by Sis Jean George
Shalom, thank you for joining us for a new week, where we are going to be looking at God's
word and learning from it, meditating on His word. His word is so powerful. Through this week,
we are going to focus on some of the instructions that the Bible gives us and some of these
instructions have the word NOT in it. So, it's titled- embracing God's not. We see that some of
those powerful commands that God gives us have the word ‘not’ in it. At first glance, when you
hear the word not, it sounds quite restrictive but in reality, they are lifegiving principles that
really protect, strengthen and draw us closer to Him. So, when the scripture brings about a
command with a word ‘not’ in it, it serves as a clear boundary and a firm instruction, something
we must not ignore or take lightly. These ‘not’ commands are not just mere suggestions, but
they are divine directives that are given to protect us and guide us. So, we're going to be
looking at a few of them today. The most common one and the familiar one that comes many
times in scripture is ‘fear not’. This command is akin to saying do not fear which actually
emphasizes the seriousness and the importance of obeying that command. It's not casual but
it's a firm directive- Fear not. And we read this in one of the verses that we've picked up today
is in Isaiah chapter 41, verse 10. It reads, "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." Many of us have experienced fear and we see that sometimes fear can be a very
powerful emotion because it grips us in our hearts, it clouds our understanding, it clouds our
decision and it also keeps us away from faith. Yet, over and over in scripture, this is a command
that God says, "Fear not." And today, as we focus on this scripture, we see that this is just not a
gentle encouragement, it's a command because fear can paralyze us so much that it can keep
us from really looking at God and trusting Him fully. So, God is declaring the basis of this
command and He's saying, do not fear. And in this verse today, we have a few things that we
can hold on to, four things even as God talks about fear not. His presence, God's presence- in
this verse, God says, "I am with you. You are never alone." And no matter whatever your
overwhelming situation may be, God is right with you, behind you, He is for you. The second
thing we see, the verse says, I am your God. It shows a God's sovereignty- that God is in control,
there's no one greater, He knows all of it. The third thing it brings about is I will strengthen you;
I will help you; it shows us God's power. Whenever you feel weak, remember your strength
does not come from anywhere else but from Him. And God's power is always available for you
through the Holy Spirit. And the last which says is, I will uphold you with my righteous hand. It
shows God's protection. So, His symbol of His presence, of His protection, His sovereignty and
His power is made evident in this verse. So next time fear grips you, embrace this command to
fear not because you remember His presence is with you. Let's pray together, Heavenly Father,
we thank you for your presence, for your sovereignty, for your power and your protection is
with us, that we have no reason to fear. We pray that at any time fear grips us; we will look
forward to you. We will look towards you knowing that you are the one who leads us in every
step. Thank you for you empowering, in Jesus' name we pray, Amen.
Thank you for tuning in to Living Supernaturally, for more resources to strengthen your spiritual
walk, please visit apcwo.org.
Duration:5 mins 34 secs