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.
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