here are different kinds of fear. There’s the kind that warns you to stay away from fire. There’s the kind that cultivates respect for God (Psalm 2:11). Oswald Chambers said, ‘When you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.’ There’s fear that makes you feel helpless; sometimes it’s rooted in parental criticism or a bully’s threats and, although it’s groundless, it still haunts you. There’s the fear of failing, which if left unchallenged becomes the father of failure. Job said, ‘What I feared has come upon me.’ (Job 3:25 NIV) There’s fear of the unknown where your imagination runs amok. What if you never meet the ‘right person’, or you lose your job, or the biopsy confirms the worst? Over and over in His Word, God says, ‘Don’t be afraid…I am with you.’ Paul Tournier notes: ‘Life and faith always insist on moving forward—and I cannot move forward without leaving something behind. The trapeze artist must let go of one trapeze at precisely the right moment and hover in the void before grabbing the other. Faith calls us out of our comfort zone…to learn new skills and minister in different ways.’ But we get uptight. We think, ‘What if God asks me to do something I can’t do?’ or ‘I don’t have the strength, wisdom, or faith.’ If you were relying on your own resources, you’d be in trouble. But the fact is, ‘God…knew you and chose you.’ (1 Peter 1:2 NLT) Every time you meet a new challenge He strengthens you by proving that He not only supplies the tools, but is responsible for the outcome.

 

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright 2014