Isaiah 41:10

     Isaiah 41:10 says, "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."  While thinking about my lesson for my youth, I had no idea what I wanted to do.  I prayed and researched and The Lord spoke to me and told me to do my lesson on fear, specifically Isaiah 41.  

    In Isaiah 41, the heading in my Bible is The Helper of Israel. Verse 10 is consolation from God to all who trust him.  God had led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and if you read back in Numbers, the Israelites always asked WHY?  "Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness." (Num 21:5) This verse is specifically Num 21:5 but there are multiple instances where the Israelites questioned God. For example, when they came to the Red Sea, the Israelites said, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?" (Exodus 14:11) Moses had faith that God would make a way for the Israelites to get on the other side of the sea, and *SPOILER ALERT* He did! The Lord says to Moses in verse 17, "And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen." (Exodus 14:17) At the end of that story in the last verse, verse 31, it says, "And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in Him and in Moses His servant." (Exodus 14: 31). 

    While studying this lesson, I came across two types of fear.  The fear of possessing a significant reverence for God and the spirit of fear.  Biblical fear is defined as, having absolute respect, trust, and awe for God. The fear of possessing a significant reverence for God is when we draw closer to God.  Without God we are nothing, but with God we are everything. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) **and btw that is written in red** The spirit of fear is when we are pushed away from God. This fear does not come from God. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 

How do we overcome fear?  We must FULLY put our faith in God and Him only.  Phil 4:13 says, "I can do ALL this through Him who gives me strength."  The Bible doesn't say I can do some things.  It doesn't say I can do things that don't involve work.  It says I can do all things. This might be one of my favorites, Matthew 17:20 says, "Because you have so little faith.  Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you."  How awesome is that, and this is written in red too so Jesus said it, but how awesome is it, that Jesus told us if we have faith as small as a mustard seed we can tell the mountain to move. Do you know how small a mustard seed is? 1-2 mm or 0.1 cm.  

There are so many stories in the Bible of people stepping out on faith and accomplishing their goal.  Peter walked on water. He started to sink when he took his eyes of Jesus, but he did it. Peter walked on water.  Daniel went into the lion's den full of hungry lions.  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego went into a burning furnace and not even their clothes were singed.  David was just a little boy and he beat a 9 feet tall giant.  A song I heard said, "I may not face Goliath but I've got my own giants."  We might not be fighting a 9 feet tall giant, but we have our own battles we face. My help comes from the LORD, and with Him, I can tackle everything.  We should not be afraid of the Lord, but we should fear Him. We should have absolute respect, trust and awe for God.