Afraid: May 21, 2014

TODAYS WORD FOR WEDNESDAY MAY 21, 2014.

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.

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

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Do you often feel afraid? If you do you are not alone. In times when we are afraid, God’s message to us is the same message that He gave to Isaac when he feared for his life. God said to Isaac, “Do not be afraid, for I am with you” (above verse). Great men down through history, in their time of fear, needed the assurance from God that they had no reason to fear.

When you read the scriptures you will see that Abraham, Moses, Isaac, David, Jeremiah, the disciples, Peter, Paul and many others faced situations where they feared for their very life and were all told by God not to be afraid.

Psalm 56 (above) was written by David at a time in his life when he was afraid because he was being endangered by the Philistines. David’s natural reaction was to panic but in this Psalm he demonstrates that the believer in God can replace anticipated terror with composure of trust.

In verses 1-4 David relates his fear and contrasts it with his trust in God. His trust and faith in God gives him the victory he needs over fear. In verses 5-9, David recognizes that although his enemies were seeking to destroy him he has a deliverer in the God he trusts. In verse 9, David says, “This I know, that God is for me.”

In the midst of fear when all seems dark, one truth shines through: when God is for us, those against us will not succeed. In verses 10-13 David tells us that the result of putting his trust in God gave him victory over his fear and a cause for thanksgiving.

Being afraid is a result of the evil that engulfs us on every side and this comes to us because of our unbelief and sinful nature. The solution is to put our trust in God when we are afraid.

We can remember our young children from time to time waking up in the middle of the night saying that they were afraid. What makes this happen? Most of the time it relates back to a time when they heard about or saw something that was frightening and might do something to hurt them. Their reaction, of course, is to run to someone they can trust. There is no place where a child feels safer than to be in the safety of their parent’s protective and loving arms.

Being afraid is not uncommon for many people today. We live in such an evil world that just the everyday circumstances of life can give us reason to be afraid. We hear parents tell us that they are fearful of the direction their children are going. Others are fearful that their marriage is falling apart. Some are fearful of losing a job or even their home.

Remember our hope and strength is in the Lord. When fear comes into your life then it is time to run to God. He is your Heavenly Father. When we cast our cares, our worries, and our fears upon Him, He will take care of us and make us victorious over our fears.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 119:11.

Your Word have I hid in my heart that I may not sin against You.

PRAYER:

Take away my thoughts of fear today. Give me confidence that all my concerns are in Your hands and you will not only take care of each one but You will shelter me with Your protective hand. May my family find the same assurance as they walk through life today.