Tag: Fear

Faith vs. Fear

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me… (Ps. 23:4b).

Faith is the strong pillar that holds and secures us in times of uncertainties. It looks not into circumstances, but above it and ahead of it, to guide and to take us where we must remain standing firmly. It is like the rainbow in the sky pointing to God’s promise of deliverance in every color demonstrated, when times are hard with no seemingly way out. Look up, in times like these, look up and realize that redemption is at its door, that’s the message clear and concise written in the Bible. Looking at the direction where the help will come from, is with certainty a good beginning, when faith, like a ministering angel takes us by the hand leading us to our safety. Faith – Paul called it a spirit. In the letter to the Corinthians, He said, Yet, we have the same spirit of faith as he had who wrote, I have believed, and therefore have I spoken. We too believe, and therefore we speak (II Cor. 4:13). This was in reference to Psalm 116:10. A beautiful psalm, indeed, but like many other psalms, we do not know who wrote it.

The spirit of fear on the other hand, is ever tormenting and causing one to make decisions that reflects the control of it in one’s life. This type of fear is not from God; it is rather from the evil one, with the purpose to control and destroy the mind. It enters the mind through lack of faith and knowledge. Paul tells Timothy, God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, of love and a sound mind (II Tim. 1:7). There is no hope in fear, but dread and guilt. It is voided of love; therefore, it is filled with punishment. Fear looks down and panics, it looks straight at the storm of whatever problem is around and leads to a state of hopelessness with its torment.

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A Refuge in Times of Trouble (part 2)

“I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress; my God; on Him will I trust.” The assurance coming from these words carries faith to a new dimension. In view of the continuous storm before us, with no relieve in sight. Faith, however, arising to the occasion, lifts and delivers the faithful one to a new height- closer to God, and under His wings, a refuge is certain to protect us. David sought a hiding place in a cave to escape from King Saul. But that did not constitute a refuge for him. From there he cried to God saying, I cried to You, O Lord; I said, You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living; attend to my loud cry, for I am brought very low; deliver me from my persecutors, for they are stronger than I; cause me to hear You loving-kindness in the morning, for on You do I lean and in You do I trust. Cause me to know the way where I should walk, for I lift up my inner self to You (Ps.  142-143).

Those who wait for the Lord, Isaiah wrote, shall renew their strength; they shall mount up to God; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired. (Isaiah 40:31). Close to God, yes in the place of refuge, where we can hear His voice, assuring us of His presence and protection; where our prayers will be heard and answered; where no troubles around will harm us, for they are voided of power. In the Secret Place of God, there shall be no fear of evil, for He covers us with His pinions, and under His wings we find our refuge in times of trouble. No pestilence, no destruction and sudden death shall affect us in any way. The refuge is a place to grow in faith and in knowledge of God. We may witness the evil taking roots in many ways, but it will not withstand God’s power. Be still and know Who God is.  He is our refuge and strength, a very present and well-proved help in trouble. No matter if the earth change, the mountains shake into the midst of the sea; if the water roar and foam; if the mountains tremble at its swelling and tumult (Ps. 91, 46:1-3 paraphrased).

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A Refuge in Times of Trouble (Part 1)

The word refuge is a word that gives us the sense of security, when we are going through danger of any kind. It is a place of comfort and safety. The most secure place available as our refuge is in the secret place of the Most High- under the shadow of His wings. One might think, How do I get there? Or Where is that place, invisible it is to me. To all of us, as a matter of fact, this place, my friend is found in your faith, for faith elevates us to God’s presence no matter the circumstances we face. It is a shield of protection against any weapon coming our way, even today’s weapon, the covid-19, followed by its vaccine. Both humanly created for a purpose of destruction of the human race. The spirit of fear has been hovering its stings around the world since then. Our refuge is not found in the vaccine, but in God, Who has never left us forsaken. He is just a call away. He said, He shall call Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble (Ps. 91:15). Calling on His name brings salvation to all who calls on Him. What does the Lord promise when we make Him our refuge?  There shall no evil come near your tent, for He will give His angels charge over you to accompany and defend and protect you in all your ways; they shall bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent shall you trample under foot. Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him, I will set him on high because he knows and understands my name; he shall call upon Me and I will answer him, I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver and honor him; with long life I will satisfy him and show him My salvation (Ps. 91:9-16).

