There Is One Stronger Than I

Life is wrought with fear.
Fear of never having enough money.
Fear of telling someone the good news, while realizing they might turn from you for it.
Fear of death.
Fear of giving your comfortable life up to do something you really love, or something you're called to do.
Fear of giving up your uncomfortable life because of the
Fear of change.

It's so easy to find things to be afraid of, things to keep you immobile. Things to keep you from doing God's will. No wonder there is so much scripture asking for help over fear, telling us that GOD is stronger than our fears, and stronger in our weaknesses.

For instance:

Psalm 64:1
Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; preserve my life from dread of the enemy.

Proverbs 21:19
It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.

Proverbs 12:25
Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.

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These are warnings. They are descriptions of a heavy heart, of a worrysome woman, of a life of dread. And over and over God tell us Fear Not (33 times in the ESV to be exact), making it a command, and not just a suggestion. Yet, how many of us are crippled by our fear or by our anxiety. Anxiety of making enough money, never marrying, being liked by people, being faithful to what God wants us to do... These are heavy burdens. There is a reason God tells us to Fear Not. Fear is a distraction from His will for us, it stops action. It makes me immovable. I know that for a fact. And that is not okay.

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Isaiah 41:13
For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you "Fear not, I am the one who helps you."

Isaiah 43:1
But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine."

Luke 12:4
"I tell you my friends, do not fear those who can kill the body, and after have nothing more than they can do."

Luke 12:7
 Why, even the hairs on your head are numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

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All of these things aren't to say that anything is going to be easy. God doesn't say that if we follow him things will be fun, easy, profitable, or always happy. He does say He will be with us. And that He values us. And that we are His.

I like the idea of being His. A possession. Something he prizes. Something He has a purpose for. Hebrews 12:2 says "...Jesus...for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame..." That same possession, that value he has in us, and this scripture talking about the "joy set before him" are talking about the same thing. You. Me. Each person who follows Him.

"For you were bought with a price, so glorify God in your body."
 -1 Corinthians 6:20

What then shall we say to these things?

If God is for us, who can be against us?