I Will NOT Be Afraid

Isaiah 43:5 – “Fear not: for I am with thee”. This is the “F” verse for Abeka Christian Education curriculum. Noah’s Nook teaches using this curriculum so all 26 verses are always on our minds. One day we had a fire drill and one precious little preschooler started saying, “FEAR NOT!! For I am with thee, I will NOT be afraid!” Just imagine…a small child, in a huge building being told to quickly move down stairs and outdoors. This would give an adult some pause, much less a child. One reason I love talking to children so much is because they can quickly recall and use what they learn, and usually in context. This verse was planted in her heart and she used it when she needed it.

I am experiencing life that could easily qualify as scary. I have teenagers! I asked them what they are afraid of and I got the usual snakes, roaches, etc. But, after digging deeper I have one going to college this fall and he has been scared to death of the change. My younger child has always had a fear of fire even though he has never been directly affected by it. Are these fears rational or irrational? I assure you, that to them it is very rational. So how do you deal with fear without diminishing your very real emotion or self-esteem?

Do you believe in spiritual gifts? A spiritual gift (in basic Paige terms) is a strong belief or understanding of something that you normally wouldn’t understand as clearly. Basically, God gives each person a gift (or more) that you can learn to rely upon. One of my gifts is Faith. This automatically helps me when the subject of fear comes up. I am able to fully rely on God with the outcome. While this is very comforting to me, to those that don’t have this gift – what are they feeling? 

If you don’t know what to do, I believe that all we can do is turn to God and the Bible and we have to teach our children to do the same. There are so many questions in life and parenting, but one thing we can know is that the Bible is true and has no errors. God is incapable of making mistakes. Psalms 149:4 says “For the Lord takes delight in his people” This is true, because the Bible is true. Jeremiah 31:25 says “I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.” This is true, because the Bible is true. Matthew 11:28 says “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” This is true, because the Bible is true!

How often do we call on our Lord when we are afraid? He WANTS us to call on Him every time! I love my children and when they need something, even assurance, I jump to meet their needs. It delights me for them to come to me. If I feel that way about my children, how much more does God feel about us? Please friend, give God a chance to ease your fear; whatever it may be. There are no categories of little or big fears, and there are no categories of what God “covers”. He cares about it all. The Bible is ALL true, not just some of it. 

by Paige Phillips

Paige is a wife to Randall and mother to Aaron and Bryson, and is officially the shortest one in her family now.  But, she strives, above all else, to be an obedient follower of Christ.  I have been a Christian since the young age of 5 when I completely understood the simple fact that Jesus loves me and wants me to love Him.  I have had many ups and downs throughout my life, but always knew that God was never far away – it was me that had moved.  The biggest thing I have learned from my relationship with Christ is that He wants us to love people and tell them about Him – however we can: through humor, through compassion, through struggles of our own, through tears, through conversation.

 

Filling the Gaps

I was 27 when I discovered that I had a debilitating fear. On the day it surfaced, my husband and I and some neighbors visited Vulcan Park. Not being a native of Birmingham, I knew nothing about Vulcan, and since the statue had just been returned to the park after being down for renovations, we wanted to go see what had been done. After milling around the museum, we went outside to the statue and rode the elevator up to the viewing platform around Vulcan. When the doors opened, I stepped out toward the platform. As I walked the few steps from the elevator to the platform, I was overcome with panic and terror. This was unexpected, because as a teenager, I enjoyed the thrill of roller coasters and free-fall rides at amusement parks. However, at the age of 27, something had changed. I was terrified, and the perforations in the platform kept me from moving forward. 

Logically, I knew that the platform was safe, but my fear completely overrode logic. In my mind, the metal was weakened by the perforations and I truly feared that the metal would sag or break under my step. So, I stayed inside the elevator encasing (or more accurately, gripping the interior wall) and waited while my husband and neighbors walked around admiring the city view.

I think back to that day; it reminds me of my own trust in God. There was a point in my life when I realized that I wasn’t experiencing what God intended for those who trust Christ for salvation . . . sustainable faith that gives hope when things appear hopeless, gives peace when chaos surrounds, gives joy when life is crumbling, and allows me to forgive when the world says harbor the hurt.

In his faithfulness to give wisdom when asked, God revealed to me that there were gaps in my faith; it was weak because I did not really know Him. Although I was familiar with many attributes of His character, I had not been able to recognize his faithfulness to me. I never had an answer to the classic Bible study question “tell me about a time in which God was/did ________ in your life.” I was convicted, because I had no testimony. In a desire to seek Him and know Him and trust Him, I searched His Word and came upon Psalm 145.

The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.

The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.

The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.

The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.

The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time.

You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does.

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.

The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

                                                                             Psalm 145:8,9,13b-20 (NIV)

As I sought Him through His Word, God stirred a desire in my heart to know Him - not an impersonal knowledge that one gains from just hearing the Word at church or from watching my fellow believers, but a personal knowledge of who He is.  I wanted, and continue to want, stories of who He is to me.  

