The Bible says 365 times to "fear not". Preachers always say that if the Lord says something once, he wants us to pay attention to it, but if he repeats himself, then we must take earnest heed to it because He is pleading with us to grasp a concept. Fear is not faith. Faith and fear are diametrically opposed to one another so that we cannot possess both at the same time. I cannot believe God for everyone. I can only believe God for me. But this is why I choose to believe God, and never fear:
God is. He is real. He is real to me. I know that He is with me right now. I know this because He has told me. ("Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest." "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.") He is so real to me that I know He is here beside me right now as I type this. He knows me better than anyone else on this earth, including myself. He had my life planned out in detail, in its entirety at my conception. He is so all-powerful, omni-present (everywhere at once) and omniscient (all-knowing) that He created the world and everything in it, simply by speaking it into existence. He is King of kings, and Lord of lords. He is almighty, unchangeable. He is God. He is pitiful, and of tender mercy, kind, just, righteous, loving. He is all that is good, and right, and true. He is jealous of our complete trust in Him, our love, and our devotion. And above all, He is worthy. Of all that we have, all that we are, and all that we ever hope to be. He is why we are here; to glorify, magnify, and exalt Him alone as God. He knows our frame; that we are but dust, so that He asks, "Is there anything too hard for Me?" He asks, not because He doubts it, but because we do and He desires us to search our hearts and ask ourselves if we really believe with everything that is in us that indeed, nothing is too hard for Him. With all this in mind, how dare we fear? If we are afraid it is because we have chosen to be so. The Psalmist says, "I will not fear". We have to want to be fearless. We have to choose it. By choosing to be afraid, we are saying by our actions that God cannot handle whatever we are afraid of. We are in essence saying that God is not who He says He is; that He cannot be trusted. Never before in my life has Psalm 23 meant so much to me. "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me in the path of righteousness for His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness, and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
As God's children, we have the privilege of calling God "Abba, Father" or Daddy. He no more wants us to doubt His goodness towards us, than we want our children to doubt our goodness towards them. If I were to leave my children in the care of a friend for a little while, I would not want them to spend the time worrying, and wondering and being afraid that I would never come back to get them if I said I would be back in a little while before I left. I want nothing more than their happiness. I want them to play and have fun and enjoy the time they spend there. In other words, I want them to be care-free, because they know they can trust me to keep my word. No if's, and's, or but's about it. "Be careful for nothing, but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God that passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
God wants us to have the faith of a little child. My little children don't get up in the morning wondering what they are going to eat, if there will be enough, what they are going to wear, if mommy and daddy are going to take care of them. No, they trust us completely. They have every reason to, as we have never failed them yet, even to the denying of our own selves if necessary. How much more so is not God to be trusted? If we want good things for our children, the Lord surely wants nothing less than His best for us. And although we as human parents fail, that's one ability He doesn't have. He will never fail us. If one of my children came to me and said, "Mommy, I have decided to trust you completely. I know that you love me, and I want your will to be my will from now on" I would not say in my heart "Oh this will be fun. Let me see how miserable I can make him! I'm going to take away everything that my child holds dear and see if he still trusts me"! NO! I would bless that child's efforts in every way I possibly could to encourage him, and to show him how much I appreciate his decision, knowing what self-sacrifice costs. "God is good; through every trial and test. God is good; and I know His way is best. Even when I cannot see the purpose of His plan. Still I understand...God is good."
"His love has no limit; His grace has no measure; His power has no boundary known unto man." If we believe this is true, then the only thing limiting what God can and will do in our lives is our faith. We have to choose to believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. "According to your faith be it unto you." Have faith in God! Trust Him completely and see if He will not open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing so that you won't have room enough to receive it. He's waiting, and willing. Trust, try and prove Him. He is able!
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