“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 (HCSB)
The Bible tells us to fear not, to not be afraid, 365 times. That is one for each day of the year! Do you think God is saying something?
Fear is Fake Evidence Appearing Real. Fear is of the devil. Fear is a liar. Fear is based on what if’s, not what is. It is focused on the many possible outcomes. Fear is keeping people blind in a narrative that is not even true. In fact, fear is fueling the mind control and deception that is covering our nation. And we are clearly told that the fear of man is a snare (Proverbs 29:25). The Bible tells us that perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18).
There is a godly fear, not based on fantasy or what could be. It is the fear of the LORD. Yes, we are told to fear God and it is a good thing (Deuteronomy 10:12)! Actually, we are told to learn how to fear the LORD (Deuteronomy 31:12). It is that important that we must intentionally learn to do it! This sort of fear is pure (Psalm 19:9). This sort of fear is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). Do you want wisdom? Learn to fear the LORD! The fear of the LORD actually adds length to our lives (Proverbs 10:27). Want to live longer, learn to fear the LORD! And the fear of the LORD leads to life (Proverbs 19:23), not just longer life, but good, satisfying and abundant life.
A sign that we are operating in the fear of the LORD is to hate evil (Proverbs 8:13). Yet too many today are simply tolerating it, or accepting it as just the way it is going to be. Evil is not the new norm! We are told to be exposers of darkness and wickedness (Ephesians 5:11).
Ask the LORD to take you deeper in what it means to fear Him as you step into 2023. Ask God to increase His perfect love in you! Ask Him to expose any place you have begun to tolerate fear, evil, darkness in your life, your family, your church, your kids, or your future. Ask God to turn any place you fear people into a holy fear of Him. Ask Him to arouse a deep fear of the LORD in your pastor, in your church and across our city!
