Blessed or have no fear

DEVOTION

GENESIS

BLESSED

Gen 26:23-25

23 From there he went up to Beersheba. 24 That night the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham." 25 Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.

NIV

Have no fear, God is near. This is by far the greatest lesson we could ever learn, other than of course to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Isaac was surely blessed by God and the Lord wanted to assure him of this blessing. Why would God tell him not to be afraid? Isaac had just left the region of Abimelech under a little duress having some run ins with his people about the wells. But he did not engage in battle with them and rather than retaliate against their bad behavior he just kept moving on until they no longer bothered him. But we did not get the impression he was afraid of them, yet maybe because of what the lord tells him, he might have had a little fear regarding their reappearing again to dispute this current well. Nevertheless, the Lord assures him he has nothing to fear because he is under the watchful eye of God. The Lord tells him he is with him and he will bless him. This we cannot just leave for Isaac alone. We have been told that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, which means God is not only with us, but within us. Can that not be an even greater blessing than Isaac experienced? If then, having the Spirit of God dwell within us, it would be safe to say we have no reason to ever be afraid.

John 14:1

14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled . Trust in God; trust also in me.

NIV

John 14:25-27

25 "All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

NIV  

We have this assurance from the very lips of Jesus. Do not be afraid. Do not let our hearts be troubled. There is nothing that can happen to us that should cause us to be troubled with fear as to how our life will be or turn out. Jesus leaves us his peace. This word carries the meaning of more the peace from the havoc of war. This word within the Christian context implies “the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is.” This is from Thayers Greek Lexicon. This says a great deal as to how we should live free of fear from God as well as from this world. We have the peace of Christ, not as the world gives peace, but as he does. Some might find a sense of peace in the world using financial freedom as their source. But that can be taken from us in a moment’s notice. We are bombarded with ads telling us we can find security in gold or silver and protect ourselves from financial havoc and grief. But the world has nothing to offer the believer when it comes to real peace and not having a troubled heart. What we have is the Spirit of God dwelling within us. God is with us in even a greater way, if that is possible, than when he was with Isaac. God had made a covenant with his father Abraham and reassured he was in that covenant. God has made a covenant with us. If we accept his son as our Lord and Savior he will save us and give us eternal life as well as send his Spirit to take up residence within us. So why in the world would we ever let our hearts be troubled? We live in total trust of God and therefore we live with complete contentment, at peace with God and with our life. We are truly blessed.