Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.Â
Lord, I know that peopleâs lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps (Jeremiah 10:23 NIV).
I didnât create my lifeâYou did!
So âpeople do not control their own destinyâ (NET)âYou do!
âMere mortals canât run their own livesâ (MSG)âYou can!
âThe way of man is not in himselfâ (NKJV)âitâs in You!
Discipline me, Lord, but only in due measureânot in Your anger, or You will reduce me to nothing (Jeremiah 10:24 NIV).
You can correct me âwith justiceâ (NKJV)âI canât!
You know how to âbe gentleâ (NLT)âI donât!
God, You correct âas You see bestâ (MSG)âI canât!
Iâd say itâs pretty clear that there is only One who can lead me in the way I should go. So my prayer should always be: Heavenly Father, You are Sovereign, You are Love, and I trust You completely to guide me into paths of righteousness for Your nameâs sake, as only You know how. Holy Spirit, help me to trust You in this journey. In Jesusâ name, amen.
I used only two verses to write this post, but I read them in multiple translations. This is another great Bible study tool that any of us can use. If you would like to read more about the various translations of the Bible and how to access them, please check out this post.Â
This 37th Psalm is filled with the contrasts of the temporary advantages of evil versus the eternal rewards of righteousness. Wicked people may flourish for a moment in time, but righteous people have both an inheritance that lasts forever and Godâs help every single day too! In other words, the righteous get to securely live in a win-win relationship.Â
With this in mind, David instructs the righteous how to live out their days:Â
not fretting over evil people
trusting God to supply their needsÂ
doing good for others
delighting in God
remaining steadfastly committed to God
patiently
refraining from angerÂ
full of hope
generously
securely in Godâs peaceÂ
Righteous people can live securely every single day because they know that not only does God holds them securely today, but He will continue to hold them securely for all of eternity. Secure people are empowered to live a joy-filled, others-centered, God-glorifying life.Â
If you know Jesus as your Savior, you can say âAmen!â to this secure way of living.Â
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple or Spotify.
When I am afraid, I put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. ⌠In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord whose word I praiseâin God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? (Psalm 56:3-4, 10-11).Â
Have you ever been afraid of someone? Have you ever experienced the fear of God?
Interestingly, itâs the same Hebrew word (yarĂŠ) for both. This word can mean either something that causes me to fight or flight, or it can mean reverential respect. David is saying, âWhen I begin to feel the fear of man, I instead turn to the fear of God, and I am no longer afraid.â
Or to put it another way: âWhen I think I have to fight or flight on my own, I instead choose to reverence God and He takes care of my fear.âÂ
In both verses 4 and 10, the word âpraiseâ is the Hebrew word for âHallelujah!â When David feels fear of man creeping in, he looks to Godâs Word, finds a promise on which to stand, and reverentially begins to worship God: âHallelujah! With this promise, I no longer need to fear man!â The Amplified Bible says, âOn God I lean, rely, and confidently put my trust; I will not fear.âÂ
There is one other difference in the Hebrew language that is not readily apparent in the English translation. In verse 4, David uses the name Elohiym for God. This means the Mighty God who is Supreme over all. In verse 10, he uses Godâs covenant name Yahweh or Jehovah. To me, this sounds like David knew that the fear of God could combat everything from general fears of human philosophies to a specific fear of a specific mortal. His conclusion is a good one: What can manâa mere mortalâor any of his worldly philosophies do to rattle me? Absolutely nothing because I am secure in God!âÂ
We all become fearful at times. If we choose to fight or flight the fear, we do it in our own strength. This may result in temporary relief, but the fear will come back around again. However, if we decide to fear Godâto say âHallelujah!â to His promisesâHe is able to completely remove our fear.Â
The choice is ours: fear man or fear God.Â
To paraphrase the declaration of Joshua: âChoose this day whom you will fear. As for me, I choose to fear God!âÂ
Have you ever had a really good scare? Maybe in the dark or when you were young? Then in the light or as you got older you thought, âWhy was I afraid of that?â Our relief came from the fact that we think we know more. But hereâs the problem: there is a difference between a healthy fear and an unhealthy fear, so not every fear is something we should try to alleviate.
