Hebrews 13:5-6 ” Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me .”
Many times in our lives we come into circumstances that cause us to fall into fear. Something happens and suddenly we are certain that the world is going to fall apart, that there is no hope and that nothing can be done to save the situation that we are in. This is fear, which follows doubt, which we fall into because in the midst of our situation we forgot (or chose to forget) just who we have on our side because of our lack of faith.
Hebrews 13:5 is one of my absolute favorite verses. Many of us claim and hold onto the promise that the Lord will never leave us or forsake us, but we often still find ourselves falling into fear at times. We say that our God will never leave us, but we choose not to make the leap to ” The Lord is my helper, I will not fear “. This, my friends, is very wrong because when it comes right down to it, fear is a choice. Our circumstances are not always what we would choose, but our responses are always our choice.
Fear is not of God, which means that it must originate with satan. As we pass through this Christian life, we can live victoriously and abundantly in all that we do and in each and every situation that we find ourselves in (Ephesians 3:20) by holding fast to our faith in Jesus Christ. As Christians, we are not promised that we will never have problems or struggles, yet we are promised that the Lord will always walk with us through those problems and struggles. And yet the devil would want nothing more than for us to waver and lose faith each time a problem comes upon us. The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe (Proverbs 29:25). When we fall into fear, our problems get bigger and bigger and the devil can ensnare us in fear where we can doubt the safety of the Lord. So, how do we not fall into fear?
We would do well to look at Matthew 8:26: ” And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm .” In this verse, the disciples were in the boat with Christ and a fierce storm arose. Christ was physically in the boat with them, not feet from where they were sitting, and yet when the storm arose, they fell into a panic. When they awakened Christ, He cut straight to the root of their problem. It wasn’t the storm, but their lack of faith, which allowed them to be so afraid. Christ then rebuked the storm and all was calm.
So what are we to do when we come into circumstance that could cause us to fear? We need to remember a few very important things:
- Fear is not of God. 1 John 4:18 tells us: There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love . We have God and His most perfect love in our lives, therefore we do not have to fear. We must remember that fear is a choice and it is counter to trusting in and depending on God. We can choose not to be afraid and claim God’s love and protection in each and every situation.
- Fear is not of God. Fear does not originate with God, but with satan. James 4:7 tells us that we can “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you “. When satan tempted Christ, He resisted satan with the word of God (Luke 4, Matthew 4). Christ threw God’s word at the devil and the devil had to flee. We write God’s word upon our hearts that we might not sin against Him and also so that it is there in our hearts when we need the Holy Spirit to bring it to our remembrance (Psalm 119:11, John 14:26). When you are afraid, start quoting scripture. The devil cannot remain where God’s word and promises are claimed.
- Fear is not of God and He commands us not to be afraid. Isaiah 41:10 tells us: ” Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness”. We need not fear for the sole reason that God is with us. Our situations should never dictate whether or not we fear, we just shouldn’t be afraid. Our God is with us and He is our God. As God’s children we ” have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15). God our Father has promised to strengthen us, help us, and uphold us. Whom shall we fear?
Hebrews 13:5-6 ” Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me .”
Let’s go back to our opening verses and take a look at the promises that we can claim in them:
- God will never leave us or forsake us. He is with us always (Matthew 28:20).
- We can be bold and have the power to rebuke that which would cause us to be afraid (2 Timothy 1:7).
- The Lord promises to be our helper. In each and every situation, we can call upon Him for assistance and He will be there.
- We have no reason to ever fear because God will never leave us, we have the power to rebuke satan and his plans to cause us to tremble, and the Lord promises to help us.
Friends, it is my prayer that these promises of His presence speak peace to your hearts and remind you that Christ can bring peace to your storms. Hold tightly to Him, depend upon Him and trust Him, and remember that we have the power to rebuke satan and his wily ways because we have the power of God’s Word. We can live victoriously and abundantly in each and every situation because we do not walk alone.