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We Do Not Know What to Do

Have you ever been in a situation when you have said, I do not know what to do? Crossroads ahead causing a moment of confusion in the midst of fear in the situation, as if your world shrunk to only you in it? You are not alone. Learning how to get our problems off our shoulders at the beginning of things, is a good thing, so not to suffer the consequences that will follow the worries. There is a path however, a narrow path, not visible at first, but nonetheless, a path we must look for to alleviate the mind from the control of fear; hear the Lord speaking, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” This is the only path to victory; the path that God has directed us to go through. “Though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.” The confidence of faith elevates us above circumstances and opens our eyes to its spiritual reality, giving us the certainty that God is ever so present with us. So, never fear, God is near.

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Fear, The Harmful Way To One’s Doubt

Fear, is a thing that eats the emotion, destroys the body and mind, and ultimately controls the lives of those who feed on it. A spirit, the Bible calls it by name, is not given by God, but by the enemy of the soul. Through the spirit of fear, doubt takes over the mind and leads us to a hardening of the heart toward truth. A dangerous place to be, for it is there that we will lose the chance to repent, if we keep hardening our heart toward God. A dangerous wall made of lies, keeping truth unacceptable, blinding the eyes and hardening the heart.

The spirit of fear does not work alone; it has many other spirits working along with it. It is by the hearing that doubt penetrates the soul; it is seeing and not believing that the heart closes itself to truth. In the days of Noah before the flood, God gave that world 120 years to repent through the warning of judgement, for He is a compassionate God, not willing that men should perish. But the message Noah passed on to the people was to them as if a tale told children. Wherever there is truth, doubt is sure to hide in the heart and in the mind. The danger of doubt is the hardening of the heart. In Romans, Paul warns us concerning that. When God gives the doubter up in their doubt, for refusing to hear the truth, nothing will change that, but the repentant heart.

Fear, working its way to bring doubt in the heart of men, has led many to eternal destruction, because when our forefathers chose to accept the message from the serpent, doubt entered not only their hearts, but the entire world suffered the consequence. In choosing to believe Satan’s message, they forfeited God’s message and the world became Satan’s kingdom. We see the evidence of it all around us. Antagonism, hate, jealousy, envy and many more spirits permeating human as well as in the lives of the animals. For fear of the truth, doubt found an opened door to control the mind; for not wanting to believe truth, men rejected it. The spirit of unbelief attaches itself onto the spirit of doubt. Whenever we doubt God’s words, we manifest the spirit of unbelief residing in our mind. The disciple Thomas was rebuked by YAHSHUA when he doubted His resurrection. Because he saw he believed, he was not praised for that, but rebuked by our Lord YAHSHUA saying, reach out your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand and place [it] in My side. Do not be faithless and incredulous, but believe (John 20:27).

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Fear Not What the World Fears

(Isaiah 8:11-13)

Since covid-19, the spirit of fear has permeated the entire world; masks, a mandatory face covering, have hidden people’s faces, and have taken the freedom to speak, as a symbol of what is to come in the future of the world.  In the biblical days of Israel as a nation, many circumstances enveloped this nation that resembled what we are going through today. Invasion of nations was a means by which God removed His people from the Land, when Israel grossly kept sinning against Him.  In the days of the Prophet Isaiah, God warned him not to be in fear what the people were fearing and dreading, but to fear God and let Him be his dread in time of judgment.  Fearing circumstances will lead a person to emotional and physical breakdowns of the body, for it comes with torment.  To fear God however, is to revere and respect Him, acknowledging His sovereignty over all as the only true God.  Fearing Him will remove the power of torment the spirit of fear brings us.  The Lord tells us in Proverbs 24:10: if you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small. It is a fact that faith is the source of our strength.

Today, the world cries in despair in view of unheard-of circumstances that mercilessly robbed it of its many lives, opening fear’s door to control humanity.  Everywhere we go, we see it in the faces of the multitude through the use of an unnecessary facial covering.  The hearing impaired can’t understand their muffled words, causing frustration on both sides. This is time of confusion, mind boggling, for fear has taken over the hearts of many, including ignorant Christians.  Fear deafens the ears and reasons contrary to the reality of truth.  God has spoken through today’s prophets, but as it were in the days of ancient Israel, who rebuked and punished their prophets, Christians are doing the same today, embraced by fear, not realizing what God is doing to warn us, and in His mercy to let us know the outcome of things that are happening right now, meaning, Donald J. Trump will remain the president of this nation.  He revealed to them the outcome in part, not in full, so that we will learn to trust His Words spoken to His prophets.  President Trump won; it is a fact. The victory will be reality to all after God reveals all those who are corrupted.  He did not tell them how or when, but He told them the important fact in the equation, Trump’s victory.  America stands now at the mercy of God.  Like the Israelites, after leaving Egypt, on the third day when they faced the Red Sea in front of them and the Egyptians behind them, without a place to run, even if they could have done, due to the multitude plus their flocks, they could not.  Moses, whom God had given the task to free them from slavery, put up with the Israelites doubts and complaints, as if he had wronged them by leading them out of Egypt.  Here are their words against God’s anointed: Did we not tell you in Egypt, let us alone; let us serve the Egyptians?  For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness (Exodus 14:12).  God however, did not tell Moses His plan in full, neither how He was going to do it.  He did not tell Moses about the Red Sea through which He was going to lead Israel to the Promised Land.  Likewise, God did not tell His prophets the how and the when, just that it will happen.  That should have been satisfactory to all of us, to know the end of the story, as many of us turn to the last page of a book to see how the story is going to end.  As it is, seemly this nation is now at the point of hopelessness: the Red Sea point.  It is the time to battle, not to complain; divided we will not be established in the faith. Blaming the prophets will do us no good, but to turn us against God, as if we were His enemies.

