The Abraham story circles around a tension between fear and trust. God invites Abram to take steps of trust, yet Abram wrestles with fear despite saying “yes” to trusting God. We find Abram fearing others, harm, God not coming through for him, loss, and death.
Fear deceives Abram, making him a liar on multiple occasions. Fear lies to us, too. Often, we live out of distrusting fear when are needs are not being met, and we quickly fall captive to fear and function from a false version of ourselves.
It’s not all that easy to rid ourselves of fear. Especially when some fear is necessary. Fear gives us proper respect for authority. Fear can even save us from harm. God gives us a gift in fight or flight response. The trouble is when fear tells us we cannot trust anyone or anything – including God.
Almost every time an angelic being arrives on the scene or when God is about to do something major, God’s response to our fear, is a gentle reminder, “Do not be afraid.” His reminder for us is the same, “You don’t have to fear when God is near.”
Jesus offers us the safety of his presence. The psalmist puts it this way. “Even when I walk in the darkness valley, I will fear no evil for you are with me” (Psalm 23:4). There is no circumstance where God’s presence cannot find us. Under Jesus’ reign, we have nothing to fear – including death. But we must seek him in our fear.
- Get Honest … What are you afraid of? What makes you fear this? Where do you think this reason for fear comes from? Tell Jesus about what’s behind your present fear.
- Change Mind … Listen for what Jesus has to say concerning this fear.
- Walk Anew … What invitation does Jesus have for you in your fear?
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