“Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."“
Acts 7:54-56 ESV
When I was a little girl, I would often be fearful at night. Now, that is certainly not unusual for children. But the cause in me, was seeing and sensing things in the world of the spirit. For me, it wasn’t the traditional “monster under the bed” or in the closet, it was knowing that there was another world in which there was danger.
I can remember lying in my bed and asking the Lord to please have my mother check on me just one more time. You see, for the most part, I never said when I was afraid; so my only recourse was to pray and ask the Lord to send my mother one more time. And, there were many times she would appear; and for that moment, everything was all right.
Now, the fact of the matter is that there was nothing different in my circumstance before and after my mother appeared. The difference was only inside of myself. You see, her presence was reassurance to me: I was all right. I was safe.
As well, I can remember how comforting my father‘s presence was. I thought he was the strongest man in the world and that he could protect me from any danger, seen and unseen.
But then we grow up and come to know that even the greatest hero is sometimes incapable of saving someone from hurt or destruction. But this fact of life, does not have to leave us comfortless.
The command to not fear is found a multitude of times in the Bible. And often, as we see spoken through Isaiah, the Lord backs up the command, with the reason for not having to fear.
“fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.“
Isaiah 41:10 ESV
Yes, the Lord often assured His people that no matter the circumstance, the Lord being with them, was sufficient to cast out fear.
“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life.“
Isaiah 43:1-4 ESV
Whereas these assurances were obviously made to Israel as God’s special people, we have become sharers in the promises of Abraham through Jesus Christ.
“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.“
Galatians 3:13-14 ESV
“For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.“
2 Corinthians 1:19-20 ESV
Jesus and the disciples had been ministering to a multitude. Jesus then sent His disciples to cross over the Sea of Galilee ahead of Him. While they were crossing over, they came into contrary winds, and the boat began to be tossed. All of a sudden, they saw Jesus walking on the water and began to be fearful, thinking He was a ghost. But Jesus reassured them.
“But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."“
Matthew 14:27 ESV
When Peter saw that it was the Lord, he asked the Lord to bid him to come to Him, which Jesus did. Peter immediately got down from the boat and began to walk toward the Lord. However, when Peter looked away from Jesus to the tumultuous water, he began to sink.
“But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"“
Matthew 14:30-31 ESV
Yes, Peter’s fear didn’t have to last long because Jesus caught him. Jesus then chided him for not having faith in His ability to save him, even in the midst of a storm.
The fact is, as we look at Jesus, even in the midst of our calamity, we need not fear. Just as the presence of my mother or father casted out my fear, just so, keeping our eyes on the Lord, can deliver us from our fears. But, like Peter, our fears will rapidly take over when we get our eyes off of Jesus and on the scary circumstances we are facing.
In our opening scripture we see that when Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was brought before the religious leaders, it appeared he had the face of an angel. Why? As the psalmist puts it, looking at the Lord brings the radiance of being confident in His ability to deliver us.
“I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.“
Psalm 34:4-6 ESV
Because Steven already had his eyes on the Lord, looking to Him as his All in All, even facing execution, he had the peace of the Lord’s presence.
“But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."“
Acts 7:55-56 ESV
Child of God, yesterday we discussed looking away from worthless things. But that alone won’t make the difference we need. Indeed, we are looking away from those worthless things to be able to look at the Lord. He IS the difference.
If we do not look to Jesus, or if we fail to keep our eyes stayed on Him, our fears will take the day. But, if we do look to Him, and cry out to Him, we need never fear!
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
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