This coming Monday will be a different perspective on fear. Unfortunately, these crazy times breed depression and anxiety, but this post should give you a sense of calmness and hope for today.
Good Morning Meetpastordan Readers… I love this topic because it is based on a conundrum. For instance, everyone wants to be fearless. We hear exciting stories of knights, warriors, and our own modern day heroes as being fearless. But unfortunately, the obstacle in the way of being fearless is fear itself. Therefore, in order to be fearless, one has to fear less…and therein lies the challenge. Fear is that emotional culprit that can keep us from achieving our full potential, or living life to the fullest. Fear is the excuse for resisting change and staying in bondage to a mediocre existence. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard, “I really want to, but I just can’t!” or “I wish I could, but I just don’t have the courage.” The biggest detriment to change is fear of the unknown.
If you’ve seen Star Wars or Superman, you know the superhero wins the battles and gets the pretty girl in the end. But you also know that they are superheroes because they plug into a “force” beyond themselves that gives them supernatural power. In other words, they know their source of strength! It’s easy to fantasize about this and wish you were a superhero, but then reality sets in and you say, “Ah, it’s only Hollywood; that’s not true.” But I’m here to tell you…it is absolutely true! In fact, available to all of us is the opportunity to plug into a power that can propel us to superhero status in our own lives; a power that makes Skywalker’s “force”, or Superman’s Krypton-powered source, pale by comparison. It’s all about knowing our source of strength. Clark Kent was a mild-mannered reporter until he chose to become Superman. We too can be mild-mannered, timid, fearful or stymied, but when we plug into our source of strength, we can accomplish God’s purpose in our lives.
Luckily, we serve a loving, merciful, and gracious Father who knows His proudest creation intimately. He knows our strengths as well as our weaknesses, and just as He promised, “I’ll never leave you; I will never forsake you.” He knows that we’re living in a fallen world, that we’re in these fleshly bodies, and that we have a formidable enemy who relentlessly tries to shipwreck our effort to change. But when we come face-to-face with our own insufficiencies, if we call on His name, He will answer. This is confirmed in James 4:10: “When you come humbly before the Lord and admit your dependence on Him, He will lift you up and give you honor.”
Fear is contrary to God’s plan for us. We are told in 2 Timothy 1:7, “God didn’t give us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of love, power and self-control.” The power referenced in that Scripture is not our power, but the power that comes from the indwelling Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1:14 confirms that: “The Holy Spirit is God’s guarantee that He will give us everything He promised and that He has purchased us to be His own people.” The Holy Spirit is a gift from God so we can rise above our circumstances, or our lot in life, to become the person He created us to be. He does not want fear to keep us in bondage; that’s why the Holy Spirit empowers us to win! The only stipulation for tapping into this source is being in Christ. If you’re in Christ, you’re IN! And just as it said above; “He purchased us to be His own people.”
I would like to focus right now on the matter of anxiety. In this fallen world, anxiety is rampant due to more and more uncertainties, such as the Wuhan Virus, economic uncertainty, job security, or personal safety issues that pervade our lives. So, what exactly is anxiety? It is an unpleasant state of inner turmoil, often accompanied by nervous behaviors caused by the fear of future events or situations. How do we deal with this? We first have to recognize the source of the turmoil, and that would be satan. Remember, his sole purpose is to keep us separated from God’s unconditional, unending, unfailing love. As you might expect, one of his favorite tactics is to make us think our challenges are bigger than our God. Therefore, the worry, doubt, fear, guilt, shame and remorse that results can keep us mired in emotional bondage for years.
But look at what Jesus taught about anxiety: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life…Can any one of you worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:25,27,33) He goes on to say, “But seek first the Kingdom of Heaven and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” In other words, don’t let satan distract you, but keep your focus on God because He is your rock, your salvation, your shield, your protector, and your provider. As James 4:10 pointed out above, “when you admit your dependence on Him, He will lift you up and give you honor.”
Sadly, those of this world have no knowledge of the supernatural power that God has given His children. Jesus explained this in John 14:15-17: “If you love Me, obey My commandments. And I will ask the Father and He will give you another Counselor who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who will lead you into all truth. The world at large cannot receive Him because it isn’t looking for Him and doesn’t recognize Him. But you do…” Jesus made it very clear that this is a gift to empower all Christ-followers to fulfill their purpose on earth. Ephesians 2:10 now refers to all Christ-followers as “masterpieces: “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so that we can now do the good things He planned for us long ago.” (even before the world was created Eph.1:4)
Succeeding in overcoming the evil schemes of the devil is a challenge for all Christ-followers. But the good news is… success comes as we begin recognizing his schemes, then rebuking them with the authority Christ gave us in Luke 10:19: “I have given you authority over all the evil schemes of the devil…No harm will come to you!” This challenge is clearly a spiritual battle for our souls, but the power to win that battle comes from the Holy Spirit. The truth is, we are already victorious; we just have to know that and stand on it!
The more we grow in this manner, the more we develop a sense of confident assurance, and a sense of peace and serenity that drives out fear. Now we are fearless because we know who we are in Christ: our sins are forgiven; we’ve inherited eternal life; we have the indwelling Holy Spirit; we are grafted into God’s family; we are now worthy and acceptable in His eyes; we are heir to all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly realm, and we are heir to all the promises in the Bible! When we are standing on this Rock, what do we have to fear? Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, and God is our rock, our salvation, our shield, our protector, and our provider. It makes ya wanna sing that ol’ Gospel song, “This world is not my home; I’m just passin’ though.” J
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May God Bless Ya…
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
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