Worthy Devotions – Daily Christian Devotion » Fear

Psalms 37:23-24 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.

Failure is never a pleasant feeling. It isn’t enjoyable to lose a job, see a relationship falter, or fail a test. But the disappointment we feel when we face defeat can be turned to joy if we look at it the right way!

Thomas Edison was busy working in his laboratory at 2 o’clock one morning when an assistant came into the room and noticed that the inventor was smiling broadly.

“Have you solved the problem?” he asked. “No,” replied Edison, “that experiment didn’t work at all. Now I can start over again.” Edison could have such a confident attitude because he knew that the road to success is often paved with disappointments that serve to extend the road — not to block it. Each failure brought him a little closer to success.

Living a life of victory is not about being perfect — because we are human — and will always make mistakes. The key is learning how to get up after we have fallen. It’s natural to make mistakes — but it’s supernatural to learn from those mistakes and move forward!

Isaiah 33:2 O LORD, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm (z’roah) every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.

During the building of the Golden Gate Bridge over San Francisco Bay, construction fell badly behind schedule because several workers had accidentally fallen from the scaffolding to their deaths. Engineers and administrators could find no solution to the costly delays. Finally, someone suggested a gigantic net be hung under the bridge to catch any who fell. Finally in spite of the enormous cost, the engineers opted for the net. After it was installed, progress was hardly interrupted. A worker or two fell into the net but were saved. Ultimately, all the time lost to fear was regained by replacing fear with faith in the net.

Do you have a fear of falling or failing? The Lord is always right there to be our net — to catch us when we fall. He is our salvation in time of trouble and provides the perfect safety net in Messiah!

Rest in Him and His finished work 2000 years ago. Press on full steam ahead!

Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

The captain of a submarine was once asked, “How did the terrible storm last night affect you?” The officer looked at him in surprise and exclaimed, “Storm? We didn’t even know there was one!”

There is an area beneath the surface of the ocean known to sailors as the “cushion of the sea”. In this place, although the ocean may be raging terribly above, the waters here are never stirred.

I think you know where I’m going with this. There is a place, a wonderful place, we can go to find refuge during the frightening storms raging above us — a place where we don’t feel a thing — no fear, no worry for tomorrow.

Let’s get down there today. Let’s find that perfect peace the Lord intends for every one who trusts in Him. There’s so much work to be done!

Psalms 107:29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.

Richard Wurmbrand, a Romanian Jewish Believer and an amazing man of God, spent 14 years in communist prisons where he was tortured brutally for his faith and then lived to tell about it. In his book, The Oracles of God, he writes about acquiring inner peace and tells the following powerful story.

During a tempest at sea when a ship was being tossed to and fro by the angry waves, the wife of a naval officer asked her husband, “How can you be so calm in such a storm?”

The officer drew his sword, pointed it at his wife’s breast, and asked, “Why are you calm and unafraid?” Surprised, she protested, “Why should I be afraid? The sword is in the hand of my husband who loves me too much to harm me.”

Her husband smiled and said, “This is the source of my calm, too. The wind and the waves are in the hands of my loving Father. Why should I be afraid?”

You may be going through a storm right now. But let’s remember that we’re in the hands of our loving Father. He’s right here with us and He’s going to get us through. There’s so much work to be done!

Psalms 118:17 I will not die, but live, and I will proclaim what the Lord has done.

We’ve got so much going on right now. As we continue to battle against the enemy to work for the Lord here in the Land, we reeeeeeeeeeeeally covet your prayers! And please know that we pray for you too!

A farmer and his friend went duck hunting. Eventually, they got to talking about the things of God, as they always would. “You’re always talking about these battles you have with the devil,” the farmer’s friend said to him. “It’s so silly – I mean, I’m not even a Christian and I’ve never experienced anything like that.”

“Yes my friend,” the wise farmer answered, “but if you shot two ducks — one was wounded and one was dead — which would you go after first?”

“Well,” he said, “I guess I’d go after the wounded duck – I can always get the dead one later.”

“Mmm-hmm,” said the farmer, “The devil knows you’re a dead duck.”

For those of us who are walking with the Lord today, be encouraged! Our enemy knows that we have potential to do great things for God, and out of fear, he’ll try anything to take us out. This is so very evident by the constant battle we all face.

Let’s stand strong against the devil today! And rise up to the Lord’s calling upon our lives! We will fight and we will WIN! Because if God is for us, who can be against us?! And you know it — there’s still SO much work to be done!!

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

Historian Shelby Foote tells of a soldier who was wounded at the battle of Shiloh during the American Civil War and was ordered to go to the rear. The fighting was fierce and within minutes he returned to his commanding officer. “Captain, give me a gun!” he shouted. “This fight ain’t got any rear!”

In Ephesians, Paul describes the armor that we should put on daily. Have you ever noticed that every part of the body is covered except for one? The back! The Lord didn’t want us to run away and turn our back toward our enemy — it would leave us vulnerable, with no armor to protect us against his attack! And just as a dog would when he senses fear, if we run from the enemy, he will relentlessly chase us until we are broken. But if we take courage and stand strong in the power of God’s might, then the battle will be the Lord’s… and He has already won the victory!

