Deepening Connections

This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture that reject fear and champion faith in God. It emphasizes that we are not alone and that Jesus will never leave us. The story of Abiathar is used to illustrate how David offered safety and protection to him. The passage highlights the importance of having a relationship with the Holy Spirit and the abundance of God's grace. It encourages us to trust in God's love, which is constant and unconditional. The passage concludes with a reminder of our worth and the endless love that God has for us. Welcome to fear no fear, grace to you, and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. May the Holy Spirit embrace you today. This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture. We reject fear in any and all forms. Fear is a spiritual force, the currency of darkness and ignorance. It's what we inherited when Adam gave up his faith, and Satan uses it to keep people down. His only weapon is words. If he can get you believing or looking at words of fear, he's got you. Instead, we champion faith as an allegiance to God, as a belief, and trust, and loyalty to the Lord God Almighty. We accept the evidence of His Word as unvarnished truth, as is, just as it's written. We get close to His perfect love through the Word, and perfect love casts out fear, 1 John 4, 18. All scripture is taken from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Visit eBible.org. 1 Samuel 22, 23. Stay with me. Don't be afraid. For he who seeks my life seeks your life. You will be safe with me. We are not alone. You could stop right there. Lesson over. Relief achieved. Jesus said he would never leave us or forsake us. Hebrews 13, 5. Right there, all your needs are taken care of, and there is nothing to fear. How can you fear with Jesus beside you? But we do indulge in fear. Things come up against us, and we worry. Things are less than ideal, so we feel depressed. Something is coming up, and anxiety grips us. Maybe just a thought of dealing with other people. Abiathar certainly felt that way. His entire family was just killed. Men, women, children, infants, and oxen, donkeys, and sheep. All killed. Abiathar alone escaped. He couldn't appeal to a higher authority, because the king was behind it. Talk about worry, depression, and anxiety. Everyone was against him. Almost. Since King Saul was the one behind the killing, Abiathar went to the only person in the country who was not with Saul, David. David was also on the run from Saul. Abiathar ran to him as fast as he could and poured out his story. David immediately reached out and told him, one, he wasn't alone, and two, he was safe with David. More than just safe. The Hebrew word implies being safeguarded, preserved, and the act of being watched over. That's more than just being safe, but taken care of completely. Your worries removed. No fear of physical harm from without, or within. A place to sleep, food to eat, and no harm headed your way. That safety is how the Lord likes us to be, and it's borne out throughout Scripture. Ecclesiastes 4, 9-10 says, two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, and doesn't have another to lift him up. In our new covenant, who are the two? You and Jesus. He said in Matthew 28, 20, Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. More than just a promise to be with you, Jesus also promised to safeguard us. In John 6, 35, Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will not be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. That's pretty safe. So much of our lives are ruled by hunger or want, and here is Jesus promising more than physical safety. He's offering eternal safety. The Holy Spirit was sent to us to be with us, and to help us understand all things. 2 Timothy 2, 7. We are partners with the Spirit, and he can be part of our life, from the mundane to the amazing, if we let him. He wants relationship with us. What relationship is truly deep if we keep the other person at arm's length? More so with the Holy Spirit. This is the very Spirit of God, part of the Trinity, the righteousness of God, and he wants to abide in us as we abide in him. Ephesians 1, 7-9 says, In him we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in him to an administration of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in him. So not only has Jesus given us a constant companion in his Spirit, not only has he given us bread so that we never go hungry, and living water so we never thirst in our spirits, where it counts, but also he gives us the chance to learn about his will in everything, heaven above, earth below, and all they contain. Why everything? Because God created all things and redeems all humankind. His plans concern all things and all people. If we need it, if we abide in him so that we're close and connected and listening, he will give us wisdom and insight about everything that we see, our whole life. He can guide us like no one else can, past and through pitfalls, troubles, and all the fluff the world likes to kick up, past and over all the wiles and weapons of the enemy, because he is a defeated and powerless foe, past and through our feelings, no matter what they are about, through and in spite of circumstance, situation, resources, or what's arraigned against us. We already have victory over everything in Jesus. Now, we're just walking home, hand in hand with him, safeguarded, preserved, without fear, together. Our daily affirmation of God's love is Psalm 146. Isn't it nice to have things done for us? Those little things our loved ones do to make us feel wanted, special, and appreciated. Beverage in the morning without having to make it, foot rubs, a word, a smile, driving a certain route because you like the view, little things. Makes us feel nice, right? It can also help us love them a little more than we already do, can't it? Doesn't work like that with God. There is nothing you can do to make him love you more than he already does. There is nothing you can do to make him love you less. Nothing. What you can do is praise and thank him for that unthinkable, unfathomable love. It won't change his love, but it will totally alter what you feel. Love on him today and feel his love for you. As we close, remember that you have worth. You are precious and valuable. Declare this today. God loves that I, that you fill in the blank. Was it a meal you made? A smile you gave? Did you get out of bed? Read? Put on socks? No wrong answers here. There is no end to God's love and no end to the things about you that he loves each and every day. Pick one and remember the Lord loves you just because you're you. First John 4 9 to 10 tells us by this God's love was revealed in us that God has sent his only born son into the world that we might live through him. In this is love. Not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. His perfect love turned away God's wrath because of sin and it casts out our fear too. See verses 18 and 19. We love because he first loved us. He just loves us. Can't get enough of us and amen to that. See you next time.