Fear Not

I’ve heard it said that the command to “fear not” appears in Scripture 364 times in some form, either fear not, do not be afraid or do not fear.  I have not counted them but I have done a search on Bible Gateway’s website and found over 200 references so I think it’s safe to say that God is serious about us not giving in to fear.

In Genesis 26:24, God told Abraham, “do not fear for I am with you.  He told Jacob in Genesis 46:3, “I am God; the God of your father, do not fear…”  In Numbers 21:34, as the Israelites were going up against the Amorites, God told Moses,  “Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, with all his people and his land;”  Apparently, God doesn’t just want to deliver your enemy into your hand, but also his possessions and his land.  In Deuteronomy 3:22, Moses said to the people, “You must not fear them, for the Lord your God Himself fights for you.”  

God has always been the one fighting for His people.  Moses was speaking to the Children of Israel…Abraham’s seed.  Each time He told them not to fear, He told them why…He told them that He, God Himself was with them.  Why is this important for you to know?  Because Galatians 3:29 assures you saying, “And if you are Christ’s, then are you Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.”  This means that if you have made Jesus Christ the Lord of your life…if you have accepted God’s free gift of salvation, then God has declared before all of heaven and earth that you are the seed of Abraham and have been commanded to fear not because the Lord God Himself is with you and fights for you.

It’s time we stop allowing the media to keep us in bondage through fear.  They have made it their business to continue to feed fear into the world by constantly keeping mass shootings at concerts, mass shootings at movie theaters, school shootings, blacks with no guns being shot by white cops, churches being shot up before our eyes, Americans being beheaded, GMO’s, cancer causing agents in food, the list just goes on.  As soon as it starts to die down, the devil will trigger another event and it starts all over again.  The TV shows we watch are now highlighting these events to help keep fear before our eyes.  You walk into a store and the newspaper headlines will scream something at you to keep that fear upper most in your thoughts and before your eyes.

But you have been redeemed from fear!  The Word of God, particularly Psalm 91 is your protection.  God has sent His Word to save, heal, protect, prosper and provide you and I with everything we could ever need.

Psalm 23:4 says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.  The word rod in the Hebrew is translated, spear, dart, scepter and mark of authority.  The word staff means support of every kind.  

You may need to open your mouth 100 times a day if necessary and declare I will not fear because God is with me but as you continue to confess this will find that those thoughts will come up less and less.  It’s not enough to just say that you do not fear…you have to tell the devil why you’re not going to fear…because God is with you.  The creator of the heavens and the earth…the one who created and upholds the universe is with you.  

You also have to imagine yourself with the victory over whatever it is that is trying to rob you of your peace.  You see, when you fear, you’re actually seeing that thing in your minds eye having that thing that is bringing the fear.  This though has built a stronghold within you and when the fear comes upon you, you see that thing with the ability to harm you.  Well, that image needs to be replaced with what you want.  Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinks within himself, so is he.”  The one who raised Jesus from the dead lives on the inside of you if you are born again and if you’re not then click here, pray this prayer and come into the family so that you can be assured of and partake of His protection.

In my next post we will dig deeper into Psalm 23.  It is the Word of God that will strengthen you and cause the fear that is trying to keep you in bondage to be removed.  The more you know God and His Word, you will find that the fear will have a hard time building a stronghold in your life.   

Until next time!