Psalm 34:4: "I sought the Lord and He heard me, and delivered me from ALL MY FEARS".From my dad...
"Fears...phobias...anxieties...worries... what a load of NO-NO's.
Fears come in all sizes and shapes and in so many ways. Some have said there are 365 FEAR NOT's in the Bible. That ought to take care of every day in the year. There are so many, because there are so many different kinds.
The Lord wants to deliver us from ALL of them! Don't you love the "all's" of His word? All fears are made for prayer. And for faith. And for answered prayer. He has a Word for every one of them.
For example, it is wonderful how and when and where Jesus spoke His "FEAR NOT's"... not in the comfort of a rocking chair. But on one occasion in a boat, rocked by a storm. And yet Jesus was there at rest - asleep on a pillow... in the same storm where His disciples were scared to death! Jesus said "Why are you fearful Oh you of litle faith?
That's the way it is with many fears... they can come suddenly, especially in some stormy situation. Yes, they come even when Jesus is right there...
Satan instigates some new stormy trial and test with his fear tactics... not because we are AWAY from Christ, but precisely because we are now Christians, His own disciples... with Him and He with us... in the same ship! (call it His 'fellowship') (this was where my dad would smile and we kids would groan at his humor!! :)
Fears are dark. Foreboding. Threatening. Love to work in the dark, often at night. Indeed they come from the realm of satan and his dark kingdom. Before we know it, they can enter our thought life as thieves. They can come as deceivers, like angels of light, getting us to think they are the voice of God. They can be very subtle.
Then we wake up and say "This is NOT God's voice!"... And we REFUSE it in the name of Jesus. We 'resist the devil, and he will flee from us'... We don't FIGHT it... don't FEAR it... we FAITH it. (I peter 5:9)
Just like Jesus... we use God's Word as our sword... "IT IS WRITTEN... IT IS WRITTEN"... (Matt.4, Luke 4)
Fear is a "downer"... wants to get us DOWN, eyes off of Jesus, and down we go - like Peter on the water...
We can believe God to answer when we pray with the psalmist"...
'I sought the lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears'...
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The above post is from the notes and writings of my dad... my 'guest' blogger today! He would be smiling! :)
19 comments:
Amen Sister Sonja!! Fear and worry are the evil twins that zap the life out of God's children and cause us to be unfruitful for His kingdom. Keep your nose in the Bible and your eyes on Jesus is the only way to fly.
God bless you and have a great week.
~Ron
Fear not...those are some of the most lovely words there are. I take comfort in them each and every day. Praise be to the Lord! So enjoyed reading this Sonja!
What a good reminder Sonja! All too often I've awakened in the night with fear of what might happen and can't go back to sleep for hours. I've started quoting Scripture with God's promises and it definitely helps me.
I like your father's humor. I can just picture the kids rolling their eyes though. LOL.
Love you sis,
Debbie
he is such a great preacher! how wonderful that you
have his teachings to pass onto your children, grand
children, . . . and US!
i will pull out the 'fellowship' w/my own crew one of
these days to hear their groans. :)
Now Sonji why do I even stop to hear from God will I can just come here and read what He is saying?...LOL My reading for the last three days has been from Max Lucado's book "Fearless". I have been taking a chapter a day and just meditating on them...so the scriptures will fill my heart and mind.
Thanks again for confirmation....you so bless me! You father left behind such a wonderful inheritance to you and those you are sharing with.
Janette
What incredible joy if we learned to 'fear not' and trusted in God instead!
You are so right. Our fears are our enemies! Great post. Praise the Lord. Blessings.
Perfect love drives out all fear. This post is a blessing , as you are too my friend.... no , my sister in Christ.
Lots of love to you!
Gwen:)
Amen!!! This post was what I needed to hear this afternoon, sweet friend! And, that it came form your dad's notes...beautiful!
Hugs!
Susan
"What makes old Satan hate me so/ Oh, yeah Lord,/He's had me once and let me go/Oh, yeah Lord.
It is my comfort and belief as I sometimes find myself dangling between heaven and that other place, that God has promised once and for all; "Never will I leave nor forsake you."
I may be sailing in a nut shel lof a boat on the endless ocean, but I shall NEVER be alone.
"Fellow-ship" that's a good one! The picture of Jesus sleeping through the storm has gotten me through many of my own storms. And the cross even more so. If He could bear that, well I can certainly put up with a few trials here and there...
What a privilege for us to hear your dad's word, actually see it published in black and white.
Such timeless truths he speaks of.
What you shared deserves a second,more thorough reading.
Thanks for this post today, dear Sonja.
Love
Lidj
Smiling with you and your Dad :) Thanks for your visit...wonderful timing, my friend.
Blessings to you!
Just wanted to drop back in and wish you a happy "fearless" Wednesday , Sonja. I get to be off for the next 5 days so whooo hooo! Rejoice! Rejoice!
Yes he would be smiling! How awesome that you have his writings and that you are preserving them, by sharing them! I have all of dad's sermon notes in his brief cases. Someday, when time permits - it will be fun to go through them.
This lesson on Fear is timeless. It will never grow cold or old. Fear will always be our foe.
remember that hymn?
"Count your blessings - name them one by one - count your blessings see what God has done"
We need to build altars to remember what God has done in the past. Who He has shown Himself to be - the mercy and Grace - forgiveness and Love. We need to bend a knee at the remembrance of these BLESSINGS - and Fear won't have a leg to stand on!
God bless you dear soul
Patrina <")>><
Powerful truths!
I'll bet your Dad had no idea how far reaching his words would be when he penned them. It's a good reminder for us, too, to consider the impact our words will have long after we're gone.
I remind myself often that fear is but the shove I need to flea to the Rock that is Higher than I!
Blessings,
Kathleen
AMEN and Amen!!!
Your Dad's words are so powerful as I'm sure was his walk with the LORD!!!
This stays with me: "'I sought the lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears'..."
Love and blessings and thank you for sharing your precious Dad's heart with us.
I hate fear! In fact, I'm in pursuit of peace right now, and it's an awesome journey so far. I found your blog through Janette Wright.
Quite a bit of wisdom your guest blogger had to share today, and I can't help but think...if he could talk to us today, after his years in heaven, he would give a hearty "amen" to the "fear not" promises in God's Word. It will take me a lifetime to grasp these love filled and comforting promises from my Heavenly Father. He assures us that perfect love casts out fear. In the midst of fearful moments I find myself repeating this promise. This was another post filled with real comfort. Thank you, and I really did appreciate your guest blogger:)
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