Beloved people of faith don’t bother themselves with what is happening in the lives of others. They are busy feeding on God’s faithfulness. They are delighting in Him and therefore all the desires of their heart become their reality. If you feel anxious because of these thoughts, speak to God right now.
For the heart that feels gripped by anxiety and worried about many things, the word of God is comfort and relief. The simplicity of the word is all that is needed to break the hold of fear. I have found this psalm to be a template for me (amongst others) at times when I feel afraid.
Humility is a recurring theme in Jesus’ ministry and sojourn on earth. And humility is a trait of a courageous ad faith-full person. If anyone had any reason not to be humble it was Jesus. He was God, afterall, and we didn’t even deserve His glorious presence. Yet He made Himself of no repute and came for us. That alone was enough. Yet here on earth He still walked humbly amongst us.
So let this be an encouragement for you. If God is asking you to stop something, even if it is a good thing, now is a good time to stop it before things get messy. Because the truth is, God loves you and He will make sure that you do not prosper in your own self-orchestrated way.
People of faith and courage know that God is the default place to go when things don’t go as planned. And the longer I live the more I realize that this happens a lot. From time to time we will face situations that don’t seem to align with what God promised us. For instance, our teenager misbehaves, our bank account acts up, our business makes more losses than gains or our marriage becomes difficult. The question now becomes, what do you do when your reality doesn’t match God’s promise?
So my friends, take your hands and your eyes away from things that God says, “Do not touch.” Don’t try so hard to get what is your friend’s own that you begin to do everything possible. Don’t desire what is not necessary. You don’t need more and more and more of something for no reason. Focus on God, not the thing you desire.
But Joshua had said to the two men who had spied out the country, “Go into the harlot’s house, and from there bring out the woman and all that she has, as you swore to her.” And the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her…
Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. And the Lord said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go…
The only thing that terrified and weakened these people was simple information. It was not that they had seen these people at war. It was not that they had confronted them before. It’s not that they had opposed them before. No! It was just what they heard that was terrifying enough to cripple them and take away their courage.
O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac… Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children. For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well
