Skip to main content

Fear Not, Beloved - Fear Not by Pastor Charlie Handren

By Anonymous
     This week’s Fighter Verses, drawn from Isaiah 43, are timely for our congregation. I encourage you to carefully and prayerfully meditate on every word. Isaiah writes, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior” (Isaiah 43:1-3).
     In these verses God gives us a gracious command, tells us the foundation of that command, and makes two interrelated promises. First, God commands us not to fear. Fear comes in many forms, and it has many causes, but at the root of all fear is a lack of faith. As Pastor Kevin mentioned in last week’s devotional, to get real about our fear is to get real about our faith because facing our fear leads us to ask questions like these: Do I know God? Do I understand his character? Do I believe his promises? Do I live in light of the fact that, in Christ, he is always with me? Why am I afraid? So, in the end, God’s command to stop fearing is an invitation to search our hearts and press on in believing.
     Second, God tells us that the reason we have no need to fear is because he has redeemed us, he has called each of us by name, and he has made us his own. And while Isaiah first wrote these words to Israel, they were ultimately intended for all who belong to God by faith in Jesus Christ. Since our destiny is secure in Christ and our circumstances are under his care and control, what have we to fear? The opposite of fear is faith in the faithfulness of God, and the fruit of such faith is the peace of God in Christ (see Philippians 4:4-7).
     Third, God has promised that we will endure many things in this life. We will walk through water and rivers, fire and flames. To put it the other way around, God has not promised to keep us from the difficulties and sufferings of this life, or what James calls “trials of various kinds” (James 1:2). However, along with this, God does promise that he will be with us in suffering so that none of these things will ultimately overcome us. And the main reason he gives for having such confidence in him is that he is the Lord our God, he is the Holy One of Israel who was faithful to Israel and who is now faithful to all who belong to him in Christ, and he is our Savior who has saved us and will protect us both now and forevermore. So, what have we to fear?
     So, fear not, Beloved—fear not. Put your faith in the faithfulness of God, believe his words, and know his peace. “Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen” (Hebrews 13:20-21).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reflective Glory: How the Moon Displays the Mercy of God

By
Our sun is a fitting metaphor for the glory of God. In the context of our solar system, it is massive, bright, beautiful, powerful, self-sufficient, heat-producing, life-giving, and dangerous. It is, by far, the dominant feature of our solar system and without it the system would fling apart and all living things therein would die.  On the other hand, our moon is a fitting metaphor for human beings, especially for those who believe in Jesus Christ. First, compared to the sun, the moon is tiny and dim. The sun is 400 times larger than the moon, its mass is 27 million times greater than the mass of the moon, and from our perspective its light shines 450,000 times brighter than that of the moon. The sun is so much greater than the moon that it’s difficult to quantify and express the difference. Likewise, the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is so much great than each and all of us that it’s impossible to quantify or express the difference. Indeed, the Lord is very great and greatly...
Post a Comment
Read more

Update on Sarah Fergus

By
Here is an update that we just sent to our church regarding Sarah Fergus who is heading off soon to serve the Lord in Madagascar. If you're interested in helping Sarah, please write me a note and I'll be glad to pass it on to her. One way or the other, please join us in prayer! Dear Glory of Christ Fellowship, Thank you for all your prayers in the last few weeks. I have been very encouraged by many of you on Sunday mornings and after visiting several community groups. This church really is a blessing to me as I am being constantly reminded that I am not alone in this. One huge praise is that in the last week I was pledged about half of what I still needed for monthly support! Reminder of dates: Dec 13th is when I need financial clearance. Jan 8th is my planned departure date. Finance Update: Total amount still needed per month: $279 Breakdown: 6 people at $50 a month 12 people at $25 a month Please continue to keep this in prayer for the next few weeks. I also have a lot to...
Post a Comment
Read more

When Children Say "I'm Bored" By Julie Lowe

By
This Article is written by Julie Lowe and was originally posted on the CCEF blog.  I highlighted the areas of particular interest. I had already prepared a blogpost on dealing with boredom from a Christian worldview and then came across this. There is much overlap between the two, perhaps this one is more concise while my work attempts to explain the connection between the ability to think and the ability to be happy. You can visit the original blogpost in the link provided below.  https://www.ccef.org/resources/blog/children-say-im-bored   We have a common crisis in our home; it is the calamity of boredom. Our children might even consider it a catastrophe. “I’m bored” is repeated so often it would not be an overstatement to say that these words echo continuously throughout our home especially during any break from school. These are children with limited media time but still children with a Wii and Xbox system, a pool outside our door, multiple games, toy...
Post a Comment
Read more