Fear No Fear

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

“Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah, of Beersheba. Joash did that which was right in Yahweh’s eyes all the days of Jehoiada the priest. . . Now after the death of Jehoiada, the princes of Judah came and bowed down to the king. Then the king listened to them. They abandoned the house of Yahweh, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherah poles and the idols, so wrath came on Judah and Jerusalem for this their guiltiness. Yet he sent prophets to them to bring them again to Yahweh, and they testified against them; but they would not listen.”
(2 Chronicles 24:1-2, 17-19)

“Praise Yahweh!
    Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good,
    for his loving kindness endures forever.
Who can utter the mighty acts of Yahweh,
    or fully declare all his praise?
Blessed are those who keep justice.
    Blessed is one who does what is right at all times.
Remember me, Yahweh, with the favor that you show to your people.
    Visit me with your salvation,
that I may see the prosperity of your chosen,
    that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
    that I may glory with your inheritance.”
(Psalm 106:1-5)

Joash followed God, but not because his heart was with God. He followed God because the man who saved him followed God. As soon as that man died, Joash followed the advice of other people and chose other gods. He showed that his heart wasn’t really in it. Sadly, his son was the same way. Leaning into God in the beginning, but accepting the idols of a conquered people later. The choice of whether to follow God or not isn’t a one-time thing. It is a constant, consistent choice made day to day in every circumstance that we find ourselves in. We need to make it because of what WE think and believe, not what those around us think and believe. Israel and Judah failed at this at several times in their history even though (like with us) God constantly warned them of what they would be exposing themselves to if they walked away from Him.

God is a GREAT God. He is wonderful. He lays it all down before us and then instructs us in what it all means. He does it again and again and again. He doesn’t hold back. He doesn’t lie. He is honest and true and faithful and just. He meets us where we are in order to show us the way to where He wants us to be. He is faithful through all our wanderings and rejections. If we determine to refuse to honour Him and obey, He’ll let us walk in that. He will honour our choice. But He doesn’t stop offering the Way to abundant life in every way. He doesn’t stop offering the truth. He gives us every chance we could ever need – and then a few more. He is faithful and He is just. He is a GOOD God.

Summary

Following God is about choosing Him on a daily basis. Not even a daily one-and-done, but a consistent choosing to submit to His point of view. To engage with life the way HE says we should be engaging. To ensure our actions are in accordance with what HE says is right and good. To build our emotions on His Spirit and what we have planted from His Word in our own hearts, not the feelings and ever-changing social ideas of this world. We need to be doing constant self-checks to make sure we’re not stepping wrong. The only way to do that is to listen to Him and read the Word. To study it and get it in our minds and in our hearts. This is what it means to follow Him. To choose Him with our thoughts, our words, and our actions on a daily consistent basis.