THE PROBLEM WITH FEAR
"And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, 'Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you...'"
Acts 18:10
When I was a kid, there was a popular movie out with Don Knotts called THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN. Knotts’ character, Luther Heggs, was challenged to spend the night in an old house that was reportedly haunted. Luther Heggs was petrified with fear as he witnessed strange and frightening things in that “haunted” house. He was dubbed Mr. Chicken because of his problem with fear.
ARE YOU A CHICKEN?
While no one likes to admit being afraid, the truth of the matter is this: WE ALL TEND TO BE CHICKEN. Even the great, courageous, Apostle Paul had to be encouraged by God to stop being afraid.
It has been said that there are 365 “fear nots” or the equivalent thereof in the Bible. There is a “fear not” for every day of the year! WHY? The reason is simple: You and I have a natural tendency to get afraid every single day.
Are you afraid today? Are you afraid about your job, or the economy, or your marriage, or your family, or your health, or your finances, or failure, or the future, or standing up for Jesus in your community? What is the remedy for fear?
I AM WITH YOU!
When my girls were little, they would have bad dreams from time to time. This caused them to wake up in a panic. They quickly made their way to our room and came to my side of the bed. (They would go to Debbie’s side if they were sick and my side if they were scared. I was cool with that as I would much rather deal with fear than vomit.)
When they awoke me to tell me about their bad dream, I would have them get in bed with me. I would put my arms around them, and their fears of the boogie man would quickly vanish away. They knew that they were safe in the strong arms of their daddy.
You are safe in the strong arms of Jesus. He will never leave you nor forsake you (Heb. 13:5). And even when you walk through the deep, dark valley of the shadow of death, you don’t have to be afraid because your Shepherd is with you there (Ps. 23:4). He is Jehovah-Shammah, the LORD ever-present!
RECEIVE HIS WORD TODAY
Just as God’s Word came to Paul to calm his fears, so God’s Word comes to you today in the form of this email to calm your fears. If you have received Jesus as your Savior and Lord, He is with you and will see you through any and every situation. (If you have not yet received Him, you need to do it!) Let go and relax in His strong arms as you trust that He is God and in control of everything (Ps. 46:10). Thank Him for His promise, and praise Him for the problems you are facing. Remember, you are going THROUGH the valley of the shadow of death; you are not going to live there permanently.
What is the remedy for fear? (1) Do what God says to do. (2) Know that God is with you.
Love,
Pastor Jeff Schreve,
From His Heart Ministries
Dr. Jeff Schreve believes that no matter how badly you may have messed up in life, God still loves you and has a wonderful plan just for you. From His Heart provides real truth, love and hope on over 700 radio stations each day, in 182 countries each week on TV, and is always available online. Pastor Jeff takes no income from this ministry. All donations go to furthering the broadcast outreach. As a listener/viewer supported ministry, we thank you for joining with us to help speak the truth in love to a lost and hurting world. Go to www.fromhisheart.org for more information.
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