do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. - Isaiah 41:10
In yesterday's prayer meeting of the Brockton clergy, the devotion was about the flip-side of fear, courage. The gift from God though humanly fearful to press on. General George Patton described it this way, “Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.”
I have not validated this myself, but I have read that not to fear is in the Bible 365 times. Regardless of the exact number, we know God does not want us to live in fear but to be courageous. He promises to be with us and give us strength and help -- not only that, he promises victory!
Despite God's assurance, Satan loves to play on our fears. Regardless if it's panicking at the sight of a spider, distress over our health or something else -- the devil delights in our fear. We can imagine him with all his evil little imps having a good belly laugh at our expense. When we face these fearful situations, we have history on our side. We can recall all the times in the past God has led us to victory. Those times when he has given us the strength to hold on that extra minute, turning our fear into courage.
Heavenly and compassionate Father, the giver of strength and courage, we give you thanks. We are grateful for all the victories of the past and those to come. We confess there are times we give in to our fears. Satan bombards us with "you can't,” but we know with your help, "we can." Precious God, give us courage for this day. Please help us to face our fears. We ask this in your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Blessings!
Pastor Tim
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