“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7
Welcome to the latest edition of my Blog!
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Reflecting on a song by Zach Williams, “Fear is a Liar”. Click HERE to see a lyrics video.
“When he told you you’re not good enough, when he told you you’re not right, when he told you you’re not strong enough, to put up a good fight…Fear he is a liar…”
My blogs are written for myself in mind. I publish them with a prayer that they may help someone in their struggle.
When we travel, we do so by plane, train, car, or bus mainly. Many of us do not fly, because of fear. We doubt the plane is safe or that something may happen that will cause the plane to fall from the sky. Yet many do fly, even with a bit of doubts and fears but we do fly. When we fly, do you know that we are exercising faith in the process. We trust the pilot is well trained in the plane’s operation and also on responding to a crisis. We trust the plane has been serviced by trained technicians and that they did not leave a wrench in the engine or a loose nut.
Many of us pray daily for freedom from our sins, and our struggles continue. The storms in our lives keep raging, yet we pray for sunshine, and it is still raining. Some days we are princes, other days, we are slaves to sin and despair.
We ask, what is missing? What must I do? Where is the rescue that was promised?
Doubts lead to fear, fear in turn paralyzes us. When we get paralyzed, we start to doubt, and the cycle repeats.
Perceived Reality
Nothing pleases the devil more than to have a Christian paralyzed and ineffective!
The devil knows he cannot steal our salvation, so he attempts to create in us situations where we doubt that God loves us, or that He has given up on us.
In Luke 22:31-32, Jesus explains what we may be going through. He was talking to Peter, who will go through a hard doubting/fearing period:
And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.“
During the sifting, it is a perceived reality. As long as we live in this reality, we will go around in the wilderness. Doubting, fearing, failing, doubting…
The devil is a liar from the beginning, lets read when the first doubt and fear was introduced.
And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:2-5
You will not surely die! The first lie spoken, and the first DOUBT planted in the mind of a sinless, innocent creation of God. She ate from the forbidden fruit and gave to her husband and he ate. Eve doubted God, probably questioning why God will keep knowledge from them. Not knowing God was protecting them and meant it for good.
Adam and Eve disobeyed God, and their eyes were then opened.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Genesis 3:7-8
The first FEAR! They hid themselves from the presence of the Lord. They felt shame and fear for the first time. That is why the devil loves to tempt us, to drive a wedge between us and God. The devil, the deceiver, the father of lies, is also called satan, the opposer, for he always opposes what God intends to accomplish in us. He opposes every believer and will try to keep you in chains so you will become worthless in the plans of God.
Reality
James wrote about the underlying cause of prayers not been answered, or why we may not receive the blessings we seek.
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. James 1:2-8
Doubts! If we do not trust the very Words of God, and His promises, how can we expect a blessing? We trust the pilot and place our life on the line when we fly. We trust the pharmacist to give us the correct medicine. Yet, when God says in His Word that He will do something for us, we doubt. Because it has not happened on our time, our way, our schedule, or the way we envisioned.
God uses the wiles of the devil to make us strong. When we have patience and endure the trials, this perfects us, makes us stronger.
My friends, we who struggle daily with sin must pray and NOT doubt the works of the Holy Spirit in us. The Holy Spirit is called The Comforter for this reason. To comfort us and let us know the battle is the Lord’s, not ours.
Jesus constantly reminded us to not doubt, to have faith, to persevere. A good illustration is given when Jesus asked Peter to leave the boat they were in and come to Him on the water, walking on the water.
So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Matthew 14:29-32
He doubted, felt fear, and the blessing stopped, he started to sink. For the moment, the waves, the wind, the water, were greater than Jesus to Peter. Are we like Peter when we face struggles?
Application
But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31
Satan may have been given permission to test us, and tempt us. But no matter how long God delays to come to our rescue, we need to wait on Him. God promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5.) If we feel He has left us, we are under the perceived reality.
The reality is, Jesus is there ALL the time, right next to you, like a friend that sticks closer than a brother.
We must remember that the spirit of fear does not come from God.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7
In our youth, some of us were fortunate to have a bigger brother, a stronger friend, someone to assist us when we were confronted by a bully, and succumbed to fear. They helped us face our fears and defeat them. My friends, we have stronger Brother, a stronger Friend!
The Lord Jesus Christ!
We must always believe that in all things that we go through, God is there:
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
This verse gives us hope, that no matter what, all we go through is for our good, to make us stronger. God is making diamonds from dirty ores. The sifting is a process!
This verse helps our doubts and we can casts the fears into the fire. So, when we are confronted with an enemy that seems too powerful, then we read this and take to heart:
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31
Let’s Trust God! Let’s finish the race. (2 Timothy 4:7)
Abba Father,
Increase my faith so that I may rest on your promises. Remove all doubts from my soul. Your Word, oh God, I will believe and not doubt. Cast away my fears so I can walk with you, knowing that I am aways protected. I will not listen to the lies of the evil one, rebuke him for me oh Lord! Like King David prayed, create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Teach me Your Word my Father, so I can tell others, and lead them to you, for you are the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ!
Amen!
Other verses about fears and doubts:
Ephesians 6:10-18
Deuteronomy 1:19-33
1 Samuel 17:1-58
1 John 4:18
Other verses about satan’s influence:
Job 1:6-12
2 Corinthians 2:11
Revelation 12:10
To God be the glory! By Him, For Him!
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
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