Elijah said to her, "Don’t be afraid." — 1 Kings 17:13
I like reading books on World War II. In a great war there are many fronts, and battles take place in many arenas. In WWII, some were assigned to breaking codes, others to bombing bridges, others to storming beaches, others to getting civilians into bomb shelters, and so on.
In the war between good and evil, there are many fronts. The battle is played out in many ways. Truth vs. lies. Kindness vs. cruelty. Humility vs. pride. And so on. But one of the most important battle lines in this whole war is that battle line of fear.
I haven’t done the math on this, but I’m told that the command that appears most often in the Bible is: "Fear not" or "Do not be afraid." Clearly this is something that God is passionate about.
What is God getting at? Here are some thoughts:
1. What we fear moves us. It controls us. It forces us to change our behavior. If we fear only God and nothing else, then the enemy is robbed of much of his power to mess up our lives.
2. God knows the end of the story. He keeps the eternal perspective in view and wants us to also.
3. God knows His own character. He knows the love He has for us. He knows that we will never be forgotten or abandoned, even if it looks and feels like we are.
4. We are God’s sons and daughters; He wants us to live like the royalty we are.
These are a few of the reasons God is so hard at work in our lives to eradicate our fears. I have many fears … a big part of my prayer life is handing my fears over to God so He can replace them with courage, faith and peace. And God is doing that, one fear at a time. He is at work, making each of us strong.
Be encouraged!
Dwight
Dwight Clough is the author of four Christian books and is an active member of Lake City Church in Madison. This devotional is also available via email and you may review the archives back to 2002. To contact Dwight or Kim, use their contact form. You may also support their ministry.