All tagged fear

Repeat this after me: “I will not be afraid today. My God stands with me, and in trusting this, I fear nothing.” Are we facing the world courageously with Yahweh, our God, or are we fearfully alone? Do we come up against trouble and then begin seeking God and Jesus Christ out of our desperation? Well, try walking with Them before hardship arrives! As human beings, our personal will saddles us with the desire to do things on our own. We find that we are plagued by the desire to face everything ourselves. Does this describe you and how you place your will first as you travel through life? In certain circumstances you might find worldly success on your own, but in the long run you will not… it will become a death sentence.

 

““Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

Matthew 7:21 ESV

Salvation... We question ourselves by asking how we can achieve this and live our lives as God expects... obeying Him is just too hard and it can be difficult to believe that anyone could possibly accomplish such a thing. Satan whispers to us “You can never be saved!”, but that is a lie. 

Judgement… does the uncertainty of our success in obeying or pleasing God challenge us? Does the complexity and mystery of God cause us to wonder if we will be judged worthy? Well, if we trust in His Word and the gospel of Jesus, believe in Jesus, and ask forgiveness for those things we feel we have failed at, then we can rest assured that we are indeed worthy.  

And finally there is Fear… This is what we feel when we face Satan’s lie concerning our salvation, and the doubt that confronts us regarding our own worthiness. Fear causes so many of us to run away from the challenges we face in life and the greatest of these is believing and having faith in God and Jesus Christ. Until we overcome fear, as scripture tells us repeatedly to do by saying “Fear Not”, then we can never truly rest in the Lord, experience His peace, and walk eternally in His presence. 

Let’s study these things. 

How do we come before the Lord? Do we come boldly, or timidly? Do we come in expectation or in doubt like a mistreated dog or a street beggar? Do we come in fear or with confidence? The answer to these and other similar questions lies in our relationship with the Lord, how well we know His character, and our faith in the promises He has made through His word. But most of all it depends on the strength of our love for Him and our understanding of the depth of His love for us. Those who know Him, love Him, honor His commandments, and follow Jesus our savior, enter into His presence with confidence and great expectation.

Jesus talks about keeping (being obedient to) His commandments in the book of John. He isn't talking about an obedience based on fear, but an obedience founded in love and a desire to follow Him. When we obey the biblical commandments out of love and not duty, Jesus will manifest Himself in us, and we will experience the love of God; a love like none other.

Removing Doubt and Fear from our prayer lives as an impediment to the fullness of our faith and prayer is the subject of today’s message. The importance of prayer, and specifically a prayer in which we are confidently asking God to increase us in faith, can't be overstated. Haven’t we all prayed with a spirit of fear and doubt at some point in our lives? And, when we did this didn’t we find that the ground was shaking beneath us, and a fire burned within us? Yes, we had lost the Peace of God that we had felt when we prayed as we should? Taking the time to still our hearts before beginning to pray is a good way to steady our faith, and find courage in the low whisper of God. Taking a deep breath and then slowly letting it out is a wonderful way for our spirit to call Him.

Do we let the happenings of the world trouble us and destroy the faith and tranquility we have in Jesus Christ? Are we so worried about what is occurring in our day to day lives that we can no longer see or feel the eternal truth, which is that Jesus suffered so we could be redeemed; and that He has brought us peace and rest? If so it is time we started stripping the meaningless outer layers away from our life of faith, and get down to the one thing that truly matters... the Cross.

How much courage do we think we possess? Are we filled with fear and tell ourselves that we can’t do the challenging things in our lives? Does knowing that our God tells us to be strong and have courage help us face the intense situations, and the terrors of the world as we do His will? If we think that we are lacking in courage because we are afraid, we should look deeper into ourselves because courage isn’t the absence of fear… it is obeying God regardless of the fear that is present in us. When God, or angels tell us to fear not they are actually commanding us to stand firm in our faith and belief despite the natural human fear we are feeling.