It Is I Be Not Afraid
From the beginning of time what emotion do we see as a major fruit of the devil. Gen 3:10 “And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself”. When Adam was in Sin what did he feel? Fear. Where the Lord is, is there fear or peace? Psa 119:165 “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them”. If you’re walking in Christ, peace will be the norm. The ones who are afraid are still too attached to this earthly life. When you let go of this world, and give all to the Lord, you will see the great peace he has to offer.
When Jesus’s disciples went out to sea, and the storms began to rage what did we witness? The disciples became fearful for their lives Luke 8:24-25 “And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm. And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him”. How did Jesus reply to the disciples? Jesus didn’t say to them where is your sword? Why didn’t you bring a bigger boat? Or where is your anchor? Jesus said “Where is your faith?” Less faith equals more fear. How? Would you fall backwards into the arms of someone you trust? That would be an easy yes. If I asked you to do it blindfolded, we’d probably reply yes, although we know we’d be a bit more scared. If we had to do it into the arms of a stranger whilst blind folded many of us would decline or be more fearful. Why? Not because the stranger may not be capable, but we don’t trust the stranger. Likewise, when the storms of life come our way, we fear because we don’t trust that God can make a way of escape for us, carry us through the storm or calm the raging seas themselves. Hence the one who wants to pull us away from God is Satan. Why? Because people who are scared are easier to control!
God expects our complete trust!
Our God is a loving Father, who wants his children to trust in him. When the Israelites of old came up against nations physically more powerful than them, it was easy to look on the outward appearance and think “these guys are much bigger than us God can’t do it”. They gave into their fears the first time round. Numbers 13:30 “And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. 31 But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. 32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature”. For this lack of faith God didn’t give that generation the land but gave it to the generation which came after, which trusted in him. We sometimes aren’t aware how much we restrict the blessings of God because we’re too afraid to trust in him. Forty years later Joshua completed the mission Joshua 1:1 “Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel”. Notice what the Lord says Joshua 1:9 “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest”. The Lord is aware that the devil likes to instil fear into us, but he wants us to remember that he is with us wherever we go. God did not create man to be fearful 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind”. When we’re operating in the spirit [character/mind] of fear then we’re not walking in God’s plan we’re in Satan’s. In these last days there will be many trials and tribulations Satan is going to throw our way, he’s going to stop at nothing to decide the fate of our eternal destiny. Satan knows he cannot control us whilst we’re not fearful. When he can get someone to be fearful, he can make them commit many irrational actions. When herd animals, like buffalo, are chased by lions they know if they stand their ground, they are more powerful than the lions. What the lions attempt to do is instil fear, to get the herd to panic. The panic spreads to the rest of the herd, then mistakes are made, buffalo hurt each other in the panic to save themselves, then the lions circle in for the straggler. 1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour”.
The fearful will not enter the Kingdom
Revelation 21:7 “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death”. The fearful will not inherit the kingdom, the overcomers will. You ask how can I be an overcomer? With God you can overcome. Matthew 19:26 “…With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible”. Don’t put your trust in men but in God. Psalm 146:3 “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help”. We need to be like David who saw the obstacle and trusted in his God. 1 Samuel 17:26 “And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
Consider this for a moment; our Father can see all things. Proverbs 15:3 “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good”. Hence if we’re in danger, he can see it. Doesn’t he have power to prevent it? Jeremiah 32:27 “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?” To have no fear we need to love him. 1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love”. How can you love someone you don’t know? To know him we need to read and understand his word. Romans 10:17 “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”. Then we must practice that which we have heard and understood. Romans 2:13 “For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified”. Then you shall know and love the Lord John 14:21 “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him”. Have you noticed how it all comes back to obedience? When you disobey God eventually you will be taken by the Devil and will only be afraid.
How the devil works
Satan uses fear to control nations and our Father gives us a glimpse into how it works. When King Saul left the presence of the Lord and kept walking in disobedience, eventually the Holy Spirit left him and he was given over to the Devil. 1 Samuel 16:14 “But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him”. Hence, we start to see fear taking over Saul even more till the end of his life. The Devil started to put thoughts into the mind of Saul that he must fear evil from David. 1 Samuel 19:9 “And the evil spirit from the Lord was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand. 10 And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin: but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night”. Now notice how Saul starts to spread that fear to others. 1 Samuel 22:7 “Then Saul said unto his servants that stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds; 8 That all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that sheweth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or sheweth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?” Then we see others such as Doeg the Edomite acting on that fear, knowing or not knowing that they are now working under the power of Satan 1 Samuel 22:9 “Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub”. Therefore, Satan often likes to instil fear in world leaders as well, as their fear then descends to the public. This is the tactic that he’s using on the earth today, which is why even now there are many events in the media to get people in a panic. Why? Because it makes the people easier to control. This pattern of fear will continue till the second coming of Christ.
The Lord is clear when it comes to fear
Deuteronomy 1:29
Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them.
Deuteronomy 7:18
Thou shalt not be afraid of them: but shalt well remember what the Lord thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt.
2 Chronicles 32:7
Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him.
Psalm 3:6
I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.
Psalm 56:11
In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.
Proverbs 3:25
Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.
In conclusion I hope you can see that our God and our Lord command us to trust in them and to not be afraid in any circumstance, because they will protect us wherever we may be. Where we begin to fear our work is to get closer to them. Always remember what our Lord has left us John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid”. Let us remember this promise so that when the Lord returns and the mountains are removed out of place, and the world will be destroyed with hail we can stand through the storm and hear our Lord say John 6:20 “…It is I; be not afraid”.
