Fear No Fear

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

““I know that you can do all things,
    and that no purpose of yours can be restrained.
You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’
    therefore I have uttered that which I didn’t understand,
    things too wonderful for me, which I didn’t know.
You said, ‘Listen, now, and I will speak;
    I will question you, and you will answer me.’
I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
    but now my eye sees you.
Therefore I abhor myself,
    and repent in dust and ashes.””
(Job 42:2-6)

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who don’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death. For what the law couldn’t do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us who don’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace; because the mind of the flesh is hostile toward God, for it is not subject to God’s law, neither indeed can it be. Those who are in the flesh can’t please God.”
(Romans 8:1-8)

Job aligned himself with God and God’s thinking. He repented. He changed how he thought. He took the correction. Job acknowledged that nothing God wants to do can be thwarted by human efforts. That he had spoken without truly understanding, and he submitted completely. Job’s three friends – but NOT Elihu – were also in need of repenting. Job forgave them and made offerings and prayers on their behalf. The three men had not accurately portrayed God’s nature. They had said things that were not true. And they aligned themselves with God’s thinking. It was after all this – after his repentance and after he forgave his friends – that Job was restored. That he received double what he had before and lived a long life, able to enjoy it.

There is an inheritance awaiting us. It is the sovereign design of God to give it to us. A creation restored to factory settings and ourselves restored along with it. We are not being condemned. We are being offered new life. A new nature. We are being offered the ultimate correction. Not of behaviour or thinking, but of our very nature. We are being offered GOD’s nature. We are being offered the chance to live within Jesus and having Him live within us. We are being given the chance to please God by getting right with Him. It’s a process. It’s a journey. It’s something we start when we take up the salvation He offers, and then we spend our lives walking it out. Humbly submitting to Him and being obedient to what He says and asks of us. Being restored by Him and living an abundant life getting to enjoy it.

Summary

A whole new life. A whole new way of approaching the world. No barriers between us and the Lord. No blockages or fences. We give Him full access to us and He gives us full access to enter into Him. We do it step by step, piece by piece, and issue by issue. But we can get there because our path is illuminated and we are being guided by Him. We can transform our thinking beyond human limits. We can transform our thinking to agree with what God says is possible for us. With what God says is really happening. With what God says is going to happen. It is a completely different way of living. It puts an end to torment, regardless of our circumstances. It brings joy and restoration, no matter where we are. It is transformative. It is renewing. It is NEW life with a NEW nature. It is resting in Jesus.