God’s Presence #5 — Present Against Fear

The Eternal himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” so that we confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What shall man do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6

Fear is very often a lie. Fear occurs while we’re seeing a situation as threatening. But sometimes our perceptions are inaccurate. Sometimes we don’t see everything, as was true of Elisha’s servant. No human being can do us any ultimate harm if the Lord is our helper. So it will do us no good to be afraid, or to act on the basis of our fear to secure our future in any way we can. We know he will help us in any undertaking, because he has promised to be with us. After Moses assured Joshua of this truth, the Eternal repeated the promise himself, urging Joshua to follow him in the obedience of faith and lead the masses of Israel into Canaan. The author of Hebrews applies this truth to keep his readers from loving money to the point of seeing it as the means for assuaging the fear in their souls. We fear making a mistake, or the future effects of a mistake we’ve made. We fear subordinates as well as supervisors. We fear the unknown. But God knows the future and he will not ever leave us. Faith in his promise will force out our fear.

Father, thank you for this promise. Forgive my fear and help me to remember that as you satisfy my present, you will also satisfy my future. Amen.