Fear No Fear

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

“Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that you not turn away from it to the right hand or to the left; that you not come among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow down yourselves to them; but hold fast to Yahweh your God, as you have done to this day. For Yahweh has driven great and strong nations out from before you. But as for you, no man has stood before you to this day. One man of you shall chase a thousand; for it is Yahweh your God who fights for you, as he spoke to you. Take good heed therefore to yourselves, that you love Yahweh your God. But if you do at all go back, and hold fast to the remnant of these nations, even these who remain among you, and make marriages with them, and go in to them, and they to you; know for a certainty that Yahweh your God will no longer drive these nations from out of your sight; but they shall be a snare and a trap to you, a scourge in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which Yahweh your God has given you.”
(Joshua 23:6-13)

“Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint;
    but one who keeps the law is blessed.”
(Proverbs 29:18)

“Their idols are silver and gold,
    the work of men’s hands.
They have mouths, but they don’t speak.
    They have eyes, but they don’t see.
They have ears, but they don’t hear.
    They have noses, but they don’t smell.
They have hands, but they don’t feel.
    They have feet, but they don’t walk,
    neither do they speak through their throat.
Those who make them will be like them;
    yes, everyone who trusts in them.”
(Psalm 115:4-8)

The Israelites were given clear instructions. If they choose to follow God and humbly submit to what He told them to do, good things would happen. If they kept their eyes on Him and worked to keep in the centre of His will – through prayer, reading the Word, and choosing to align themselves with His moral character – they would be BLESSED and remain BLESSED. But if they chose to compromise. To give in to what their eyes saw and what their own thinking decided was right, they would step out from under the BLESSING and would be exposed to negative circumstances. If they ignored God’s GOOD wisdom, they would be left with only their own BROKEN thinking. The peoples who had been brought to the Land before them went down the path of rejecting God. If the Israelites went down the same path, they too would be kicked out.

Human societies need a moral code in order to function. No matter what culture and no matter where in the world you find it, they will have a moral code. It will NEVER be do whatever you want. There will ALWAYS be acceptable behaviour and unacceptable behaviour. When that moral code is based on what the Lord has said to us, on his Word, the society will prosper and have fewer problems than the societies around them. If they are based on human thinking and the ever-changing morass of what humans think FEELS good, they will rot from the inside out. We’ve seen it throughout human history.

False gods made by the hands of human beings have no senses. They have no spiritual power or ability. They cannot discern things. They cannot do anything productive. If that is what you choose to rely on and put your attention on, you will become exactly the same way. Blind to the truth. Unable to understand and discern what is harmful or helpful. Unproductive in anything that really matters. Sitting in filth making a factory of mud pies while telling yourself it’s champagne and caviar. Completely lost. Completely broken. Unable to function. We NEED God’s Word. We NEED the truth. The objective, never-ending, never-changing TRUTH. It is the ONLY thing that keeps our eyes on God and only God can truly help us. We NEED His wisdom. We NEED to trust in Him. He is the ONLY reliable thing that exists.

Summary

When we keep our eyes and our focus on God, good things happen. When we let our attention wander, we find trouble. God guides us, corrects us, helps us, assists us, empowers us, equips us, and trains us. He is everything we need and the Source of ALL good things in this world. Period. In His arms is the BLESSING zone. He’s trustworthy. He’s faithful. He’s truthful. He will NOT let you down. When we choose Him, we choose right. We choose LIFE.