Fear NOT Fridays #8 - Held In God's Hand
I once heard a preacher say that "do not be afraid" occurs 365 times in the Bible. That's enough for every day of the year, which means that we should never live in fear. I have not yet confirmed that amount of "fear nots" but that sermon inspired this series:
Fear NOT Fridays.
Once or twice a month I will feature a Bible verse or passage from God's Word proving that we should NOT be afraid.
I do want to clarify one thing before continuing - "fear God" is NOT the same as being afraid. When it says "fear God" in the Bible that means showing reverence, respect and absolute awe of our Heavenly Father. Whereas, fear means - a very unpleasant or disturbing feeling caused by the presence or imminence of danger.
We learn in Ephesians 6:12 (see below) that we, as Christians, are fighting a spiritual battle everyday. What if the entire world is currently in an information war? - a war of the mind? We are constantly being bombarded with things that we should fear, like the current illness/virus or an impending nuclear war. FEAR, Fear, fear on social media, television, computers, smartphones - fear is being broadcast everywhere and all the time. Again, near the end of the verse below we see that our struggle is against the evil forces in the heavenly realms. Well, our fear is what those evil forces feed on - we are making them fat by being afraid. That is why this series will help us rid our lives of fear and thereby starve the evil of this world.
Featured passage: Isaiah 41:10
Let's begin by defining the word
"dismayed" - experiencing or showing feelings of alarmed concern; upset, worried, agitated.
I chose the above picture because that is how I think about this verse. Our Heavenly Father holding us in his hand is precious and personal. Just like that infant, we have nothing to fear - God will help us and strengthen us - upholding us every second of every day.
And, most importantly, focus on the sentence after "Fear not":
"I am with you"
That means we are NEVER alone - God is ALWAYS with us.
Previous FEAR NOT posts:
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I did not know that "do not be afraid" occurs 365 times in the Bible. Thanks so much for linking up at the Unlimited Link Party 80. Pinned.
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