What a beautiful thing is the Lord’s command for us not to fear. It’s all over Scripture.
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
“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
And the list goes on and on of verses of the Lord telling us not to fear or worry about anything. This doesn’t mean that we wont ever feel that sharp pain of fear in our tummy’s when we have to speak in front of the class or the unbearable restriction in our chest when we receive that awful phone call that a family member is sick and it doesn’t look good. What these verses mean is to not wallow in that fear. As children of the Lord we are to turn to Him and remember He is there and He is in control. And it is when we forget who we are that we allow fear to crush us.
In a sermon by Priscilla Shirer she tells a story of a summer when her son was in a baseball tournament. After a lunch break she was walking with her son when his demeanor began to change. In an instant he went from confidently walking with his head held high to slumped shoulders and a dipped chin. After taking in her surroundings she realized it was because they were about to pass by a team that her son had previously played and were destroyed by. As they walked by the team they could hear two of the boys commenting on her son. They overheard the boys saying, “Isn’t that the kid who hit that home run?”. Almost as instantly as her son had lost his confidence, he regained it. What a difference our perspective is when we realize what our enemy truly thinks of us!!
I have no doubt in my mind that Satan believes the Scriptures to be true. That includes the Scriptures that speak about our worth and value in the Kingdom. He wants us to think otherwise, of course. He wants us to believe that God isn’t over us and isn’t guiding us on this path of love and joy and peace. He wants to convince us that the fear we feel is too much and we’ll never overcome it so we might as well give in.
Friends, how sad is it when we allow ourselves to believe the lies of the enemy. If only we were to dive into the truth of the Word and believe it in the instant that we read it. I am by no means perfect at this practice. After four and a half years in Bible College I still have trouble wrapping my head around some Scriptures and often find myself realizing a truth years after originally hearing it. But it is this truth that I am choosing to hide deep in my heart: There is no fear that is greater than my God. My God’s love for me is greater than anything the enemy could ever possibly throw at me. I am a daughter of the King and an heir to the throne.
I pray all God’s children come to this truth and hold onto it just as tightly. And I pray that as children we share this truth with all we come in contact with so that they will no longer allow the enemy to convince them otherwise. Because with this truth we are no longer frozen by fear, but moving and making strides for the Kingdom. Amen
