He Himself has said….So we
may boldly say… —Hebrews 13:5-6
{CHAMBERS} “My assurance is to be built upon God’s assurance to me.
God says, “I will never leave you,” so that then I “may boldly say, ‘The Lord
is my helper; I will not fear’ ” (Hebrews 13:5-6). In other words, I will not
be obsessed with apprehension. This does not mean that I will not be tempted to
fear, but I will remember God’s words of assurance. […] The faith of many
people begins to falter when apprehensions enter their thinking, and they
forget the meaning of God’s assurance— they forget to take a deep spiritual
breath. The only way to remove the fear
from our lives is to listen to God’s assurance to us. What are you fearing? Whatever it may be, you
are not a coward about it— you are determined to face it, yet you still have a
feeling of fear. When it seems that there is nothing and no one to help you,
say to yourself, “But ‘The Lord is my helper’ this very moment, even in my
present circumstance.” Are you learning to listen to God before you speak, or
are you saying things and then trying to make God’s Word fit what you have
said? Take hold of the Father’s assurance, and then say with strong courage, “I
will not fear.” It does not matter what evil or wrong may be in our way,
because “He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you….’ ” Human frailty is
another thing that gets between God’s words of assurance and our own words and
thoughts. When we realize how feeble we are in facing difficulties, the
difficulties become like giants, we become like grasshoppers, and God seems to
be nonexistent. But remember God’s assurance to us— “I will never…forsake you.””
{ELGIN} Courage is not the absence of fear, but action in the face
of fear. (Joshua 1:8-9) “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips;
meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything
written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded
you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the
Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” That is what the Lord told Joshua as Joshua was
called to leadership and mighty acts that could only be accomplished by the
power of God as Joshua walked in obedience to the Word of God by faith in
God. It’s one thing to read or hear
about others facing lions .. it’s quite another to feel the lion’s breath on
your face. That is how it often is when we
read about the success stories of others, or hear testimonies. But when we face challenges in our own lives,
we get weak in the knees, we want to find a place to run. That is how it was for Elijah (1 Kings 19:8-10) “So he got up and ate
and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights
until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and
spent the night. The Lord Appears to Elijah And the word of the Lord came to
him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He replied, “I have been very zealous
for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn
down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only
one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.””
Elijah had just experience a
great spiritual victory and had seen God show up as Elijah faced a people
hostile to him and God. Now he was
hiding in a cave … fearful for his life.
Some peoples faith goes on and off like a light switch. One minute they stand in the bright light of
the glory of God and “click”, the next they are in the dark pit of despair. (1
Kings 19:14,18) “He [Elijah] replied, “I have been very zealous for the
Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your
altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left,
and now they are trying to kill me too.” [God said] “Yet I reserve seven
thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal.”
Listen – Elijah felt alone –
but He was not alone – Elijah chose to be alone. That is a mistake that many Christians
make. They need to draw close to other
Christians, yet, instead they choose to hide in a cave. They do exactly the opposite of what they
should do. Their fear captivates them. They even fear other Christians. Maybe you are struggling with the issues of
life. You are hiding from God and
avoiding other Christians .. exactly the opposite of what you should be
doing. You are in darkness and dominated
by the old nature. Or perhaps you know
someone who is. I tell people that it is
hard to hug a porcupine … you are going to get stuck by the quills … but you
need to hug them anyway. Think about it and reach out to someone.
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