Principles of wisdom.
“Have no fear”. ( vs. 25-26) The words of
Christ himself many times over were “fear not”. The words of the angels were
always “fear not”; How or why can we fear not? Because God is for us, God is
with us, and His law is right and just!
What kinds of things do we fear in life? If we didn’t have anything in
our life that troubled us - our human nature would trust in self. God desires
that we trust in Him. I think our greatest fears in life come from those things
that we have no control over! And, maybe that’s a good thing because we can
overcome our fears by having faith in the one who can control things! When I
use the word fear I mean all levels of fear from general apprehension and worry
to dread and terror.
Fear starts out when we are very young with fears of things like
darkness, monsters, etc. and it continues into our teenage years with fears of
things like rejection, humiliation and failure. But, Adulthood is also filled
with possible fears such as fear of disease, death, financial problems, broken
relationships, loved ones being hurt, storms, failure, aging, crime, etc.
Focus on God And “Fear Not” - This is the consistent message of the Bible regarding
fear. For example when Peter Walked on the water Peter’s fear got the victory
only when he lost his focus on Jesus. In Isaiah 26: 3 God has said "I will
keep in perfect peace all who trust in me, who thoughts are fixed on me!"
We also see the same idea and Philippians 4: 6-7 which says "do not be
anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your request to God. Then the peace of God, which transcends
all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
There will be times when anxiety and fear will come into our lives, it
is then that we have a choice to make - we can choose to focus on the problem
and be overcome with fear or we can choose to focus on God; knowing He will be
at our side.
Psalm 27 says:
“The
LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? (compared to darkness and
feeling lost) The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?
(compared to my own strength, wealth, or power) When the wicked advance against
me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. Though
an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me,
even then I will be confident. (Why? Because God is my protector.) One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I
seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to
gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of
trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he
will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock. Then
my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I
will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD. ( A good thing to do when we are
afraid.) Hear my voice when I call, LORD; be merciful to me and answer
me. My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, LORD, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me, do not turn
your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or
forsake me, God my Savior. Though my father and mother (or anyone else) forsake
me, the LORD will receive me. Teach me your way, LORD; lead me in a straight
path because of my oppressors. Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations. I
remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of
the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” (The best thing we can do!)
No comments:
Post a Comment