Sometimes we treat too lightly the things that are really quite powerful. Consider the arrival of Jesus in Bethlehem. There are more angels sent by God surrounding this one event than anywhere else in all the Bible. Yet all four angelic appearances have the same message: âDo not be afraid.âÂ
Why would people fear what we now celebrate as such a joyous event? I think itâs because God Himselfâthe All-Holy Creator of the Universeâis coming near to sinful man (see John 1:9; 1 Timothy 6:15-16).Â
God is holy, and His holiness is unapproachable by sin. At the exact same moment, God is love, and His love desires for us to approach Him. We cannot make this happen on our own, which leads to more fear.Â
In the Greek language of the New Testament phobeĹ is the main word for âfear.â This word can be defined as either fleeing from a terrible thing or clinging in obedience to an awesomely reverent thing. Jesus said the same things when He told us, âI tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Himâ (Luke 12:4-5).Â
In the Advent story, the first appearance of âDo not be afraidâ is when an angel appears to Zechariah. Why would Zechariah be so afraid at the approach of God? I think there may have been three reasons:Â
Herod was kingâmaking the society Zechariah lived in politicized and irreligiousÂ
Zechariah was without a priestly heir to carry on his family nameÂ
his wife Elizabeth may have sinnedâat least thatâs what people would have whispered about her barrennessÂ
All of this added up to Zechariah feeling like God was displeased with them and that He was only coming close to bring fiery judgment.Â
The angel told Zechariah not to fear because âyour prayer has been heard.â In other words, âI am inviting you to trust in what God HASalreadydone versus trusting in what you might or might not be able to do on your own.â PhobeĹ was an invitation to choose reverential obedience (holy fear) of the eternal over the terror of the temporal.Â
Sadly, Zechariah initially clung to the negative phobeĹ. Yet after Elizabeth did conceive and John was born, this was transformed into holy, reverential fear, as heard in the Spirit-inspired song he sang. Notice in Luke 1:67-75 Zechariahâs emphasis on all that God has done: He has come, He has redeemed, He has raised, He said, He has kept His covenant, He has rescued, He has enabled. Â
Have you put yourself in the category of âunworthy of Godâs favorâ? Has fear crippled youâlike it had done with Zechariahâfrom continuing to pray, believe, and try?Â
Fear is an invitation to evaluate in who or in what I have placed my trust.
I invite you to accept the invitation to take your eyes off the temporary and put them on the Eternal One. ââŚThe time is coming quickly, and what I show you will come true. It may seem slow in coming, but wait for it; it will certainly take place, and it will not be delayed.â(Habakkuk 2:3 GNT)Â
Check out the other messages in this Do Not Be Afraid series by clicking here.Â
⌠Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf ⌠The God we serve is able to save us from the furnaceâŚbut even if God does not save us⌠(1 Samuel 14:6 and Daniel 3:17-18).
We often remember and even hold in high regard those leaders who rise up in times of crisis or uncertainty. But I think we might be shocked if we knew exactly how scared these seemingly unflappable leaders actually were!Â
The Philistines really had the Israelites on the ropes. Israelâs army was slowing melting away, as soldiers one by one were deserting and heading home. The Philistines had captured all of the sword-makers, so that there were only two swords leftâone for King Saul and one for his son Jonathan.Â
And to make matters even more desperate, the Philistines occupied all the strategic high ground, so that even if the Israelites were going to attempt an attack, they would have to scale the cliffs in order to do so.
For Jonathan, this situation was unbearable. So he said to his armor-bearer (keep in mind that this armor-bearer didnât really have any armor to bear!), âLetâs go attack the Philistines.â And then he adds this line that probably didnât instill too much confidence in anyone, âPerhaps the Lord will give us victory.âÂ
Perhaps?!
Many years later, when the nation of Israel was in exile in Babylon, three Jewish young men found themselves in a literal hot spot. King Nebuchadnezzar had built an enormous statue of himself and commanded that everyone bow down and worship it. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had been promoted into leadership positions in the capital city of Susa, so there was no hiding in the outreaches of the countryside for them. Their disobedience to the kingâs command would make them stand out to everyone. The king had ordered that anyone who disobeyed his edict would be thrown into a fiery furnace.Â
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were God-fearing men and knew that they could not worship any other god except Yahweh. When the king confronted their disobedience, they also responded with words that didnât sound very confident, âGod can save us, but weâre not sure if He will save us. But even if He doesnât, weâre not going to bend our knee.âÂ
If?!
âPerhapsâ and âifâ donât sound like very confident words, do they?Â
And yet these godly leaders were totally certain in their uncertain times. They werenât certain of the outcome, but they were certain of Godâs ability to bring the ultimate victory. Even in dark times of crisis, godly leaders are certain that God is greater than their uncertain circumstances.Â
A mark of a godly leader is one who has a certain confidence in God even in an uncertain crisis.
