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Fear not, I am with you, and don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you, I will uphold with my righteous right hand.
~Isaiah 41:10
Fear, while a necessary emotion that helps us survive, can also paralyze us from doing anything helpful, or anything at all.
So many times, in the Bible we are told, “Fear not! The Lord is with you” (Isaiah: 41:10). Or “Do not let your hearts be troubled” (John 14.1), or “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be afraid” (Joshua 1.9). There is an unproven saying that “Fear Not” is in the Bible 365 times, one for each day, but that may be an overstatement. "Fear not" is in the Bible more than enough times for you to get the message.
And these solid assurances turn out to be true if you trust God to be there for you. In a personal crisis, or when things in the world seem so very wrong, we have God’s promises to hold on to.
The feeling of fear draws our attention to things that may harm us or those we love. But hanging on to our fear helps nothing and even intensifies the fear within. We can let fear overwhelm us, so that we only focus on the fear.
What we need to do is to calmly think what we can do, and do it. Then we need to have enough faith to put the rest in God’s hands. Trust Him to carry you through. Find peace and courage in God’s presence, in the still calm voice that says, “Fear not, I am with you.”
How do we know we can trust God to resolve our fears? It takes faith as small as a grain of mustard seed to lean on God. There are so many examples, both in life and in the Bible, of the times God has stepped in with answers to fear and worry.
They may not be the answers you were hoping for, but the answers work for a good you could never have imagined. Practice trusting God for your day, or even for the moment you might be facing. God is there, giving you both courage and peace, but first you must trust God to do it.
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