Even before the foundation of the world, God had us on His mind. Ephesians 1:4(NLT) says, “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.” He knew exactly who and what He wanted us to be. He loved us long before we arrived on the scene, and He chose us to be made in the image of His dear Son, Jesus Christ. God is our Creator and has woven deep within everyone that is living or has ever lived a longing to know the very reason they were born. He has stamped our DNA with His purpose. Whether we know it or believe it, we are driven by this purpose; we are driven to discover what it is. It’s not one specific task, but a series of them. It is a series of Christ-like actions that lead us down a fulfilling path—a path that is rich in God's love. As the Father blesses us to uncover one piece, we are to set out to uncover another.
Fulfilling our purpose is the jewel of life. It is the reason that we all strive to achieve our aspirations, because we know it is going to fill in the blank of our souls. This journey that each of us is taking towards fulfilling our destinies in Christ is everything. One of the most important pieces of knowledge that we must know about this journey is that truth is the only way to stay on its path. It is impossible for any living being to get to the place that God would have them to be by believing a lie. Jesus Christ came to show us the way to this path, and he said in John 8:32 that only the truth will make us free.
A lie is the exact opposite of truth. Lies cannot make a person free, they will put them in bondage. It is important that every believer know this because there is no greater lie than fear. When a person is being ruled by fear, they are living a lie, because our destiny is to be free, and as Romans 8:37(NIV) tells us, it is to be “more than conquerors through him who loved us.” God’s Word is the truth, therefore when we are following His Word and being led by Him, fear doesn’t have a chance; it can’t blind us.
To understand how damaging fear is, let’s go back to the very beginning. In Genesis 2:25, we learn that Adam and his wife were naked, but they had no shame. It is said that shame is fear’s closest relative, and equally destructive. Shame is a feeling of worthlessness, and it is not a part of God’s plan for humanity. Adam and Eve had wonderful fellowship with God through His Holy Spirit, and even though they were not clothed, there was no trace within them of feeling inadequate or exposed. There was no sense of missing anything, because they both had self-worth and saw themselves as bountifully blessed to be in fellowship and communion with God. Fear was not a part of this equation.
Fast forward to Eve being enticed by the devil, and we see one of his most insidious tricks coming into view. It is the sinister move of getting us to doubt God’s Word. Doubt is a set of feelings and thoughts that can potentially cause a person to change the trajectory of their lives. Doubt is unbelief, which is a very severe spiritual condition. The antidote for it is to trust God’s Word. But if we make the choice to continue veering into doubt and allow our actions to follow it, we will have left the territory of God’s goodness and entered into fear’s quarters of darkness and oppression.
Heavenly Father told Adam and Eve that if they ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, they would surely die. They would die physically, and most tragically, they would die spiritually. They would lose their spiritual connection to God through His precious Holy Spirit. They would lose those great qualities like self-worth, confidence, humility, and faith. Disobedience, fear, and shame belong to the devil. They are a part of his kingdom of darkness. After Adam and Eve had taken the word of the devil over the Word of God, they acted on their doubt by disobeying God’s commandment. This caused them to change territories, and for the first-time fear reared its ugly head, and shame followed suit.
Genesis 3:9 tells us that God called out to Adam and inquired of his whereabouts. Genesis 3:10(NIV) says that Adam answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” Before they disobeyed God, they had no knowledge of nakedness. Hiding themselves was an absurdity that never crossed their minds. But after sin came into the equation, it brought all the feelings and thoughts that come from the pit of hell. The typical response when a person feels worthless or that they don’t have any self-value is to try to cover it up, and we will most often use things like lies, blame, or fear to do it. Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent. They proceeded to hide their nakedness with fig leaves. Why did they do it? Genesis 3:10 tells us they tried to hide their nakedness because they were afraid.
They knew nothing of fear and shame before they disobeyed but knew it all too well after they bowed to the devil. God created Adam and Eve to have dominion and authority in the earth. They were given everything they needed to reign over their lives masterfully. They chose to believe a lie, and it drastically altered the course of their lives and placed them in utter darkness and bondage. Through Christ, we can choose to be free and walk in the liberty of God’s truth!
Galatians 5:1(MSG) tells us, “Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.” Many of us are dealing with incredible circumstances with our health, relationships, and finances, but we must not panic and allow fear to take over our lives. Situations that cause fear and shame are weapons that the devil forms to steal our focus and harm our relationship with God; he did this to Adam and Eve. Jesus Christ has already won the battle over the enemy, and we must continue walking in the Spirit to see it manifested in our lives. Let’s make a commitment not to carry the fears of 2019 into 2020. Instead, lets flip the script in our hearts and minds, and turn fear to faith in God’s Word as we read and study it more. If we do this, we’ll witness Heavenly Father doing amazing things in our lives. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
"No Fear in 2020”, written for victoryinjesuschrist.life© 2019. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
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