Jonathan, and Shadrach, and Meshach, and Abednego would all tell us, âWhether God was going to give us victory in the moment of crisis or not, we will remain in Godâs presence! We will not compromise. We will not give in to fear. We will not disobey God. We will continue to cling to Himârescue or notâknowing that He will be glorified in whatever way He chooses to respond.âÂ
These young men teach an invaluable lesson for all of us even today: Trust God no matter how uncertain the times are.Â
This is part 45 in my series on godly leadership. You can check out all of my posts in this series by clicking here.
Whether itâs a doctorâs diagnosis of cancer, or a rapidly-spreading virus, or a painful relationship, Lynn Eib helps us keep these unexpected things in perspective. These may have taken us by surprise, but nothing takes God by surprise. No diagnosis nor prognostication can limit Godâs power and love.Â
As David learned in his painful time: âGod has spoken once, twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God. Also to You, O Lord, belong mercy and loving-kindnessâ (Psalm 62:11-12). He is All-Powerful andAll-Loving.Â
Let these declarations Lynn made when receiving her cancer diagnosis help put things in perspective for youâ
I refuse to believe my diagnosis is a death sentence.
I believe God is on the side of my healing because His unbreakable Word says so.
I believe treatment is effective against this illness, especially the skillful efforts of scientific medicine with my strategies for replacing lying thoughts with truth.
I believe my hormones and immune system are on the side of my healing and are even now working to overcome this illness.
I believe I am personally responsible for my treatment and for managing it.
I believe hope is a choice. I choose hope, not hopelessness.
My major aim is to have a mind fully submitted to the Spirit of God and His truth, not just to see better lab results or improvement in physical symptoms.
I believe I am on earth to share Christ, hope, and joy with others. I am here only to love others, regardless of my physical condition.
I believe that Godâs will is good.Â
I believe that He loves me and wants only the best for meâwhatever He is allowing me to experience right now.
I can recover from this illness and live a rich, productive life of service. But whether I recover or not, I am going to leave this life someday regardless. Until then I can live a full life of service every day for as long as I am given.Â
Chaos is all around us! Thereâs infighting both politically and religiously. Government officials are imposing new laws and regulations and restrictions. Lots of rival voices are clamoring to be heard. Loss of personal freedoms, civil liberties, and even the freedom of worship. Uncertainty about the future. Fear in the present.Â
Although this may sound like current conditions in the USA, Iâm actually describing life in Israel around 31 BC.Â
The people of Israel were frustrated beyond words with the restrictions they faced. They thought they were living in their land and that they should be able to govern themselves as they saw best.Â
Have you ever been in that place of utter frustration? Are you there now? âWhatâs happening? Why is this not going according to plan? Isnât there anything I can do? How long is this going to last? God, where are You in all of this?!âÂ
We humans like to think we are in control. Or at least we like to think that we know Godâs timetable. Throughout the Bibleâand still todayâthe questions persist:Â
Those Israelites I described earlier were so frustrated with asking âHow long?â and apparently getting no answer, that they frequently took matters into their own hands. This never turned out well for them. But Godâs perfect timing was heading toward His perfect fulfillment. Â
We may not perceive it, but God IS doing more than we will ever know during our âHow long?â times.Â
Godâs perfect timing for His people couldnât be until Caesar Augustus came on the scene and brought an end to the political uncertainty that kept everything in chaos. Nearly 30 years before Jesus was to be born in Bethlehem, Augustus was launching the pax Romanaâthe peace of Romeâall over the world. Pax Romana was creating the perfect environment in which Jesus could be born and minister, as well in which His followers could then take the Good News all over the world.Â
Jesus was born âin the fullness of timeâ (Galatians 4:4), around 5 BC, in a land where a Jordanian king (Herod the Great) served an Italian emperor (Caesar Augustus) to a people frustrated with waiting. But God knew exactly when and where and how to send His Son to be our Savior!
So, my friendsâTrust God in the âHow long?â times!Â
Godâs perfect plan includes YOU, so guard against any anxious thoughts that would make you bail out of His perfectly-timed plan early. (see Psalm 139:16, 23-24)
Join me this Sunday as we continue our series called Whereâs God?Â
Lord, I know that peopleâs lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps (Jeremiah 10:23 NIV).
Craig T. Owens 