“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” -Deuteronomy 31:6
Fear, an emotion we have all felt and experienced more than once in our life. After all it is known as one of the most basic Human emotions and works like an instinct. We get the sense of fear when we are in a place we have never been or going into the unknown, when we don’t feel safe or feel as if there is danger ahead. But God tells us not to fear because He goes before us and protects us!
You may be wondering how are we supposed to truly respond to fear when we start to feel it, well the answer to that is the Bible. When we start to feel fear creeping in we should go to the Bible for comfort, knowing that God has so many things to say to us when we feel this emotion. In fact did you know the term “fear not” is written in the Bible 365 times…. there’s 365 days in a year… look i’m telling you God works in mysterious ways. Right there is proof, it was written 365 times because every day we face fear but are told fear not!
If we allow fear to continue to come in, we are giving it the opportunity to steal our joy and peace. I was doing a Bible study the other day and it was talking about the time David escaped from Saul and went to King Achish, but the officers that were there knew who David was and when David heard their comments he was afraid of what they might do to him. David knew they would try to kill him but instead of freaking out and letting that fear take over he knew he had to do something. “So he pretended to be insane, scratching on doors and drooling down his beard.” (1 Samuel 21:13)
God wants us to have power filled faith to be able to stand in a world filled with fear. When fear comes in we have to stand in faith knowing that God is with us and He went before us so He has already won the battle. We have to trust Him and take the step of faith. I know we face some scary things in life like, death, losing a job, illnesses etc… but we have to be at peace knowing all of these things are happening because it was all in Gods plan and He has a reason for all of it. Going through storms is how God prepares us for the rainbow after. Instead of letting fear come in and take over, pray over it, leave it with God and take the next step he will be right there with you. Don’t allow the emotions to get the best of you and rob you of the joy and peace God has already provided you with!
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” -Isaiah 41:10
“I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.” -Psalm 34:4
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” -Psalm 23:4
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” -Psalm 27:1
Challenge:
I challenge you to read some of the stories in the Bible about the ones who overcame fear so you can see what faith as small as a seed can do to fear!
Stories:
-The disciples being afraid of the storm: Mark 4:35-41
-Peter walking on water: Matthew 14:22-33
-Abraham sacrificing his son: Genesis 22