Saturday, January 12, 2013

Day 12: Dealing with Fear



Reading: Proverbs 1:20-33

If we fear God, we will have no reason to fear. When we seek His counsel and heed His advice, our fears can be washed away. However, when we push God away and ignore His nudgings, the road ahead could be scary for us. Why would God come to us when we're in trouble, when we push Him away when life is just dandy? We need to live a life in awe of Him, attentive to His guidance. Only then will He listen to our cries, and offer us His advice. A good place to start- His Word!


Reading: Matthew 10:1-31

This reading filled with some pretty steep warnings to God's people. Many of them can be translated into our time. Standing strong in your faith, and going where God calls you to go can be a scary, scary task. Jesus reassures His followers here though that He is with them, and will give them the words to say. He also reassures them that those who turn you away will have to answer to His judgement. Times are getting harder for Christians in a world that believes it's outdated and judgmental. Stand strong. This passage says the followers of Jesus are like sheep going out into a world of wolves. We need not be afraid of the words to say, what will happen to us, or what others will say or do to us. We are in this world, but not of it. Though we could lose our possessions or our lives, the world can never steal our souls. Take heart, for when you heed the wisdom and knowledge of God, He will protect you and show you the paths you need to follow.


Reading: Genesis 25:1-26:35

Isaac suffered a lot of fear in his time. He feared death, which caused him to lie about Rebekah being his wife, saying she was his sister. (Funny how the son of Abraham fell into the same lie as his father did with Sarah.) Sometimes our fears cause us to sin, and that comes from not trusting in God to take care of us. When was the last time you tried to take matters into your own hands? How did that go for you? However, we do see that Isaac reached out to The Lord when he asked for a child, unlike his own father and mother who first tried to take matters into their own hands with Hagar, bringing about Ishmael.
Esau ends up having to sell his birthright to Jacob because of Jacob's selfishness and fears. Fears can certainly cause us to do some wrong things. God repeatedly says throughout this reading, "do not be afraid". I honestly think there is a reason for Him repeating us and carrying it over to us to read today.


Fears and anxieties can cripple us. How are you staying in tune with God to learn His knowledge and wisdom? This can truly help you with your fear. Seeing God's work throughout the ages is certainly comforting to our lives today.

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