The Lord spoke to Abraham in a vision these exceeding great and precious promises. “Fear not, I am thy shield and exceeding great reward.” May The Holy Spirit cause us to lay hold of those words today. What dispels fear and anxiety in our lives beloved is an awareness of the presence of The Lord, and His promise of being our shield and great reward. Jehovah spoke these words to the floundering nation of Israel, “fear not for I am with thee, be not dismayed; for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness.”
The answer to any and all fears is the presence and promises of our glorious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the realization that He is ultimately our shield and great reward. Every time we read the words “fear not” in Scripture, the person to whom God speaks those words is afraid or anxious about something. Perhaps that someone filled with fear and anxiety is you today. Know this dear ones, within the providence of God, it is no coincidence that you are reading this blog right now out of the thousands or wonderful blogs that are circulating on the internet. The reason why you are reading this is because your God wants you to know that He is with you. He is your shield and your strength. He is your reward.
We need to realize that anything and everything in this life is subject to change, but the Everlasting God changes not. If your health is causing you fear and anxiety today, The Great Physician Jesus Christ would say to you, fear not, for I am with you. If your financial portfolio just washed down the proverbial drain, and you are perplexed over where the money will come for the bills or retirement, Jehovah Jireh, Jesus Christ would say to you, fear not, for I am with you. If you are in the midst of intense persecution at work, or at school or within your family because of your faith in Jesus Christ and your uncompromising stand for His truth, The Lord Jesus would say unto you, fear not, for I am with you. In spite of the physical pain, or loss, or opposition, one thing remains true, Jesus is your shield and exceeding great reward Who would say to you and me, fear not.
I have discovered that the emotion of fear is as natural as is the feeling of heat when I place my hand over a fire. The good news is that as adopted sons and daughters of the King of Kings, we no longer need to live in fear or be gripped by fear. The apostle Paul wrote about fears without and fears within; but the apostle John wrote that perfect love casts out fear. The Only One Who can provide perfect, fear dispelling love for you and me is Jesus Christ. You see beloved, if I were to say to you fear not, my ability to dispel that fear has limitations. But when Jesus says to you or me, fear not, a power and strength that is greater than the universe He created stands behind that promise.
When I am afraid, my focus is on the temporal instead of the eternal. I lose sight of the big picture when I am afraid. The fear that I have takes on a life of its own. It then begins to consume my thoughts, attitudes and actions. Fear then paralyzes faith and trust. Fear is a very real part of living in an unredeemed body and in an unredeemed world. You can count on it. But take heart today my friend. There is One Who knows you and loves you and died on the cross for your sin, Who has promised to you that neither death, not life, not angels, not principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, not height. nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When you take your last breath on earth beloved, you will leave behind loved ones, friends, homes, bank accounts and everything else that is of this world, but there will be One Who will walk you through the valley of the shadow of death, and that One is Jesus Christ. It is this same Jesus Who would say to you today, trust Me, look to Me; give your fear to Me, for I am your shield and great reward. Moses endured, because he saw Him Who is invisible. May The King Eternal, Immortal, Invisible and Only wise God dispel your fears, and grant you the all sufficient grace and faith to glorify Him today.
Powerful words for me today. Sure am thankful for your commitment to preaching the Word. The joy of the LORD is my (our) strength!!
Those words cross my mind at least once a day. They are very powerful and always put my mind at ease. When my grandson was six years old and entering first grade, he was feeling very fearful. His Mom drove him to school for a couple of weeks and then told him you are going to have to learn to get on the bus to go to school. I was at their house that morning and as I was holding his hand walking outside through the garage—-there on the garage floor was a child’s book about God. The page that it was opened to said—Fear Not For I Am Always With You. I said—-Brady, look—this is a “God Wink”—-God is telling you that he will be right there at school with you. Immediately, a smile came on his face and he did just fine getting on the bus. At first I thought–why is that book on the garage floor—then I realized it was there for a very important reason—for Brady. Thank you God!
Thank you Pastor Ray. We all need to be reminded of the eternal love of Jesus Christ.