With God, there is no fear
As my reminder came in this week that I was on the schedule to write for the pastor's corner, my mind quickly filled with panic. What do I write? What do I say? Do I have time?
As the deadline came, I stressed out more and more, and the more I stressed and worried, the more my mind jumbled words together that had no value. I went to bed knowing the deadline was in two days and prayed, "God, I give this to you; I refuse to fear about this and trust that you will help me find a topic." Well, thank the Good Lord, He did.
Did you know that the phrase "do not fear" is in the Bible 365 times? That is one scripture per day. It seems God doesn't want us to fear.
As I sat and reflected on how much I didn't get done because I worried about what I had to do, a story in Numbers came to mind. In Numbers 13 and 14, God instructed Moses to send spies into the promised land, sending out some from each tribe to investigate the enemy to see the fruits and get tactical information on forts, cities, and so on.
The report differed between people, Caleb and Joshua said the fruit was awesome, and it took two men to carry a bundle of grapes. The others saw many people with cities and fortresses that far outnumber them, and they said, "we are grasshoppers next to them." Joshua and Caleb both said, with our God, we can inhabit this land; this is the promise He gave us.
However, the fear spread from the other spies angering God. Because of fear, they were forced to wander the desert for 40 years until those full of fear were no more.
What does this have to do with an article due date? Well, nothing really, except if I continued to stress and fear about the task ahead, I would have never been able to finish.
This fact is true for every part of our life; we count ourselves out of a promise from God because we see the battle in front of us and give in, saying we should go back to where we were before. Caleb and Joshua said something that I missed.
In Numbers 14: 8-9 ESV 8, it says: "If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. 9 Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them."
They said the giants are bread for us. We view trials as a hardship and something that tears us down, so we fear them and worry instead of counting it all as joy when we face opposition (James 1:2). These trials strengthen us and feed us.
The giants we face are bread for us; we have no reason to fear because God is with us, and no matter what happens in this world, He will never leave us or forsake us. Thank you for reading this article; I hope it encourages you. Be blessed, and know you are loved.
Pastor Scott Acklin ministers at New Fire Ministries.