Whom Shall I Fear Devotional
I know Who goes before me. I know Who stands behind.
The God of Angel Armies is always by my side
In Exodus, Moses told the Israelites, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.” (Ex.14:13)
In Psalms, David says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Ps. 27:1).
In Luke, the angel says to Mary, “‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.’” (Luke 1:30).
In Hebrews, Paul says, “So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” (Heb. 13:6).
Notice a theme? Throughout scripture, we are told to not be afraid and to replace fear with the assurance of God as our helper. Moses, David, angels, Paul—those who we see as walking closely with the Lord in scripture often pleaded that we not fear. What did they understand about God that allowed them this strength? Three things: 1.) Our strength is founded in Him. 2.) We are saved by Him. 3.) Victory is His.
My strength is in Your name for You alone can save. Yours is the victory.
When we know that our strength is in God, we no longer rely on ourselves. We don’t rely on ourselves for anything--not the work presentation we’ve been losing sleep over, not the big move we’re about to make, not even the illness we’ve been diagnosed with. We apart from God do not have the strength to overcome obstacles. But if we believe God’s strength is endless, we do not fear our own weakness.
When we know that we are saved, we don’t have to strive to be good enough. We often fear we are making too many mistakes and our sin is too big. But if we believe we are saved and that our salvation is always there, we do not fear our own inadequacy.
When we know victory is His, we do not have to fear evil. In those times when we fear being at the mercy of evil in the form of an abuser or a terrible circumstance or a corrupt leader, we can take comfort in the fact God has already won and this temporary evil is just that: temporary.
God knows our tendency to fear. That is why his Word is full of reasons not to.
Based on the song Whom Shall I Fear by Chris Tomlin. Original post available on YouVersion based on the album Burning Lights.
Last Updated: September 14, 2022
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If you've spent any time in church, you have probably sung the hymn “Crown Him”… Crown Him with many crowns, The Lamb upon His throne.Hark! How the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own. This hymn has two authors: one Anglican and one Catholic. It was written during the nineteenth century, a time when Anglicans and Catholics did very little songwriting together and very little together in general. The original six verses were written by Matthew Bridges, a Catholic, who based the song on Revelation 19:12: “His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself.” Godfrey Thring, an Anglican clergyman, wrote six new verses for fear that a Catholic hymn was becoming too popular among the Anglican church and teaching its congregants bad theology. Today we sing a mix of all twelve verses, depending on what hymnal you're looking at. What was done as a means of dividing the church, actually united it, creating a hymn for both Protestants and Catholics. In this way, we are practicing what we sing: Hark! How the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own. Ultimately, it is heaven who has the authority over Catholics and Protestants, and over all divided sects of the church. When God's throne is at the center of our worship, the discrepancies and arguments pale. Crown Him the Lord of life, who triumphed o'er the grave,and rose victorious in the strife for those He came to save. Jesus came to save. As Luke 19:10 says, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” And Romans is very clear about who the lost are: “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). All of us are lost. We are united with our fellow church-goers, and non-goers, in our sin. That gives us freedom to love each other. When our gaze is fixed on the throne and we are preoccupied with crowing him with many crowns, we find that we are capable of loving those around us—all of the other lost people sitting on our pew, or not at church at all. We are united in our gaze and His glories now we sing, who died and rose on high. Who died eternal life to bring, and lives that death may die. Based on the song Crown Him (Majesty) by Chris Tomlin. Original post available on YouVersion based on the album Burning Lights.
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