For years now, with
increasing intensity, the world nations have risen up in civil war and against
each other; we have heard of major natural disasters, especially crippling
earthquakes and tsunamis. Why, just in
the United States alone in 2015 there were 15,696 murders; 90,185 rapes; 327,374
robberies ($390 million in losses); and property crimes (the loss of currency,
jewelry, motor vehicles, electronics and firearms) came to more than
$12 billion. Terrifying things are happening
all around us. I am here to tell you
that I am a witness for the Truth in all this…my witness to you? Put your trust in the Lord and be Courageous!
“For God hath not
given us the spirit of fear; but of power and of love, and a sound mind.” -2 Timothy 1:7
Fear is an emotion that can result in two actions. There is a healthy fear; a type of fear that
shows respect, for instance: where your
Mom told you not to touch the stove because it was “hot!” When we did not listen to her and we touched
it our finger got burned. From that
day on we feared touching the hot stove because we knew the result it would
bring. There is an unhealthy fear; a
type of fear that paralyses us, for instance:
where we hear about the murder and mayhem all around us in the world and
we withdraw, spending our lives not even venturing out of the house. It is this second unhealthy fear I believe
Timothy was referring to, but I also think that unhealthy fear can manifest
itself in more ways than retreating in isolation. For instance, when we see and greet our
neighbor every day but because of fear of rejection we never share with him the
greatest thing in our life: Jesus. Another example is where we are going through
a tough time, a trial or storm in our life.
We tend to withdraw and put on a false face, not letting anyone really
see how we are hurting. We feel hopeless
and alone, fearing it will even get worse.
There is only one way this fear can be conquered…by God’s love.
“There is no fear in
love [dread does not exist], but full-grown complete, perfect love turns fear
out of doors and expels every trace of terror!” – 1 John4:18a AMP
I once said, “Oh to be free from the terror of my health problems,”
and even feared that I would die, but God had made a promise to me when I first
went into the hospital last September, “This
is not unto death.” Even when I was
so despondent I would cling to that promise.
The more I clung to it, the more I felt God’s love envelope me. The more I felt His love, the more my fear
ran away. Satan tried to thrust the fear
back at me many times as I became more ill and ended up back in the hospital
but I clung to God’s promise all the more and He surrounded me with His
Presence and Love all the more.
“May Christ through
your faith actually dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your
hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love, that you
may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints, God’s
devoted people, the experience of that love what is the breadth and length and
height and depth of it; that you may really come to know [practically, through
experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere
knowledge without experience; that you may be filled [through all your being]
unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine
Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!” – Ephesians 3:17-19 AMP
Jesus filled me with Himself…he is Perfect Love, and His Presence
drove the fear away. Did my situation
change? No, I was still very ill but I
kept reaching out to Him, trusting His Word, and expecting the fulfillment of
His promise. It has been almost a year
since I started this journey of illness and fear but I learned that all I had
to do was keep reading His Word, grasping every promise I read there, and bask
in His Love…filled full with His Presence.
God has delivered me from the fear.
He will deliver you too.
What about fear about the violence in our communities; burglaries, assaults,
rapes, people killing police, police killing people, and so on?
“..for He [God]
Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up not leave you
without support. I will not, I will not,
I will not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let you down (relax
My hold on you)! Assuredly not! So we take comfort and are encouraged and
confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with
alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified]. What can man do to me?” –Hebrews 13:5b-6 AMP
In Joshua 1 we learn how the Lord Himself spoke to and encouraged
Joshua to take up the cause of His people after Moses died. He told Joshua to, “…be strong and very courageous;”
God also told him to be reading and meditating on His Word day and night, “This
Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall read [and meditate
on] it day and night, so that you may be careful to do [everything] in
accordance with all that is written in it; for then you will make your way
prosperous…” then He goes on to repeat, “Be
strong and courageous! Do not be terrified or dismayed (intimidated), for the
Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” –Joshua 1:1-9 AMP
So Joshua would find his strength and freedom from fear’s
intimidation by reading and meditating on God’s Word. We can be strengthened in the same way. The more we read His Word, the more we get to
know Him, and the more we are aware of His Presence and Love. Even the Apostle Paul encourages us to, “…draw your strength from Him and be
empowered through your union with Him and in the power of His boundless might,”
(Ephesians 6:10 AMP) when He tells us to put on the full armor of God , “…so that you may be able to successfully
stand up against all the schemes and the strategies and the deceits of the
devil…so that you will be able to successfully resist and stand your ground in
the evil day of danger, and having done everything that the crisis demands, to
stand firm in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious,” (Ephesians
6:11, 13 AMP).
Are you ready, like me, to leave fear in our dust? There is no room for fear in the Kingdom of
God because God is Love and His very Presence expels fear. Brothers and Sisters in Christ, it is time to
move into our victory stance!
“I will pursue mine enemies, and overtake them;
Neither will I turn again till they are consumed.
I will smite them through,
So that they shall not be able to rise:
They shall fall under my feet.” –Psalm 18:37-38 ASV
Days of Elijah –
Twila Paris (written by Donnie McClurkin)
