Fear Not

"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10.

Sometimes we look around at our circumstances and decide that fear is the most reasonable choice, forgetting that Jesus is standing in our midst. It was that way for Peter when he walked on the water with Jesus. When he was focused on Jesus, he did the impossible amidst the same storm that caused him to fear. The only difference between those two minutes of vastly different outcomes? Focusing on Jesus or focusing on the circumstances. The storm didn't change, only Peter's perspective did. When we get caught up in our circumstances, we believe the fear they're trying to portray to us. But when we get caught up in Jesus' presence in our lives, we believe the peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7).

"Fear not" doesn't mean your circumstances are all sunshine and rainbows, but rather that your LORD is with you, and that is reason enough not to fear. It doesn't mean there's not evil in the world, or that you will never experience it, but rather, it means that when the storms of life do hit, Jesus will be right there with you walking on the waves. So, we don't choose a life without fear because everything works out the way we want, but instead, we choose to not fear because God calls us to it in light of who He is in our lives - He is not shaken by the storm.

Don't let the fear from past experiences lower your expectations of the present. I don't want to lower my expectations of God just because He didn't do what I thought He would. I can change my expectations of how God may do something, but not the expectation that He will fulfill His word to me. Because God didn't do it when, or how I expected, I let that lower my expectations completely. I let it cause me to fear because I was still walking through the darkness of the valley when I was expecting it to finally be light by now. The problem was, when I looked at my circumstance - the storm or the valley - fear made sense. Everything that I had been through was hard and the fear associated with it all was understandable. But the mistake with that logic is the focus of it. If I focused on my circumstances, yes, fear made sense. But when I focused on Jesus and what He has said, it no longer does. Too many of us are taking our circumstances into account when deciding whether or not to be afraid rather than just focusing on Jesus and His Word, and that is where we're missing it. My circumstances may scream fear, but my God says, "Do not fear." My circumstances may say I will never overcome, but my God says, I am "more than [a conqueror] through Him..." (Rom 8:37). My circumstances may doubt God's help, but my God says, He "is [my] refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1).

When the Israelites sent the ten spies into the promised land of Canaan to scope out the land and those who dwelled within it, eight of them came back dismayed, listing all the reasons their circumstances said they couldn't inherit what God had given to them. But two of the ten spies were confident in their ability to overcome the land because God had promised it to them. Eight of the spies focused on the seeming impossibility of their circumstances, and two focused on the promise of God. And because of the fear of the eight, those spies never did receive the land that was promised to them, only the two who believed God did. Now it's easy to look at scripture and to fault the eight spies who believed their circumstances over God without looking at our own lives and seeing where we are doing the same thing. Where are we trusting in the terror of our circumstances rather than the power of our God? Where can we stand to be more like Caleb and Joshua (the two spies) who looked at their circumstances through the lens of God's promise rather than the lens of fear?

If you are anything like me, reasoning is a big part of how we operate. So, when I kept feeling God tell me to not fear, but my present circumstances made fear seem so reasonable, I had a hard time obeying. I had to realize though, that my focus and the evidence for the fear were based on the fickleness of my circumstances, and not the surety of my God. I had to make the choice to believe God over my circumstances and allow His truth to be my guide. Proverbs 3:5 says, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding..." My prayer is that we can become a people who are so focused on God that the lies of fear (even the really strong ones) become as nothing in the light of Jesus.

Hebrews 12:1-2 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin, which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfector of our faith..." For too long, we have let the weight of fear hinder our race in this life, and it's time to lay it aside. It's time to take our focus and place it on Jesus rather than on the fear of not being perfect, of not being strong enough, of evil, or of whatever it may be in your life. You do not have to make yourself perfect in your faith, that's Jesus' job. You just need to start choosing to trust Him and be obedient. Start there and let Him do the miracles in and through your life.

When we look at our circumstances, fear may make sense. But when we look at Jesus, it no longer does.