On the Everyday Jesus podcast we are continuing our discussion on the Holy Spirit and how He helps us in our daily lives. This week on the show we talked about how to find God’s plan for your life. If you haven’t listened to it yet, you can check it out below:
Today I wanted to talk about one of the words I used in the podcast that hinders people from following God or seeking His will – Fear. Fear is a huge problem in the world and specifically in the church. As we seek to grow closer to Christ, we must battle this monster that seeks to hold us down and keep us pacified.
“’For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Do not be afraid, for I myself will help you,’ declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.” ~ Isaiah 41:13-14
I love this verse. It reminds me that God is a Father. We’ve been spending most of our time talking about the Holy Spirit, but the first person of the Trinity is God the Father and this verse reminds us that fathers care for their children. A father’s heart is one of protection.
One night, while I was sleeping, a small knock came upon my bedroom door and small whimper was heard. I got out of the bed and opened the door. I saw my young daughter standing there with tears running down her face, scared. She had awoken from a bad dream and stumbled to my bedroom. How do you think I responded? Did I shut the door in her face? Of course not, I stooped down to her level and gave her a big hug and told her, “everything is going to be OK. Daddy is here. Daddy’s got you.” This gave her such peace. She knew that her daddy wasn’t going to let anything happen to her.
God does the same thing with us. When fear grips our hearts and seemingly paralyzes us from moving, all we need to do is call out to him. He will answer I cries. He’s not going to shut the door on us. Our prayers are heard by our Father.
And the joy that I see in this verse is in the statement, “I myself will help you.” God isn’t going to send an angel. He’s not going to write you a note. He is going to stoop down and hold us. He’s going to help us.
Fear will keep you from realizing your full potential as a Christian. We are called to follow Him, no matter where He leads. We sang an old hymn in the church, “wherever He leads, I’ll go.” Is that the cry of your heart today? If not, cry out to Him. Ask him to help you. Ask him to help you overcome your fears so that you can follow him. If you want to follow God’s will for you life, you are going to have to grab a hold of his hand.
So this week, think about something that God wants you to do, but you are fighting a spirit of fear. You are scared to do his will and you really want to just turn around and run. Now, think about this verse. Grab the nail scarred hand of Jesus, the one who stared death in the face, so that we could have life, and release your fears. God is with you. He will help you. He will never leave you. Fear not.
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