Fear Not

Isaiah 41:10 – Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

What was the first thing the angel said to Mary and to Joseph? "Fear not…" (Luke 1:30; Matthew 1:20)

What was the first thing the angel said to the shepherds in the fields? "Fear not…" (Luke 2:10)

What was the first thing uttered by the angel to Mary at the tomb? "Do not be afraid…" (Matthew 28:7)

Fear is tool of the devil. He uses it every chance he gets, in every part of life: fear of not being liked, fear of not being loved, fear of losing your job, fear of not doing a good job, fear of being lonely, fear of being hurt; the list goes on and on.

But the Bible tells us not to fear, in fact it states that we have nothing to fear. Our Lord is King and His love is unending; what have we to fear? Each time we are asked to step out on faith, we are in fact being asked to say no to fear. Oh sure, God can part the Red Sea, but can He help me pay my rent? Oh yeah, the Lord has closed the mouths of lions to protect His own, but will He protect my home while I'm sleeping? Oh definitely, one touch from Christ healed the woman with the 12 year issue of blood, but can He heal my headache, my sore throat, my sore muscles? He said He came to heal the broken hearted, but does He really understand how much I've been hurt? Dear one, do you realize who it is we speak of? King of Kings, Lord of Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, guide across Jordan, the one for whom all things are possible: "Jesus said to them, 'With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'" (Matthew 19:26) What have we to fear? Enemies, sickness, loneliness, poverty, illness, man, beast, death and the devil have all been conquered; indeed what is there left to fear?

My friend, do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged. Do not be fooled by appearances. Do trust Him; His ways are higher than ours. What He has in store for you is greater than you can imagine!

Isaiah 35:4 – Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; He will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
There is no searching of His understanding.
He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
–
Isaiah 40:28-31 NKJ

Prayer: Be with me Master, for today I've decided to step out of the boat and walk across the water to your loving arms and everlasting life. I've been practising long enough; getting my feet wet on the side of the boat just won't due. Here I go….splash!