The battle is raging! It’s time to take up our armor and face the enemy head-on! There’s no turning back! We’re in this together! There’s so much work to be done!

Psalm 118:6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?

As some of you may know, a bomb exploded in a bus within blocks of our Jerusalem apartment about three years or so ago. That morning, my wife and I, along with our newborn baby, were heading to the city center to run a few errands when suddenly, we heard the explosion. Within minutes, the sirens were screaming from every part of the city as officials quickly made their way to the scene. Later that month, I was just seconds from getting on a bus which exploded before my very eyes.

People ask us all the time– “Aren’t you afraid to be living in Israel these days?” We’re really not. Truth be told, there aren’t too many safe places in this world anymore, are there? However, there is one very safe place we have found; It’s the very safest place there is. You may have heard of it — the place is called “God’s perfect will”! We all need to strive to make our home and reside there the rest of our earthly days!

You may be afraid to go to those places or do those things that God may be calling you to today. It could be to use your God-given gifts in some far away place or it could just be to walk across the street to share with a neighbor. Whatever the case may be, it’s easy to get wrapped up in other people’s fear, anxiety and criticism — but we have a choice. We can either give in to those fears or stand for the Lord and choose what has called us to do.

Let’s submit all our fears to the Lord today and choose the latter. He will not leave our side when we step forward to do great things for God!

Psalms 56:2-4 Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High. What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.

Some experts believe that acute stress can provoke changes in the heart that may lead to death. In one study, fifteen cases were identified in which people died after a physical assault, even though the injuries alone were not enough to kill them. Eleven of the fifteen showed a type of heart-cell death, similar to a reaction in experimental animals that feel helpless to anticipate or avoid danger.

We live in a day that godlessness is on the rise — a day in which the world (and even some of the church) is motivated by money, power and the desire for worldly pleasures — a day in which the fruit of this behavior is apparent even to the worst of us. It’s a scary time.

Even amidst these frightful times, though, isn’t it wonderful to know that we don’t have to pretend we’re not afraid? God knew we would be afraid from time to time. But He encourages us to redirect our attention to put our trust again in Him. He, who is all powerful and watches over us intently. What a gracious and compassionate Father we have!

Let’s ask the Lord to help us keep our focus on trusting Him for all things. When we are focused on this, there’s no stopping us from doing the great things He has called us to do! And there’s SO much work to be done!!

James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Carl Armerding wrote a funny story in Moody Monthly, about his experience at the zoo. “As I stood there,” he said, “an attendant entered the cage through a door on the opposite side. He had nothing in his hands but a broom. Carefully closing the door, he proceeded to sweep the floor of the cage.” He observed that the worker had no weapon to ward off an attack by the beast. In fact, when he got to the corner of the cage where the wildcat was lying, he poked the animal with the broom. The wildcat hissed at him and then lay down in another corner of the enclosure. Armerding remarked to the attendant, “You certainly are a brave man.” “No, I ain’t brave,” he replied as he continued to sweep. “Well, then, that cat must be tame.” “No,” came the reply, “he ain’t tame.” “If you aren’t brave and the wildcat isn’t tame, then I can’t understand why he doesn’t attack you.” Armerding said the man chuckled, then replied with an air of confidence, “Mister, he’s old — and he ain’t got no teeth.”

Such is the devil in our lives when we realize that God is for us! We should be like the attendant. He knew that cat couldn’t hurt a fly. Satan will make a big ruckus, fussing and hissing all he wants but we need to keep our eyes focused on our Lord.

Are you being hissed at today? The enemy would love nothing more than to make us feel powerless against him — but “he ain’t got no teeth” next to our Lord! Let’s turn to God and put our trust in Him. If God is for us, who can be against us?!

Isaiah 64:4 For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.

Last night, after being on the road for nearly four months, I finally got to sleep in my own bed. And boy, it sure was nice! It’s always great to get home, isn’t it? Well, if it’s that nice to get to our earthly homes after a long journey, can you imagine what it’s going to be like to get to our glorious eternal home? I want to share the following illustration a friend sent me. I believe it will truly bless you.

A sick man turned to his doctor one evening, as he was preparing to leave the examination room and said, “Doctor, I am afraid to die — tell me what lies on the other side, will you?”

“I’m really not sure,” said the doctor.

“You don’t know? You, a Christian man, don’t know what’s on the other side?”

Suddenly, there came a sound of scratching and whining at the door. As the doctor turned the handle, a dog sprang into the room and leapt on him with an eager show of gladness.

Lovingly bending down and holding the cute pup, the doctor turned to his patient and said “Have you met my dog? I do apologize; He usually comes and sits with me in my office when I work late.

After a short pause, he continued. “He’s actually never been in this room before. He didn’t know what was inside. He knew nothing except that his master was here, and when the door opened, he sprang in without fear… I know little of what is on the other side of death, my friend, but I do know one thing… I know my Master is there and that’s I all I need.”

We may not know exactly what we will find in that glorious home that awaits us, but those of us who know the Lord Jesus, know He’s there! Be encouraged today! Our long journey here will end in our loving master’s arms.