"'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.' Isaiah 41:10 NAS

Here are some words that you and I need to hear over and over again. The very first thing we are told here is, "Do not fear..." Fear seems to be one of the first reactions we may have during a trial. This verse was written to encourage Israel in its captivity that the Lord was with them. We so easily forget that the Lord is right here with us when we enter into trials don't we? We forget His past faithfulness and become fearful in and through what we might be facing.

We might live in a state of fear. We may live with fear in the present circumstance. This may lead to fear of the future -the unknown. We may not have any idea what lies ahead for us as we sit in a current situation. We like the Israelites need to hear again and again, "Do not fear!" What is the key to the fear factor in us? It is our inability to trust completely. It is feeling alone in troublesome circumstances.

Here in this verse it says, "Do not..." It is not some pleading to not fear. It is a direct order from the Commander in Chief of our souls. Fear always works to drive trust away. Fear drives our hearts away from the Lord. When we come to this point we must refocus our hearts onto the One who is always here with us. We need to remember that the Lord is right here with us. He actually never leaves. To take it a step further, where would He go in the first place since He contains all things?

Jesus re-iterated this promise to us after He was raised from the dead. He said Himself, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matt 28:20 NAS)." Can we sit back and simply trust that fact alone? He is with us always, He is always aware of our entire lives. What a wonderful thing to know that God never gives us a spirit of fear. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (KJV)."

When you feel like life has you held captive by fear that is the time when you need to come back to the basics of the word to rekindle your trust in His power and His love for your sound mind. When trials hit like a tornado it doesn't mean we loose trust for salvation. Salvation is secure and we know we are property of the Lord for His glory. We do however seem so easily to loose trust for how He is working in the situation in our lives or others around us.

So rekindle that trust by remembering that He has given you no fear. On the contrary He has given us victory over fear. In 1 John 4:18 it says, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love (NAS)." He has never left you or forsaken you at any time. Deuteronomy 31:8 says, "And the LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear, or be dismayed (NAS)."

Fear robs us of peace and can grip our hearts as if to paralyze them. We need to remember what David wrote in the 4th verse of the ever-popular 23 Psalm. "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou art with me (NAS)." David recognized that the Lord was with Him in his trials. He is closer to us than our very own heartbeats. He sees our anxiety before we even feel it.

Always remind yourself that "...greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4 NAS)." Fear is of the enemy; love and peace are from our Savior Jesus Christ. It is always that way and always will be. Trust in His fruit once again and again and again. Remember they are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal 5:22-23). "Do not fear, for I am with you..." ALWAYS.

Trusting in Him,
Adam