Do Not Be Afraid

 Do Not Be Afraid

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help the; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” Isaiah 41: 10

Sometimes we humans make things complex, but God has simplified faith for us. We must choose to use our faith and believe His word and act upon it or not to believe it. That is our choice.

Why did God tell us to fear not? Because He is with us. Imagine, God is with you and me. Why? So, we will not be fearful. That seems clear and simple, doesn’t it? Fear not, because I your God am with you.

But He did not stop there. He went on to say, “Be not dismayed.” What does that word dismayed mean? It means disappointed, unhappy. A feeling of alarm, fear, or serious disappointment. God does not want us to let our courage breakdown. Why? Because He is our God. We do not need to be in stress, or lose courage, He says, “I am your God.” And let me tell you He is a big God. There is nothing impossible for Him. He can do anything.

Have you ever been fearful. . . I mean downright scared. I remember when I was a kid, we had a two-story house, and the sun was setting. I had to go downstairs to get something for my mother. Now this is during the time when we did not have air conditioning, so we kept the windows up and even our doors unlocked. There was still just enough light outside with the setting sun that I did not need to turn on a lamp.

As I walked past the windows I saw out of the corner of my eye, something move. I looked, and there was a man standing at the window. He said something, but it scared me so much, I took off running upstairs, screaming, and yelling for help. (Remember I was a kid.)

Well, they checked it out, but of course he was gone. (I guess I scared him with my screaming and yelling.) I remember that to this day, and I am eighty years old. When I walk by a window I automatically look at the window. Silly? Maybe. But what happened that day is etched in my memory.

As a child, I was not thinking God’s words, “Fear not.” My adrenalin was pumping faster than my legs were running. God had given me faith, but I did not stop and use my faith. I let fear take over and rule my thoughts, emotions, and my heart.

Do we still do that today?

Prayer:

Lord, I confess there are times when I do not obey you, and I allow fear to rule in my heart and mind. Forgive me. Help me. Help me to stand strong in my faith and rebuke fear when it raises its ugly head. Help me to remember that fear comes from the enemy to steal the peace you have given me. Amen

 

This is from an excerpt in my book Listen Close.

Want A Quiet and Peaceable Life?

 

"I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." 1 Timothy 2:1-4

When I read these verses, I realized that God was giving us instructions as well as urging us. Exhort means urging, strongly encouraging. What is God urging us to do?

He said, “First of all,” I want to stop here a minute. God’s words “first of all” should say to us that what He is about to ask us to do is important. We are to do it first. So, what do we do first? We are to make supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks for all men.

Supplication means we are making a request and bringing a petition to God earnestly and humbly for all men–for kings, those in authority (yes, even those we do not like and those in different political camps).

Prayer means entreat, implore, request. To me it is talking to God and asking God to have mercy upon all men, kings, and those in authority. Request God to help them make wise decisions for their land and its people.

Intercession means intervening on behalf of another. We can intercede for others by praying for their needs will be met, both physical, emotional, spiritual, and financial.

Giving thanks means thanking God. Once we have prayed for all men, kings, and those in authority, we need to thank God for answering our prayers for them. They need God too. By thanking God, we let Him know we expect Him to answer our prayers, and we are grateful that He does.

Why does He tell us to do this? It is for our own good. God truly wants all of us to live a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

Therefore, instead of bashing the political leaders, kings, and all men, we do not care for, we need to obey God (be obedient) and pray for them. Remember God is the one who can change things and people…through prayer. Our doing this will be pleasing to God. Remember, He wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of truth.

Question: Would we rather spend our time doing what God said, so we will have peaceable lives, or would we rather spend our time spewing anger, hate, and criticizing others? Which do you think offers us peace?

I happened to listen to a late-night talk show about three years ago, (I don’t normally watch these things) and did not find their bashing people to be funny, nor find humor at the expense of another human being. Immediately, 1 Timorthy 2:1-4 came to my mind. 

Prayer: 

Lord, help each of us come to you in prayer and thanksgiving each day and intercede for all men, kings, and men in authority everywhere regardless of whether we like and agree with them or not. We pray for them to come to know you, to come into the knowledge of truth, and to have wisdom to lead so that we can have a quiet an peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. Help us to realize our responsibility as a child of God to pray and interced for others, not just the ones we love and like, but also for those we do not like. Amen

(excerpt of this post taken from my book Between Me and You.)

Listen For God's Voice

 Andrew Murray said, "Nothing so effectually hinders hearing God’s voice as opening the heart too much to other voices. A heart too deeply interested in the news, the literature, and the society of this world cannot hear the divine voice. It needs stillness, retirement, and concentration to give God the heed He claims."

Oh Lord God, I ask for you to help me and my family to be still and hear your voice telling us where you want us to go and we trust you to get us there at the right time. In Jesus name. Amen