God’s Presence #5—Present Against Fear

The Lord himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.” Therefore, we confidently say, “I AM is my helper; I will not be frightened. What can a person do to me?” Hebrews 13:5–6

Fear is very often a lie. Normally, fear occurs when we see a situation as dangerous and threatening our future happiness. But sometimes our perceptions are inaccurate. Sometimes we don’t see everything. This was true of Elisha’s servant, who did not see the chariots of fire that surrounded and protected them. No human being can do us any ultimate harm if the Lord is our helper. So it will do us no good to let ourselves be frightened, or to act based on 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, I AM 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 applied this truth to keep his readers from loving money so it would become the way to assuage the fear in their souls. We fear for our material welfare too. We also 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 never leave us. Remembering and relying on this promise will clear our perception and 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.