that they had no consequences. Israel didn’t rise up against them because God said it wasn’t time yet. They hadn’t run out of chances to repent. Yet. But they DID run out. They ran out and were brought to account for their cowardly and wicked attack against God’s people because they WERE God’s people. There came a time when the people of God had REST, enjoying their wealth, and the people of Amalek were destroyed for their wicked conduct and the evil desires of their hearts. God was NOT mocked.

Righteousness (behaving rightly according to God’s point of view) leads us along the safest of paths. We get to our goals because the obstacles have been moved out of the way. God does this because we are following His path, His way, in His will. We aren’t doing things as the world does them. We’re giving glory to God as we follow His lead. Conversely, the wicked return to their ungodly ways again and again. Like dogs returning to their vomit. They get trapped into patterns of repetition where their own behaviour becomes what brings them down — and then they start the cycle all over again and repeat it. They can’t help it. They’re bound to their wicked patterns and broken thinking.

We CANNOT help the wicked. The sinful. WE couldn’t be helped by other people when WE were sinful. It doesn’t matter how small the sin or how big. The shackles cannot be released by a fellow human being. But God can free us. God can remove the shackles. God can set us free. God can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves because Jesus paid the price. If we can be renewed to life this way, why would we fear or get resentful if the wicked amass some power or wealth. They may have riches you can touch, but they are bereft of everything that matters. Since only God can make us free, only God should be looked to for wealth – no matter WHAT form it comes in. Only wealth from God – material, spiritual, relational, emotional, financial, you name it – comes without hooks, splinters, and chains.

Summary

The world likes throwing money around like weight. The big bucks get to make the big noises. They get to change policies, do what they want, go where they want, and indulge in what they want. They try to avoid governments and exist on the fringes of national boundaries. They coerce, pressure, and scare ‘normal’ citizens of the countries of the world. Pressing them into service – or worse. People do it. Governments do it. Organizations do it. Almost everyone does it. God has a better way. And as we walk that Way it can seem like everyone else is getting ahead but us. Don’t fall into the trap of that thinking. Their chances are running out. Soon enough they’ll have to pay. They’ll have to face their deeds. It won’t be a pretty day. But we will be safe enough if we are obeying the Lord, listening to His words and warnings, and aligning ourselves with HIS thinking. He is our Source and He is the only one we should be concerning ourselves with. We’ll be safe in Jesus because Jesus is the ONLY safe place.