Fear Not
Elijah was afraid…
1 Kings 19:3
Have you ever been afraid? Of course. We all have.
Maybe your fear is of spiders or snakes. Perhaps your fear is more personal like losing job or your home. One of my greatest fears is losing my husband at a young age.
He travels a lot. Sometimes by plane but mostly by car. Specifically I fear his plane will crash and there will be no survivors. I will be a widow and my children will no longer have an earthly father.
I always heard that fear is a lack of faith. “You can’t faith and be afraid Wendy.”
Then I read the Bible.
Many great heroes of the faith admitted fear.
Recently I read about the prophet Elijah. Ahab the king of Israel led God’s people to worship the false god Baal. He erected idols and statues to stand to in the Temple of Baal. With God’s guidance, Elijah summoned all 450 prophets of Baal (Yes. The false god Baal had prophets.) to come Mt Carmel for a “Will the One true God stand up?” contest. The One true God demonstrated His power by sending fire from Heaven to light an altar that had been drenched with water (And right in the middle of a famine, might I add). When altar ignited the prophets of Baal ran. Elijah commanded them to be captured and killed.
Brave Elijah. Hero Elijah. And yet the scriptures tells us, “Elijah was afraid.
He was afraid because Jezebel, King Ahab’s wife, did not appreciate her husband and god being made a fool. Therefore, she ordered Elijah killed. A death threat is a pretty good reason to be afraid, don’t you think?
God delivered Elijah through his fear. (1 Kings 19) And friend, He will deliver you through your fear.
How do I know?
He delivered me through my fear. I know longer fear my husband dying in a plane. Do I still think about it? Sure I do. I am human. But I no longer have a fear that consumes from the time he jets of into the sky until the moment he touches down at his destination. I pray instead and leave it all in God’s capable hands.
Oh friend, fear doesn’t mean you don’t have enough faith. Fear is the opportunity to trust God to take the faith you have to a greater reliance and dependency on Him. He pushes us through our fears to strengthen our faith.
Will you admit your fear today and take advantage the opportunity to strengthen your faith?
Great thoughts, Wendy. I have struggled with fear a lot in my life. I used to have panic attacks so badly I couldn’t breathe. I begged Papa to heal me for a long time, but I didn’t really listen to what He was saying. When I finally did, He talked to me about “Perfect love casts out fear… He who fears has not been made perfect in love.” So I started meditating on His love for long periods of time, and He delivered me from the fear through that. I’m so grateful that He keeps us by His love and power, even when we aren’t feeling full of faith.
Thank you for sharing! I have learned to trust in God and His perfect will for my life. I’m so glad He gives us hope, peace and strength!