Open your eyes

2 Ki 6:15-20 - When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha. And Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he led them to Samaria. As soon as they entered Samaria, Elisha said, “O Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” So the Lord opened their eyes and they saw, and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.

This is one of my favorite stories in the entire Bible. Elisha saw what the young man didn’t which was a mountain full of horses and chariots of fire. For the fear to be removed, Elisha first needed to pray. This is a great reminder. For our eyes to be open to the reality of the situation, we first need to pray. Prayer gives peace and comfort and power and joy. Elisha prayed for the servant to have his eyes open to see the spiritual reality of the situation. What a great prayer. If only we would pray that every time we feared, so that we could see God’s hand and His power present in a situation. The other prayer was to shut the eyes of the enemies. And then, in an amazing display he walked them a long distance to Samaria. May this be a reminder to us that when we are afraid, we ask that God would open our eyes and close the eyes of the enemy?

Do not Fear

Dt 10:21 - He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.

Just as the servant had his eyes opened, we too have seen God perform great and awesome deeds. May we remember often and make Him our praise. Is He our praise today? May your prayer be today that He would open your eyes to see the great and awesome wonders He is performing daily in your midst to both remove fear and cause you to fear Him only.

Finding your courage in the Word

Do not Fear

2 Ki 1:15-17 - Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he arose and went down with him to the king and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word?—therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’ ” So he died according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken. Jehoram became king in his place in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, because Ahaziah had no son.

When God speaks, or an angel speaks, or His word speaks, we have confidence and courage to act according to what has been said. In this occasion, an angel speaks to Elijah and tells him to go tell the king a very difficult message. There is nothing fun about this message, and yet Elijah obeys even though it could cost him his life. It is interesting the question that Elijah asks of the King, “Is it because there is no God in Isarael to inquire of His word?” God is still in Israel and His words stands both supreme and sovereign. It is His word that fills us with confidence to act courageously. It was the downfall of this king that He didn't seek the word of God and it was the courage of Elijah to hear and obey the word of God. The word gives us the confidence to act in obedience.

Fear God

Dt 4:10 - Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.”

The beginning of revering or fearing God is hearing His words. Our courage comes from His words because we know that He is faithful and true. So, when we hear his words, we need to be careful to fear Him more in obedience than fear the situation we are in. In addition, we are commanded to pass them onto our children and the next generation.

Faith in God's promises removes Fear

1 Sa 23:15-18 - David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the Wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. And Jonathan, Saul’s son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God. And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Saul my father also knows this.” And the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home.

Le 25:43 - Do not rule over them ruthlessly, but fear your God.

This message from Jonathan to David is significant. It isn’t the Lord speaking, but at the same time, it is. Jonathan is reminding David of what God has already told him, which is that He will be the king, he will not be found and that Jonathan will be with him. He also let him know that Saul knows this. Sometimes, we need to hear from people what God has already promised and made clear. It will fill us with courage and faith. We need to speak these words to each other and fill each other with the faith that will enable us to persevere and conquer fear. As it went, the only thing that did not happen in what Jonathan said here was that Jonathan would be next to him. Jonathan died in battle. But, truly, it was never promised that Jonathan would be there next to him, but the other things were. It does not have matter how much faith you have, but what you have your faith in.

Fear God

This is another great reminder in the book of Leviticus that when we fear God correctly, it will change how we live our lives. In this case, the Israelites are commanded to treat their countrymen, the Israelties as workers and not as slaves. We are to treat them well in the fear of God because they are servants of God. This is a great illustration of how fear God relates directly to how we should treat the children of God and those created in His image. As we fear and respect God, we will treat His people with a godliness that comes from this fear

Giants fall when fear is rightsized.

1 Sa 17:11 - When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

1 Sa 17:24 - All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid.

1 Sa 17:31-37 - When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him. And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”

What a great contrast in their respective responses to fear. Where Saul and the men of Israel responded with fear, David responded with courage and faith in his fear of God. He was more concerned with the glory of God than he was with the fear of man. Though this story is very familiar, there are some great principles to be gleaned from this story. First, remembering is important. David remembered how God came through for him in killing lions and bears, but Saul the men of Israel seemed to forget all that God had done. When we remember the character of God and how he acted and acts on our behalf, it will change our response to difficult and fearful situations. God is both good and in control, He is all powerful and intimately sovereign. Second, it is does matter the size or age or skill to act courageously. God delights in bringing Himself glory and does it more often through weak vessels so there is no question who get the glory. Third, when we fear our heart fails. Fear destroys courage and joy and peace. Fear defeats a person before the thing we fear ever does. When we fight for the glory of God, whether things that directly oppose God or even as simple as doing everything as unto God, we can be confident and courageous in the fear of God.

