December 19, 2010

Afraid: December 16, 2010

December 16. TODAYS WORD FOR THURSDAY DECEMBER 16, 2010

AFRAID

DEFINITION:

Feeling fear or apprehension; feeling a threat of danger or harm.

SCRIPTURE:

“Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” Matthew 14:27.

“Do not be afraid, for I am with you.” Genesis 26:24.

“I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. Save me, O my God.” Psalm 3: 6-7.

“When I am afraid, I will trust in You.” Psalm 56:3.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Do you often feel afraid? If so, you are not alone. God’s message to us from the Old Testament is “Do not be afraid.” Great men of God in the Old Testament have all experienced fear and needed the assurance from God that He was with them and therefore they had no reason to fear. Abraham, Moses, Isaac, David and Jeremiah, for example, were all told by God not to be afraid. Jesus used the very same words to reassure His disciples when they experienced fear.

If God has told us not to be afraid, then why do we feel afraid? David tells us in Psalm 18 that being afraid is a result of the evil that engulfs us on every side and this is because of our own unbelief and sinful ways. David tells us to trust in God when we are afraid. (Psalm 56:3)

In Psalm 3, David tells us although he was surrounded by tens of thousands of enemies he was not afraid. He could lie down and sleep because he trusted God. It is hard to sleep when we are afraid, but David reminds us that if we cannot sleep because we are afraid, we just need to put our trust in God.

We can remember our young children from time to time waking up in the middle of the night saying they were afraid. What makes this happen? Most of the time it relates back to something they have heard or something said or seen. It may have been words from a friend, a story, a television program or a negative or misunderstood comment. Our family experienced the Sylmar earthquake in 1971 and a second one, the Northridge earthquake in 1994. The after shocks caused us and the children to fear. So we understand when people say they have had moments when they have been afraid because of things they have seen or heard.

Being afraid is not uncommon for many people today. When you sit down and talk to people you often hear them say that they are afraid. They are afraid of the direction their children are going. They are afraid that they cannot keep their marriage together. They are afraid of losing a job.

Let us repeat what we said above. For those that love the Lord and do what the scripture tells us to do, we should not be afraid. Our hope is in the Lord and He has promised us that He will take care of us. All we have to do is to cast our cares, worries, and fears upon Him and rest in the assurance that He will take care of us. Do you live with this assurance? If not, now is the time to let go of being afraid and let God take care of all your concerns.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in I Peter 5:7.

Cast all your cares on Him because He cares for you.

PRAYER:

Thank You for taking away from me the thoughts of being afraid. Give me confidence today that all my concerns are in Your hands and You are caring for me. May my family find this same assurance as they walk through life today!

Welcome ~ Ministry Programs ~ Make a Donation ~ Product Catalog
Family Prayer Partners
~ Family Devotional ~ Statement of Faith ~ Contact Us

 

Copyright©2009. All Rights Reserved. The content of this Christian religious blog dedicated to
bringing Bibles to people all over the world is owned exclusively by World Bible Society. Legal Disclaimer

Christian Religious Blog and Website Design by Flagstaff Central.com, Inc.
Content Management System Powered by iUpdateIt.com