How to NOT Fear
How not to live in FEAR from Psalm 91
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”
So, this is what I read today in my reading through the Bible…and this is also something that I have noticed in my new walk with God, after my ‘season of wandering’: we can KNOW for certain that we are living a life that pleases God. (Isaiah 66:2B): “this is the one I esteem, he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at my word.”
So, I ask myself, am I humble?
Do I consider others more important than myself?
Am I at a place where I can detect and hate my own sin? (Psalms 36:2)
Am I sorry for my sin and turning away from it?
And finally, do I tremble at God’s word?
Do I believe it?
Do I honor it as the most important thing in my life?
Are my thoughts changing more and more to line up with God’s word?
Is my mind more and more on things above rather than things on earth?
If so, maybe I am finally beginning to DWELL in the shelter of the Most High – and to dwell means to ‘remain somewhere, or to keep our attention directed on something’, or in this case Someone. The Almighty. The Most High God. If we do this, these are a few of the promises we can look forward to:
-He will save us from the enemy’s snare
-we won’t be afraid of the things happening around us
-no harm will befall us
-no disaster will come near us
-He will command His angels to guard us in all our ways
-God will protect us and answer our prayers
-He will be with us in trouble
-He will honor us. (wow)
-He will satisfy us with long life
-He will show us His salvation
And why will God do all these amazing things for us? Because we love Him (v 14) and because we acknowledge His name. I love God so much more now that I ever did before in my life, and this began to happen when I opened my Bible and started to read His love letter to me. When I final began to believe that I was forgiven for all my sin (that season of wandering that I often refer to) and welcomed back home and filled with such joy and peace and a desire to honor Him with the rest of my life. When I began to care so much for what He went through on the cross for my sin, that I never wanted to hurt Him again. Somewhere along the way I began to realize that I actually DO “love the Lord my God with all of my heart, soul, and mind.”
And we acknowledge His name. We honor Him when we pray and thank Him for our blessings. We honor Him when we bring our needs to Him. We honor Him when we consult Him about the decisions we are making. God wants to be considered in all of our ways…He will answer, and He will bless us when we ask Him things. He is for us! Not against us. And last, we honor Him with our testimony. When we share with others our stories, and how God met us in them, He is honored. And the enemy is defeated (Rev 12:11)
So, if we are truly dwelling in the shelter of the Most High, THEN we will be at rest in the shadow of the Almighty! To rest is “to have freedom from activity or labor”. To be free not to worry! To trust God is how we honor Him. To worry is to say that I need to solve this problem myself. But I can’t. So, I worry. And what did it do? Did I extend my life even one hour? No, it’s literally a waste of time. But the opposite of that is REST. Freedom. I don’t have to worry because I have a Father in heaven who loves me and has numbered my days before even one of them came to be. So, I can relax and trust Him, for He is good. And this is my prayer today:
(Psalms 90:12) “teach us to number our days aright; that we may gain a heart of wisdom”. And when I die and go to be with God, I want to give back to him a heart that has learned to be wise.
