Yesterday my post was about the devil
who is like a lion, “Be sensible and
vigilant, because your adversary the
Devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking someone he may devour;” (1Pt.
5:8) Today I was thinking perhaps I
didn’t clarify well enough why we don’t need to fear this fierce foe. In a sense, it’s like he is toothless and declawed.
See, he’s
kind of all bluff and no bite for
Christians who trust in the Lord. “When
I am afraid I will trust in You. In God I will praise His Word; in God I have
put my trust...” (Ps. 56:3,4) It doesn’t
mean you’ll never get hurt, but it does mean that the battle is the Lord’s
(2Ch. 20:15) so we’re on the winning
team. God fights for us. (Ex. 14:14; Dt. 1:30;
3:22; 20:4; Js. 23:3,10)
See, the devil’s biggest tool is fear: people will know what we’re really
like, our loved one will die, God won’t give us our desires, we’re not good
enough, we’re too bad for God to bless, we’re not strong enough, we can’t do
this alone and we feel all alone, we might die, we might lose everything… The list is endless.
Think about how the enemy uses the news
to promote fear: crime is up so you might be the next victim, one in four is
raped so it could be your daughter, cancer is on the rise and you could get it
if you eat wrong, no one can survive in this economy- bankruptcies abound, natural
disasters are heading your way, post secondary education is too high a cost
most can’t afford, housing prices crash, your pension might not be there when
you retire, we are killing our world, resources are dwindling…
In other words, the devil will use fear
to get you to stop standing in trust and faith in God so that you fall. We AREN’T strong enough, but God is. When our desires don’t come true, God gives us
better ones. God is our Father and doesn’t withhold blessings because we’re
sinners- since we’re all sinners (Rm. 3:23)
and He blesses us (Ps. 3:8) in different ways anyway. We AREN’T alone no matter how much we feel
that way.
I can do all things
through Christ who strengthens me.” (Php 4:13)
For you have not received the spirit of bondage again
to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption by which we cry, Abba,
Father! Rm. 8:15
Be strong and of a good courage. Do not fear nor be
afraid of them. For Jehovah your God is
He who goes with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you. Dt. 31:6 (also Js.
1:9)
The heart is deceitful above all things… Jr. 17:9
Here are some other helpful
verses…
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out
fear, because fear has torment. He who fears has not been perfected in
love. 1Jh. 4:18
For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of
power and of love and of a sound mind. 2Tm. 1:7
For everything that has been born of God overcomes
the world. And this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. Who is
he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
1Jh. 5:4,5
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the
excellence of the power may be of God and not of us; in every way having been troubled, but not having been
hemmed in; having been perplexed, but not utterly at a loss; having been
persecuted, but not having been forsaken; having been thrown down, but not
having been destroyed; always bearing about the dying of the Lord Jesus in the
body, so that the life of Jesus also might be revealed in our body. 2Cor 4:7-10
When faced with the lion, we have only to remember the
Lion of Judah (Rv. 5:5) is the all powerful God (Ps. 62:11) who dwells in us
(Jh. 14:23; 1Jh. 4:15). It is not by our
might or our limited power we win against the enemy, but by God’s:
…Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says
Jehovah of Hosts.
Zc. 4:6
The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
but
the victory belongs to the LORD.
Pr. 21:31 ESV
You are of God, little
children, and you have overcome them,
because He who is in
you is greater than he who is in the world.
1Jh. 4:4