Devotion Video Here
For
God has not given us a
spirit of fear and timidity,
but of power, love, and self-discipline.
2 Timothy 1:7(NLT)
So
far this week we have looked at “fear” as a debilitating enemy we need to expect, because it is the main tool of our
number 1 enemy, Satan, who wishes to destroy the eternal life we receive in
Christ. We begin to deal with fear by exposing it, bringing it out in the
light. And then we…
Engage It
If you’re a Star Trek fan you’ll recognize the strength of the word “engage”. Jean Luc Picard[2] is the fictional commander of the Starship Enterprise, charged with the task of going boldly into space where no man had gone before!
Every time they were about
to venture forth in a ship the size of a city there would mountains of
preparation, charting the course, checking the logs, calculating the
whereabouts of an enemy and checking the engines for warp-speed
capability. But nothing would move
forward until Captain Picard would turn to the helmsman and with his finger
pointed in the direction they must go, he would command: engage!
How did Nehemiah encourage
the people to “engage” their fears?
Then as I looked
over the situation, I called together the leaders and the people and said to
them, “Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember
the LORD, who is great and glorious, and fight for your friends, your families,
and your homes!” Nehemiah 4.14
(NLT)
One preacher[3]
said of this verse, “Remember the Lord was to be their motto, their rallying
cry. As you may remember in the
Spanish-American war, our nation’s battle cry was ‘Remember the Maine.’ In World War I it was ‘Remember the
Lusitania.’ In World War II it was ‘Remember
Pearl Harbor.’ Even as we receive the
Lord’s Supper we are reminded, Do this in remembrance of me.
The problem with most of our
fears is that we allow them to become invincible dragons in our minds, rather
than engaging them in warfare.
An old German proverb says: Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is.[4] Nehemiah put swords in the hands of the
builders and brick carriers; he gave them instructions on what to do when the
trumpet sounded, and he reminded them they were fighting for their families and
their way of life. That’s how to engage
your fears.
When the bills are bigger than your income, engage your fear – meet it
with faith that says He is able to supply every need.
When the doctor says there isn’t a cure, remember to engage that monster
with faith – because the Great Physician is on the case.
When rumors fly about your job, your reputation, the economy, or an election
outcome, engage fear by being a person of faith.
You may not have any sense
of what the outcome will be or what God is up to – but faith is just that which
walks without sight; otherwise it wouldn’t be faith.
As a believer, engaging our
fears means putting our faith to work.
Paul reminded Timothy:
For
I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Philippians
4:13(NLT)
For You Today
Readiness was the theme for
dealing with Nehemiah’s enemies.
Staying at ready eviscerates
fear too. Nehemiah encouraged the people
to face their fears, and that is the key in spiritual matters or family,
business or any part of life.
Are you ready…expecting your
enemy to use fear? Have you exposed it
for what it really is…naming the fears you face as an enemy attack?
Well, then…..ENGAGE!
No comments:
Post a Comment