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Be Still… and The Winds Calmed Down

(Matthews 8:23-27)

YAHSHUA, after teaching the famous sermon on the mount, came down with a multitude of people following Him. From that crowd, a leper shows up and begs Him to be healed, as he prostrating himself and worshiping Him said, “If You are willing, You are able to cleanse me” … YAHSHUA then responded, I am willing and healed him. His day begun reaching out to a spiritually hungry and thirsty crowd. These were as if sheep without a shepherd. They always seemed to know where to find YAHSHUA. It was as if they had an appointment with Him. That day was no different. On His way to Capernaum, a Centurion came up to Him begging Him to heal his servant. He expressed the anguish of his servant by saying, Lord, my servant boy is lying at the house paralyzed and distressed with intense pain (Matt. 8:5-6). This Roman Centurion, without out a doubt, had heard about Him and now came to Him believing Him. It only took the first step for him to receive the result of his faith. In fact, YAHSHUA marveled at his faith and as a result, his servant was healed. Entering Peter’s house, He found Peter’s wife sick with a fever. He touched her hand and the fever left her. After that, many who were under the power of demons came to Him; He drove out the spirits with a word and restored to health all who were sick. The Word of God concludes, Thus He fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, He Himself took our weaknesses and infirmities and bore away our diseases (vs.14-17). Those were very busy days for Messiah YAHSHUA. Compelled by love, compassion, He healed diseases- all kinds of diseases, He freed many from the power of demons.  Those were physical, emotional, and spiritual storms people brought to Him. None who came to Him left emptied handed or disappointed. Out of His fullness, as John said, they had received one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift upon gift (John 1:16).

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Facing the Giants

(Deut. 9:1-6; I Samuel 17: 45-50)

To take possession of the Promised Land, Israel had to destroy the giants of the land. The Lord warned them that they were great and tall, they were the sons of Anakim, of whom they had heard, Who can stand before the sons of Anak?(Deut. 9:2).  When Moses sent spies from every tribe to spy the land they came with a frightening report: There we saw the Nephilim [or giants], the sons of Anak, who come from the giants; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight (Num. 13:33).    In the days of Joshua, he cut off the Anakim from the hill country; from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah and the hill country of Israel. Joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities. None of the Anakim were left in the land of the Israelites; only in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod did some remain (Josh. 11:21-22).

In the days of David, the Philistines came to fight with Israel with their giant, Goliath of Gath. This giant stood almost ten feet tall. His heavy armor was even more impressive and intimidating. Israel’s army was dismayed and very afraid of him. Israel came to battle in their strength; all they saw was the giant before them. They forgot what God had done in the past, but there was someone who had the faith and the courage to face this giant. The mountain Israel perceived to be was just a mole hill to David. In fact all he needed was a stone and a sling and bam, the giant was done and gone!

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Let’s Hold Fast Our Confession of Faith

(Hebrews 4:14)

Faith is a beautiful endowment to men. It is a spiritual gift enabling actions pleasing to our Lord YAHSHUA. In fact, the Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11: 6a). This gift is given to those who believe that YAHSHUA is the Son of God. It takes us places where we experience God and His presence in the midst of tribulation and hardship. There is nothing impossible to achieve when our faith is focused on the promises of God. “Though the earth should change and though the mountains be shaken into the midst of the seas, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling and tumult” (Psalm. 46:2-3), faith sustains and uplifts above all circumstances.  However, the human tendency is to be fearful in hard times. YAHSHUA often dealt with the disciples for their lack of faith, for even when He was physically with them, they would fear the unknown. We are no different than they were.  When the test of our faith arrives, we often fail, and like them, we become overwhelmed even when the Word of God says, Let be and be still and know that I am God (Psa. 46:10a).

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