Fear No Fear

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

“Now therefore, my lord, as Yahweh lives and as your soul lives, since Yahweh has withheld you from blood guiltiness and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now therefore let your enemies and those who seek evil to my lord be as Nabal. Now this present which your servant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord. Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For Yahweh will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord fights Yahweh’s battles. Evil will not be found in you all your days. Though men may rise up to pursue you and to seek your soul, yet the soul of my lord will be bound in the bundle of life with Yahweh your God. He will sling out the souls of your enemies as from a sling’s pocket. It will come to pass, when Yahweh has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you prince over Israel, that this shall be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. When Yahweh has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.””
(1 Samuel 25:26-31)

“My shield is with God,
    who saves the upright in heart.”
(Psalm 7:10)

David was mad. He had asked for a gift because he and his men had done a good thing for Nabal’s shepherds. But Nabal did not return good for good. He instead insulted and refused. David took offence to that. He didn’t consult the Lord about it. Instead, he strapped on his sword, gathered his men, and was headed down to slaughter Nabal, Nabal’s servants, and assuage his anger with blood. But God got the message to Abigail. She rode out to meet David. She rode out to stop David with a warning. She abased herself on behalf of Nabal and put herself at David’s mercy. She could see that David was anointed of the Lord and that there was a future ahead of him. But that future would be tainted if David struck in anger. If David gave in to the feelings that were coming on him. Abigail was out to save David as much as she was the household, servants, and workers of Nabal.

When we pick up feelings and turn them into destructive emotions, God doesn’t leave us at that. He doesn’t say ‘oh well, I guess that’s that.’ God actively saves those who seek Him. He puts up blockades in their path. He sends messages their way. He tries His best to stop His faithful from making mistakes – big and small. We can still choose to ignore Him, but the warning will be there. Clear and present. He loves us too much to leave us to our own plans and ideas (Proverbs 16:9). God saves us from our enemies, but He also saves us from ourselves – if we’ll let Him.

Summary

God wants EVERYONE to be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-6). It is NOT a limited salvation. He wants to save us from ALL threats, both foreign and domestic – that is threats from outside of ourselves and threats from INSIDE ourselves. That’s how much He loves us. He wants us safe and whole and healed and overcomers in Jesus. When we decide on a course of action that is inadvisable, God is right there to help us. Holy Spirit corrects us. He encourages us to trust in Jesus and be who we have every right to be in Him. Jesus corrects us. He guides us and points out where we are stepping wrong. The Father calls to us, calling us to obedience and walking in the centre of His will. The Word contains example after example of the consequences of obedience and the consequences of rebellion. God is NOT silent. God seeks to save us. If we will listen to Him, humble ourselves and obey, we WILL be saved. Even from ourselves.