Then they cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ speech unto the people of Jerusalem that were on the wall, to affright them, and to trouble them; that they might take the city (2 Chr. 32:18 KJV)

There is a reason why the adversaries of your soul want you to be afraid. It is because fear is the indication that you are almost ready for a defeat! The primary reason why the Lord commands us to “fear not” is not because He wants us to keep His commandments merely. It is because fear has a devastating, incapacitating effect on us, as illustrated in the story of the Jews under King Hezekiah above.

The Assyrian King Sennacherib attacked Judah, but could not get into it because of the fortified walls. The military captains tried to utilize a strategy that has always worked if we give into it. They tried to frighten the Jews who were watching on the walls of the city, listening to the captains that the King had sent. They told the people there was no reason to trust in the Lord because all the other gods of the land were not able to deliver their people from the hands of the Assyrians. Their rantings and boastings continued. Why were they saying these things in the hearing of the people? To instill fear in them. Had the Jews allowed fear to take over them, their power for battle would have failed.

Fear is dangerous to our spiritual health.  Life will try to instill fear in you by the phone calls, or what you see or what is happening around you. Once fear takes hold of you, the battle is almost won. Fear not, because the Lord is with you!

MEDITATE

What do you think would have happened to the Jews if they believed what the Assyrian captains told them? 

APPLY THE WORD

Are you being terrified by a symptom in your body? Or maybe a financial report? The basic strategy is the same, and that is to use things around you to frighten you and so incapacitate you. Be strong in the Lord and actively resist fear.

PRAY

Ask the Lord for a fresh spirit of boldness and courage as you face life’s circumstances. 

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