Today I will continue my current series entitled, REASONS WHY NOT TO FEAR! Reason #9: Because You Believe God! This is a very important point. Let’s discuss it today.
So what does this mean for you today? It means that is you are a believer, and you truly believe God, then you have NOTHING to fear!
1. The only thing that will keep you going is the fact that you are a BELIEVER!
David said, “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” (Psalm 27:13 NKJV). The KJV says, “I would have fainted.”
Let me tell you something about David. David’s life was not easy. Growing up he was an outcast in his own home. He spent most of his time alone, away from his family, tending his father’s sheep. While he was out there in the fields and plains, alone with his sheep and his God, he had to learn to rely on God. One time a lion came to attack his sheep. Although David was just a teenager, he killed the lion with his bare hands. Another time David did the same with a bear. David’s confidence in his God was built up when no one was watching. David’s confidence in God was established in obscurity. So when the entire nation was watching, and all eyes were on him, he was able to kill a giant with nothing but a slingshot and a stone. David believed God!
David was anointed by the prophet of God to be the next King of Israel. This ceremony took place when he was only 17 years old. But he would not become the King of Judah until he was 30. It would take another 7 years before he finally became the King of united Israel. It took 20 years for the promise to come to pass. David spent 13 of those 20 years on the run. He was a fugitive. He lived in caves. He had to partner with enemy nations. He was betrayed. At one point he and his men lost everything and David had to believe God to get it back. He did. He pursued, he overtook the enemy, and he recovered ALL!
I am sharing all of this so you can get the context. Looking back over all he went through, David said, “Man, I would have GIVEN UP, if I were not a believer! I would have thrown in the towel if I was not convinced that I would see the goodness of God manifested in my life WHILE I AM IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING! While I am still alive! I am not just believing God to make it to heaven. I believe God to see His goodness NOW!” (Psalm 27:13 Rick Pina Version).
The only thing that kept David going was the fact that He believed God. He believed he would see the goodness of God manifested in his life, while he was in the land of the living; before he died. Do you believe God? Are you convinced that you will see God’s goodness manifested in your life while you are in the land of the living? Or are you just holding on for heaven? If your only HOPE is to make it to heaven someday, you run the risk of living a miserable life. You can be saved and miserably saved. This is NOT the will of God. God does not want you to live your life focused solely on going to heaven SOMEDAY. God wants you to live your life focused on experience heaven-on-earth EVERY DAY!
Learn from David. In this season, people should hear you say things like the following: “With all this news about Coronavirus, and the wave after wave of bad news that keeps coming, I honestly would have lost heart by now if I were not a believer. I don’t know how the world does it. I am glad I have a relationship with God. My confidence is IN HIM! I believe God and I will never give up hope. I am never hopeless because I am never helpless! My God is with me and He will see me through this season and every season to come!”
Say this out loud: “I BELIEVE GOD!” You have to remind yourself of that from time to time!
2. If you believe God, you have nothing to fear!
a) In John 14 Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.” (John 14:1). Jesus was basically saying, “Listen, you have to LET your heart to be troubled. You have to ALLOW it to be afraid. However, the way to resist fear is to BELIEVE in the Father and to BELIEVE also in me!” If you believe God, you have nothing to fear! God is BIGGER than anything!
b) In John chapter 6 Jesus fed 5,000, He walked on water, and He then found Himself in front of a group of followers. They were amazed by the miracles. They knew the Lord was with Jesus. So they asked Jesus a critical question. They asked, “What does God want us to do?” Another translation reads, “What is our work?” Jesus answered, “The work God wants you to do is this: to BELIEVE in the one he sent.” Your work is to BELIEVE God.
c) We are called “believers” and not “doubters” for a reason. We are called and commanded to walk by faith and not by fear. Your work is to believe! Never allow fear, doubt or unbelief to cause you to miss out on God’s best! Especially in this season. No matter what is going on in the world, no matter what you hear on the news, DON’T STOP BELIEVING! Keep saying to yourself, “I BELIEVE GOD!”
d) When Jesus encountered leprosy it was the most infectious disease of His day. Instead of being afraid that leprosy would infect Him, Jesus laid hands on lepers, believing the Father, without fear! Instead of believing that leprosy would be transferred to Him from the bodies of those infected, Jesus believed that healing virtue would flow from His body to the lepers, causing them to be healed. In other words, instead of living in fear of being infected by what this world has, Jesus walked around, believing God, expecting to transfer what was ON Him and IN Him to others and NOT the other way around! This is what it looks like to live by faith and not in fear! Keep saying to yourself, “I BELIEVE GOD!”
e) We serve a God to kept Joseph through the PIT phase, the POTIPHAR phase, and the PRISON phase of his life, just so he could get to the PRIME MINISTER phase. In other words, God protected Joseph, so Joseph could complete his life’s assignment. This same God protected Daniel while he spent an entire night surrounded by lion’s den. This same God shielded David from Saul’s attacks and kept him as he had to live in caves. This same God protected Elisha when he was surrounded by the enemy and it looked like he had no way out. This same God caused Gideon and 300 men to defeat over 100,000 men. I’m talking about God! If you are a believer, then you must believe God! Believe in his goodness. Believe in His power. I will close with the same words I opened with. David said, “Man, I would have given up a long time ago if I did not believe that I would see the goodness of God while I am in the land of the living!” You can’t give up while you are believing God! Keep saying to yourself, “I BELIEVE GOD!”
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, l am a believer and not a doubter. I walk by faith and not by fear. I am not moved by the changing conditions of this world. I am not phased by Coronavirus or any other disease. I am not afraid. Fear has no power over me. Because I believe God! I know I will see Your goodness manifested in my life while I am in the land of the living. I know I will complete my divine assignment BEFORE I DIE! My confidence is in You and You alone! I BELIEVE GOD! I declare this by faith! In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
