More on ‘fear not’
Jeremiah said, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; it’s leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
The key to prosperity, and therefore peace and freedom from fear must be ‘trust in the Lord; take confidence in Him’. Once we learn this lesson we will bear fruit, even in the drought, we will have green leaves that are full of life and we will be nourished by the waters of living streams. Why worry?
Another scripture about fear that has come to my recent attention. I think He’s trying to show me something, I’m just not sure what it is. He supplies my needs. His provision for me and my family is a testimony to His ability to make me flourish and be fruitful by the living streams that He provides. So, I won’t worry regardless of what comes my way. I’ll do my best to make life’s decisions based on a confidence in Him and His living streams that supply my needs.
Walk on water
This idea of being fearful (actually of NOT being fearful) keeps gripping me. I can’t seem to shake it from my consciousness. God tells us over and over again in His Word that we shouldn’t be fearful. We know He takes care of us like a father and that we have nothing to fear. But, we fear anyway.
We ignore God’s calling on our lives because we’re afraid to step out. We know God is powerful and we know He tells us not to be fearful. It’s like Peter when He was called out of the boat to walk on the water with Jesus. Jesus called him out so he didn’t need to fear the wind and the water, right? But, he started to sink. Notice, though, when he starts to sink that he calls out to Jesus to save him. Peter didn’t lose faith in Jesus! He lost faith in his calling. It’s almost like you can see his thoughts, “did Jesus REALLY call me out of the boat?”; “hey, I’m not good enough to be walking on the water with Jesus”; and on and on. He forgot that Jesus called him out of the boat. And, if Jesus calls us out of the boat there is no reason to be concerned about the wind and the waves.
So, when Jesus calls you out of your boat – go for it! If he calls you, he will equip you. If he calls you, there is nothing to fear!
Fear
In the book of Isaiah, God says; “When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”
God tells us to ‘fear not’ because He has chosen us and He has redeemed us. We are His. I want to do a study of all the times God says ‘fear not’ in His Word. It’s like He knows that the biggest thing that holds us back from serving Him and ruthlessly becoming all that He has ordained us to be is fear.
There have been times when I’ve been paralyzed with fear over the years. What have I feared? Failure? God said that He will be with me and the waters will not sweep over me. So, what happens if I fail at something? God is there!
The one thing that I’ve become convinced of is that I cannot be the man God has purposed me to be and be afraid. I must believe in the calling He has on me and in the purpose He has for me and obediently leave fear out of the question.
