“And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.” And he settled there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.-{Acts 18:9-11}
1.GOD COMFORTED PAUL-In his Fear.
Paul was Afraid.
What did the Lord do for him?
He spoke to him. He talked to him.
He spoke to him about his fear.
He gave him the truth to alleviate, displace his fears.
He spoke to him about His Sovereignty
He spoke to him about his future
He spoke to him about His plans that included Paul!
Paul’s response?
“And he settled there a year and six months, teaching the Word of God among them.- ” -{v 11}. Based on what he had been told, he didn’t flee from fear but settled and his focus was on teaching the Word of God! His focus changed when God spoke to him. How does GOD speak to us today? His Word.
2.GOD COMFORTED ISAIAH – With Truth of His involvement and Help
“Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand...” -{Isaiah 41:10}.
3.GOD COMFORTED JOSHUA- Before he went into conflict with the assurance.
“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}. The word “FOR gives the reason not to yield to fear, which means to be terrified or discouragement, lose heart, it is the guarantee of His presence with him no matter what circumstance he finds himself in! –
4.GOD COMFORTED NEHEMIAH-
“For all of them were trying to frighten us, thinking, “They will become discouraged with the work and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.”
In the conflict, where Nehemiah was trying to rebuild not only the wall of Jerusalem but also to rebuild the confidence of a demoralized people. As they were rebuilding they had the constant opposition, primarily through three individuals. Nehemiah saw their weapons of , fear, when yield to leads to discouragement- to take courage from them and the end result? Qt. throw in the towel so the work would not be finished. He recognized the enemies evil weapons, fear, discouragement, quit! the evil one still uses people as puppets to seek to accomplish his work in stopping God’s people from accomplishing God’s work. Can you identify? Sure you can. You too in this conflict know of the thoughts of “fear,’ seeking to terrify and discourage you, where you spiral so low emotionally you just want to quit, give up,”what’s the point?” comes to mind and you agree there is no point so “I quit, i give up, i’m done, that’s me finished, I can’t go on! All and more such thoughts I AM SURE HAVE COME TO YOUR MIND AT ONE TIE OR ANOTHER.All because you are seeking to follow the Lord, We live in a “war-zone,” a spiritual “war-zone” where the Glory of God is attacked, where the souls of people and their eternal welfare is violently opposed in the spiritual realm. Sometimes we forget as we tend to live by sight … rather than faith! Nehemiah recognized and instead of throwing in the towel or even relating it to himself, by turning inward, which we all often , too often do, he immediately turns to the LORD and… PRAYS! There is a good point for us to ponder and practice when fear, discouragement or the temptation to quit comes to mind… turn and TALK TO THE LORD… Nehemiah did and prayed specifically,”But now, O God, strengthen my hands.” His prayer is a prayer of faith in the faithfulness of God and REVEALS his dependency upon GOD for strength. And if you read on in the chapter the job got done, the people encouraged, turning and worshiping the LORD. God found a man, an ordinary man and used him to influence him in the welfare of others. He faced conflict as did Isaiah, Joshua, Paul… and YOU! You are in good company, a royal lineage… when tempted to fear, RECOGNIZE it and to yield to it will lead to discouragement and giving up, losing hope! Instead choose to RELATE it to GOD asking for His help in the matter to do His Will… and He will help, for He is faithful!
Years and years later, Paul on mission with and for God would experience FEAR.. and God as He had in previous generations comforted him with TRUTH… the RESULT…he stayed on, he did not flee because of fear, but planted himself, focused on sharing the Word of God… AND countless others eternally benefited! God found a man, who was tested severely… fear injected to his mind… and God spoke to him. Comforted him, revealed His plans, His Sovereignty, and His design and privilege bestowed upon Paul… to be part of His eternal design!
God still speaks, His Word, His means and fears still come but remember God is Sovereign, you are part of His plans for the eternal welfare of others upon this earth as long as you live you have purpose and His Word your means to hold forth to the people you find yourself with. Paul, as the saying goes,”Bloomed where he was planted,” and others benefited!
I thank God you are where you are, for in it you will know Him, and others will benefit, eternally so!
“… If you continue in My Word… you will know the truth and the truth will set you free…” and that includes FEAR! You are no longer a slave to fear but a child of God!