Key scripture – “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9 NASB).

When you were a kid how many times did your parents say, “What did I tell you about that. Aren’t you paying attention to what I said?”

That is what God, our Father, is saying to us in this passage, “Hey, pay attention to what I am saying, I am The Lord God Almighty and I am telling you, be strong and courageous. Don’t tremble or be afraid because I, The Lord,am with you wherever you go.”

God does not want us to live in FEAR. He tells us over 700 times in the Bible to “FEAR NOT.” Just look at a few examples in Isaiah:

Isaiah 41:10 it says, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Isaiah 35:3-4 says, “Strengthen the feeble hands and steady the knees that give way, say to those with fearful hearts, Be strong do not fear; your God will come He will come with vengeance, with divine retribution he will come to save you.”

We were all sinners and separated from God which was the worst possible problem that we could have had, and in order to fix this problem it required the greatest sacrifice, which God already took care of when He gave His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins. Instead of remembering that He gave the ultimate sacrifice to save us, we panic over our problems and circumstances because we fail to remember that He would not do all that for us, sacrifice His Son for our sins, and then leave us on our own.

What we need to do when we start to worry and have fear about our problems and trials is ask ourselves; Why would God give His Son Jesus to die for our sins and desert us now? Think of it this way: If your son was graduating from college and you had spent $200,000.00 on his college education and the day before graduation he says, “I can’t graduate because I owe the library $2.00 for a library book”. Would you let him miss graduating from college or pay the $2.00 fine?

That is how God looks on our problems. He gave His Son for our sins, which was a tremendous sacrifice, so why would He desert us now. God is completely aware of all the problems and trials that we face and He uses those trials to change us to be more like Jesus and to bring Him glory.

Always remember: your trial will not last forever; it won’t get to deep; it won’t become to hot; He will never forsake or abandon you; He loves you; He is GOOD; We serve a BIG BIG GOD; and nothing I mean absolutely nothing, is impossible with God; He is bigger than all of our problems; and He rejoices over you with singing.

“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through fires of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord your God.” (Isaiah 43:1-3).

As God says, FEAR NOT because FEAR is just: False Evidence Appearing Real. So don’t just live in confidence but live in “God-fidence” because we are more than conquerors in Christ.

Pray this -Our Precious Heavenly Father, I thank You that I do not have to live in fear of anything. I am strong and courageous and not afraid because I can do all things through Jesus who has personally gone ahead of me and will neither fail me or abandon me. I put all my weight on the promise in Deuteronomy 31:6 that You made to all of us who are Your children, “So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” I will “Trust in The Lord forever, for The Lord, The Lord Himself, is the Rock Eternal.” (Isaiah 26:4). I cling to, I believe, and I stand firm on all Your promises and on Jesus, the Lord Himself, my Eternal Rock. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.