Embracing God’s ‘Nots’ - Fear Not (Daily Devotional)

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.