How considering God leads to Godly fear

Do not Fear and Fear God

1 Sa 12:19-25 - And all the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.”
And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself. Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way. Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.”

There are many passages that include both a command to not be afraid or fear not AND fear the Lord. This is one of them. After the Israelites wanted to be like all the other nations and have a king, they realized their sin. And Samuel, as the prophet and mediator, assures them that they have done evil, but they need not fear. God will not forsake his people. But, they are commanded to fear the Lord by considering the great things that he has done for them. This is a great description of how to fear the Lord. We fail in fearing God because we do not consider all that He has done for us. When we see His mercy towards us, His love, His holiness, His power, His sovereignty and His grace, when we see how good He has been to us, we grow in godly fear. Consider what the Lord has done for you today. Consider His faithfulness and grow in gratitude. As we consider the Lord, we serve Him.

Day 35 - God is worthy of Fear

1 Sa 4:5-8 - As soon as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” And when they learned that the ark of the Lord had come to the camp, the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “A god has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness.

⁹ Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you; be men and fight.” ¹⁰ So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. ¹¹ And the ark of God was captured...

1 Sam 5:1-12

When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. ² Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon. ³ And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. ⁴ But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. ⁵ This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day. ⁶ The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. ⁷ And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.” ⁸ So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” They answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.” So they brought the ark of the God of Israel there. ⁹ But after they had brought it around, the hand of the Lord was against the city, causing a very great panic, and he afflicted the men of the city, both young and old, so that tumors broke out on them. ¹⁰ So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But as soon as the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought around to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people.” ¹¹ They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.” For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there. ¹² The men who did not die were struck with tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

1 Sa 6:20-21 - Then the men of Beth-shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up away from us?” So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up to you.”

I included this story as an example of the fear that the Philistines had for the Israelites God, but the fear wasn't complete until they saw that the God of the Israelites was more powerful than all their idols and greater than their health and their success. You can see the panic and the fear as they try desperately to get rid of this ark, as their cries are reaching Heaven, they end up sending it away by two cows who pull the ark toward the Israelites. This last line of this passage, "Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God?" is a great question for us to ponder. May it leads us to fear God with reverence and awe and may it remove any fear of our own idols, our own worries and our own fears. It is a bit telling too, that the Philistines had more fear (at the beginning and deinfately at the end) then the Israelites. May the fear of God be greater than all is our hearts and may we know this God that is greater than all. A right fear will lead us to fearlessness.

Day 34 - Faith is the fuel for fearing God for fearless living

Do Not Fear
Jdg 7:9-14 - That same night the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp. And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance. When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.”

I am not sure why God allows Gideon to hear what he does and gives him the grace that He shows here, but it is encouraging. We learn from the character of God that he is gracious, kind and gentle even in our humanly fears. Not that they are right or it is ever glorifying to God to fear, but in this case, he bends over backwards to fill Gideon with courage. Perhaps because God has twiddled the number down to 300, or to give him courage as a leader or just maybe because God has a sense of humor and delights in doing a miracle like this. Regardless, Gideon hears this and is filled with faith. Faith is fuel for fearless living. As Romans 10:17 says, "So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ." Faith leads to courage and courage leads to action.

Fear God
Le 25:35-36 - “ ‘If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so he can continue to live among you. Do not take interest of any kind from him, but fear your God, so that your countryman may continue to live among you.

The fear of God should dictate how we treat the poor among us. God has given the command to not take interest among a poor countrymen and the reason you are to obey the command is because you fear God. Fear leads directly to obedience. This is true because we fear consequence and we know that God is just. Faith is also the fuel for fearing God. Faith leads to obedience and obedience leads to righteousness (rom 5:19), others praising God for your obedience (2 Cor 9:13) and our showing our love for God through our obedience(2 John 2.6). Fear is the end, but all of this starts with faith, and faith begins with the words of God.

Faith is the fuel for fearing God so you may live a fearless life. Allow the words of God to dwell richly in you so that you may hear and obey and rejoice.