• I want to personally know His graciousness and compassion.
• I want to be able to tell my children how He is faithful to his promises and loving toward all He has made.
• I want God alone to be the one who upholds me when I fall.
• I want to offer personal praise for the times when He provided for me at the proper time and satisfied the desires of my heart.
• I want to confidently say that He is near to my family when we call on Him and that He hears our cry and saves us.
• I need the peace that comes from trusting that He watches over me.

When I surrendered control of my life to God, I began a blessed, yet difficult, journey towards sanctification.  This journey is going to take my entire life, and I’m expecting that it will be painful at times.  Daily, I wish my sin were less and my faith were stronger, and each day that I seek Him through His Word and recognize His activity and faithfulness in my life, my faith in God’s promises to His children is reinforced and my sin becomes less tolerable to me.  It is God’s unwavering character that strengthens me to overcome my fear of trusting His sovereignty and goodness.  

There are still things that I struggle to trust God with, but instead of these perforations or gaps weakening my faith, they give me hope . . . I know that God wants to fill them with OUR own story – the story of how He has been faithful and trustworthy to me.

by Carrie Graham

Carrie is a wife and mother who believes in the transformative power of the resurrection of Christ.  She know that God desires to have a personal relationship with her and fulfill His promises in my life.   Through daily struggles and victories, and even miniscule things, she looks for God’s unfailing grace, unending mercy and never-ceasing presence.  Her desire is to bring glory to God’s name by journeying with Him and allowing Him to mold her into a beautiful work, thus creating our own story that tells of His faithfulness to her. 

A Woman Unafraid

She's thirteen, and while busying herself with the chores of the day, she wonders what he is like.  She's been pledged to be his bride, and she wonders when the day will come.  She's seen him.  She's heard his voice, but she doesn't know when he is coming for her.  He's made his payment to her father, and it could be any day now.  So she continues her activities as usual, and in her spare time, she makes sure her dress is ready.   She prepares for the day when he will come for her.  She readies herself so that she will not be afraid - afraid of the wedding night and all marriage itself entails. She prepares herself to become a wife.

This particular day though becomes an extraordinary day, and surprisingly it is not because he's come for her.  No.  Mary has had an unexpected visitation.  Instead of Joseph coming, it is Gabriel who has come to deliver a message to her, and Gabriel is no ordinary messenger.  He's an angel.

Gabriel:  "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

She pinches herself and thinks, "Is this really real?  Is this really happening?  Am I crazy?  No, it is real, and I am afraid.  How could he call me, Mary, a simple girl, "highly favored?"  And why does he say the Lord is with me?  I am just plain ole little Mary.  Who am I that he would greet me so?  Who am I that he would visit me?"

Gabriel:  "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

To herself Mary thinks, "Me, the mother of the Messiah!  Is that what he is telling me?  Surely, this is not true, I am not even married yet."

Out loud she says:  "How will this be since I am a virgin?"

Gabriel:  "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.  For nothing is impossible with God."

To herself, "Nothing is impossible with God.  Elizabeth is going to have a baby.  I am going to have a baby.  Special babies together."  She becomes almost giddy with excitement.

Mary:  "I am the Lord's servant.  May it be to me as you have said."

Then Gabriel leaves.  Mary is full of excitement and hope.  The Lord wants to use her, little ole Mary pledged to be married.  She packs up a bag and goes to visit cousin Elizabeth.  She was as excited about Lizzie's pregnancy as her own, and more so, because Elizabeth is proof that what the angel said to her was true.

She had every reason to be afraid as she journeyed.  What was Joseph going to think?  Would he believe?  Would he accept?  He could leave her.  What were the people going to think?  She thought about the words of Moses she'd heard her father say: virgins found not to be truly virgins were stoned. But she simply believed, that she would carry Messiah, and Messiah would protect her.  She pondered only the promise of what Gabriel had said to her and believed his words to be true.

Upon arriving at Elizabeth's house, she said, "Hello, Elizabeth.  It is I, Mary, come to see your good news."

Elizabeth grasped her belly as the baby growing inside her leaped for joy.  God's Spirit filled her and she said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

"Confirmation of the promise! Indeed how blessed I am."  Mary thought to herself.

Three months later, right before Elizabeth gave birth, Mary returned home.  Her belly began to grow, and over time, she was found to be with child before her wedding.  Joseph was not sure what to do, and he thought about divorcing her.  Divorce would leave her destitute and alone, but it was better than the obvious option of death and of marrying an unfaithful woman.  Instead God revealed to him in a dream that the child in Mary was His.  So even though Mary had waited for her wedding night, Joseph came one day quietly, and with no ceremony that would defile the virgin birth, she moved into his home as wife instead, he simply assuming the child as his own.  It would be months after they'd lived together before a ceremony could be had.  Thus, no ceremony ever was.

Now, it was not just a woman unafraid.  It was a man caring for a woman unafraid, walking in belief with her as they readied themselves to care for Messiah.

What has God spoken to the depths of your heart?  Have you doubted his words to you?  Or have you simply believed them to be true and walked in a legacy of faith, championing others to walk along beside you?