Fear No Fear

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

“The children of Israel again did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight; and Yahweh delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.”
(Judges 13:1)

“I remember the days of old.
    I meditate on all your doings.
    I contemplate the work of your hands.
I spread out my hands to you.
    My soul thirsts for you, like a parched land. Selah.”
(Psalm 143:5-6)

After thirty-one years of being judged by godly men, after thirty-one years of following God, they chose to depart His Ways. They chose to forget and ignore everything that He had done for them in the past AND the evidence of peaceful living that they enjoyed whenever they were seeking Him. Again and again throughout scripture we are encouraged to remember the Lord and what He has done for us (Deuteronomy 6:12; Isaiah 46:9; Psalm 77:11; Ecclesiastes 12:1; Proverbs 10:7; Psalm 105:5). If the Israelites held to the memory of the goodness of God, they would not be easily fooled into following false gods, false promises, and an ungodly moral character.

It is through our memory, our experiential evidence of God’s goodness that we keep our eyes set on Him. If He did it before, He’ll do it again. If He did it for them, He’ll do it for me. This is the refrain of scripture. When we obey God like the ‘heroes’ of old, we will experience the same presence and power of God manifested visibly in our lives. It will come upon us like a magnet seeking another magnet. Obedience brings us close to the Lord and THAT is where the BLESSING resides. Just as springtime proceeds winter, sowing proceeds reaping, and night proceeds day, seeking the Lord in obedience proceeds the Blessing arriving at our door. It comes upon us and overtakes us (Deuteronomy 28:2) when we have God and keep God before our eyes and in our hearts.

Summary

Nothing changed when Jesus came. Jesus told us to REMEMBER the things He has done for us and for others who sought Him with trust and belief (Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:18-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-25). He performed miracles. Signs and wonders followed Him. And He laid down His life becoming our sacrifice. Breaking His body. Shedding His blood. This is who He is and what He has done. It’s easy to take our eyes off of Him when we aren’t remembering that sacrifice. When we aren’t remembering the call that brought us to Him. If we aren’t keeping in mind what Jesus accomplished for us. We need to REMEMBER Him. Again and again. Consistently working toward constantly. If we keep Him foremost in our minds, our walk with Him becomes and easy choice to make every day.