From my childhood forward, I have lived a life of
fear. Over the years, God taught me that He is with us through whatever we are
afraid of...high in an airplane and deep in the darkest woods, in the elevator
and on the escalator, at the dentist or the surgery room, in the classroom and
the jail room, in a fear-filled marriage or place of employment, etc. He is
with us, just as He was with His faithful young Hebrew men in the fiery furnace
(Daniel 3:24-25).
Good fear is instinctive fear, which God gave
us to protect us from danger, and to keep us from suffering needlessly. This
gives us a healthy fear of the negative elements of life, so we will walk
cautiously through them. However, other fears are born in us through terrifying
people and experiences. Satan lies to us in these negative situations, intending
to cripple us for life. This fear often keeps us from stepping out in faith to live
the life God intends for us.
Many fears are unreasonable and groundless.
They victimize and debilitate us. Nightmares will often offer us a clue about
the negative stress going on in our subconscious mind; and once we recognize
and settle these issues, they will no longer bother us. When fear torments us,
God’s perfect love swoops in and covers us with His feathers (1 John 4:18; Psalm 91:4). We fear no evil when our
Great Shepherd keeps watch over us (Psalm 23:1-4). By proving His love and faithfulness to us, God supersizes our faith.
Over the years, God taught me to stop trying to control my life and to enter into His rest instead (Hebrews 4:10). His faithfulness and direction over every moment of my life help me to relinquish my fears. Living life one moment at a time helps me to prevent the fears from the past and the fear of the future from affecting my current moment. As the current moments of my life string together, God proves to me that He is with me, working out even the bad times for my good (Romans 8:28).
Prayer:
Father God, remind us that the perfect way to
cast out fear is to praise You. You inhabit our praises, so we enter into Your
presence with praise (Psalm 100:4). You deliver us from fear through praise (Psalm 22:3). You are always faithful and always living in us, walking with us
through every trial and temptation we encounter. You always provide us with
hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). No
matter how frightening a storm appears, You will strengthen us and guard us
from evil (2 Thessalonians 3:3),
and for this we praise Your name forever.
Thought for the Day:
During the storms of life, God gives us the
faith to go ahead and sing in the rain.