“The LORD is my [L]ight and my [S]alvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the [S]trength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”  (Psalm 27)

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”  (2 Timothy 1)

“Be not afraid, only believe.”  The Words of our Lord in Mark chapter five (5).

 

Reader, If you think the titles contradict each other, you are incorrect, At first glance, they do seem to contradict. I agree. Let us reconcile the titles.

The Christ-ian is not to be a person of fear but without fear there is no courage. Again, it seems contradictory, does it not?  The Christ-ian can have a healthy respect for that which is dangerous.  That is called common sense. The Christ-ian recognizes a danger, but s/he  does not fear that danger to the point of failure or falling, as s/he trusts God.  The shield of faith is that which allows us to fear not.

Certainly, the Christ-ian discerns that danger or trouble is about. The Christ-ian assesses the danger or trouble and acts in faith, acts in faith because s/he trusts God to be there.

In a recent article we wrote about Peter in prison. The point of the article was Peter’s trust in the Lord. Herod put eighteen (18) soldiers to watch Peter.  Peter was also put into two (2) pairs of chains.  Peter was sleeping in between two (2) soldiers. Two (2) of the eighteen were jailors who sat outside the jail.

If any man was ever entrapped or jailed, Peter is that man. But here’s the thing, it was Herod who was imprisoned by fear and not Peter. Peter was free while being in jail. Peter, by faith, was the Lord’s freeman. Christ told Peter, he would glorify Him by his death in old age. Peter was not in old age at this point, therefore, Peter knew he would be delivered from this imprisonment. See the Book of Acts, chapter twelve (12) to learn how Peter was delivered.

Peter recognized the danger he was in but faith overwhelmed any fear that Peter might have felt. Peter was sleeping soundly as he knew Who he has believed.

Paul asks us,  “If God be for us, who can be against us?” Again, a rhetorical question as the only answer is, no one.  It is true that persons do, in fact, come against us, however, they shall not prosper in the end.

In summary: We can recognize danger, we can recognize trouble. We can understand that the danger and the trouble could be harmful and yet, we will fear it not because of faith; the shield of faith shall protect us.

Godspeed.