Category: Fear Not

Fear Not 365 – For God is in Control

January 16, 2017 by ChristianHolinessDaily Leave a Comment

Joseph spent nearly all if his adult life alienated from his family. How sad it must have been for him, sold into slavery by his brothers, cut off from his parents, a stranger in a strange land, falsely accused of a crime, stuck in a prison? I cannot begin to fathom it.

God, however, was merely preparing him for His service. He would move Joseph into a position of influence, and use him to store up food in preparation of famine. Through Joseph, God saved the people of Egypt and preserved what would become the nation of Israel.

When his brothers came groveling to Joseph, who had become one of the most powerful men in Egypt, it might have been easy for him to exact vengeance on them. Instead, he showed them mercy.

“Fear not,” he told them, “for, although you meant evil again me, God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20).

Joseph was so assured by God’s loving presence that he was able to demonstrate God’s mercy.

We have the same assurance. If we surrender ourselves to God’s control, we can be assured that all things will “work together for good” (Romans 8:28).

Fear Not for God is in control.

Fear Not 365 – For God is Building Your Faith.

January 15, 2017 by ChristianHolinessDaily Leave a Comment

I have heard many old time preachers warn against praying for patience, because doing so leads to trials. Let me clarify. By “old time preachers” I mean the genuine fire-breathing, Bible-thumping, holy-rolling hillbillies that populated the pulpits of many churches in the Ozark Mountains when I was a boy in the 1960s. These men loved the Lord and worked hard for God.

The problem is, while I was inspired by many of these preachers, they got this passage completely wrong. The epistle of James tells us to be joyful when we are faced with trials, knowing trials build patience. The reason the preachers of my childhood advised us not to pray for patience was because they feared their parishoners would fall away if faced with trials.

The truth is quite the contrary. Take a look at Exodus 20:20 and you will succinctly learn what James is talking about. God tests us because He is preparing us. He is building our faith, ridding us of our sin, preparing us for eternity. He loves us, and cannot bear to see us bound by sin.

Do not be afraid of God’s tests and trials. Don’t try to avoid them. Rather, when they come, realize that God is perfecting your faith. Be thankful, for your Father is teaching you. Trials move us away from sin and darkness and into His light. They move us from obedience based on fear to obedience based on love and commitment.

Fear Not, for God is building your faith.

Fear Not 365 – For God is Working Through You…

January 14, 2017 by ChristianHolinessDaily Leave a Comment

I have noticed an undeniable trend in my life. The only problems that challenge me are self-made. In other words, my life would be pretty good if I would just stay out of it. Well, since that is impossible, I must thank God for blessing me in spite of myself.

The same thing might be said about Elija. When we first meet him in 1 Kings 17:1, he seems to have boldly taken it upon himself to confront Ahab, the king of Israel. Ahab and his wife, Jezebel, worshipped Baal instead of the true God. Not only that, they compelled the entire nation to worship the false god. Nowhere does the Bible say that God asked Elijah to confront Ahab that first time (although, one might safely assume that).

To protect Elijah from the king after that confrontation, God leads Elijah to the desert, sits him down by a stream, and sends ravens to feed him. Before long, though, the stream dries up because of a drought that God had sent on Israel.

To save Elijah, God tells him to seek out a particular widow and ask her for food. The widow, though, has no food, and tells Elijah she was preparing her last meal from what little flour and oil that remained. It was just enough to feed her and her son. “After that is gone,” she said, “I will give up and die.”

“Do not fear,” Elijah tells her. “Bake me some bread, and feed me. I promise, there will be enough for you and your son. Furthermore, I promise that your supply of flour and oil will not run out until God sends rain.”

While Elijah comforts the widow and her son, he must have mused about the way God works. He may have spent weeks in the desert, placing his faith in God, and wondering if and when his life would get better. When the stream dried up, he undoubtedly prayed desperately.

“Don’t be afraid, Elijah.” God had reassured him. “For through your tragic situation, I am working. A widow will feed you, and in turn, I will feed her and her son.”

We don’t really know that God said that to Elijah, but that is the exact situation.

Have you ever stopped to consider how God is using you, even in the lowest, most traffic circumstances in your life? You may never know how you have touched others for the good. Don’t be afraid, for God is working through you, even when you feel like you are at your lowest.