Choose It

This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture that reject fear and promote faith in God. It emphasizes the importance of believing in God's promises and aligning ourselves with His word. Moses' parents had faith in God's protection for their child, even though they didn't have a physical demonstration of His power. Similarly, we should have faith in God's provision and trust in His love for us. It encourages daily reading and reflection on the Word of God to strengthen our faith. God's love is never-ending and He always delights in us. We should declare our worth and remember that God loves us just as we are. His perfect love casts out fear. Welcome to Fear No Fear. Grace to you 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 Hebrews 11.23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid of the king's commandment. When you're a slave, and the king who owns you makes a command, it is best to watch out. He can snuff your life out with a word. Best do what you're told. Anything less than total compliance could mean death or worse. If you're doing something in direct violation of that command, you had better have a good reason, a plan, or something. Moses' parents had something. They had Yahweh. The Lord was there, and the Lord was with them. Moses' parents were both of the tribe of Levi, the tribe that would become the priesthood of Aaron, the ones that served in the temple making sacrifices for the people to the Lord. These people, this family, this tribe, they knew the Lord. They knew He was there. He had covenanted with Abraham, and He was their God. When they were pregnant with Moses, they must have been scared. If it was a male, it was doomed to be drowned in the river. Can you imagine nine months of wondering if the life inside you was going to be murdered as soon as it was born? This is not an abortion commentary. But the book of Exodus chapters 1 to 2, don't read anything into this. Just look at what happened. They spent that whole time in fear. Then delivery day came. Oh, boy. But the midwives weren't turning the women in. The midwives were already disobeying Pharaoh because of their fear of the Lord, Exodus 1, 17 to 21, until Moses started making serious noise or walking around. They were safe. They saw that boy. They saw that he was something special. Now, I don't know if they were specifically waiting for a deliverer in a physical form or not. The Bible doesn't say. But these people did fear the Lord, and generically, the people were crying out because slavery sucks. Now, after Moses grew up, fled, and then when he came back, they believed that he was sent of God and that they would be delivered by the hand of the Lord. But none of that was there when Moses was a baby. When Moses was a baby, it doesn't say in the word what their exact state of mind was beyond that they reverenced the Lord. It says his parents found him beautiful and had faith in the Lord. Faith that their child would live and grow into his place in the service of the Lord, whatever that would be. Faith that they would not be found out or punished. Faith that the Lord had the situation in hand. Imagine it. They had faith in a God who hadn't visibly demonstrated himself to his people for many decades. Now, look at us, at our lives. We're not slaves. We're not always in the best circumstances, and we can cry out to God about a lot of tragic things. But we're not looking for a physical deliverer to come save us, not in a literal sense. In our circumstances, be they trying, terrible, tragic, or okay, where is our faith? We worry how we can get food for the family, presents for birthdays, gas for the vehicle, toilet paper, a job. We worry about these things. We worry and worry and complain and wonder, and where's our faith? We've lost the strength of our faith. The truth is that we've moved. We've shifted our focus. We've stepped out of line. We've lost sight of the reality of God. We've refused to believe in the visible demonstrations of God. We've added to the Word legends and stories. We've told ourselves times have changed, the world has changed. We've told ourselves the age of miracles is over because the Bible was sealed, shut, and completed. But, brothers and sisters, the Lord hasn't changed. Moses' parents had faith that God would deliver their son, and they based that faith on nothing more than stories about Abraham and his children and anything they felt in their hearts. They didn't have Bibles. There was no word on paper or scroll or scrap. It was all in stories and songs. But they believed. They knew God was real, and they chose to believe that he was able to do what he said he could do. Hebrews 11.19. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen. For by this the elders obtained approval. By faith we understand that the universe has been framed by the Word of God so that what is seen has not been made out of things which are visible. Hebrews 11.1-3. God made the earth by word. God makes promises by word. God keeps them. We can stand on anything that is a promise in the Word, and as long as we fulfill any stipulations of the promise, we will get it. It might not look like it, but we will. God promised. Well, believing and receiving. So you align yourself to the Word of God, to the will of the Father, then you believe and receive. Standing on our faith during the period between our ask and our yes and amen, 2 Corinthians 1.20. Not moving when it looks stupid and feels futile. Standing on what God has said simply because God has said it. Doing what God says to do even when we don't understand because we're going to trust that the Lord has a place for that piece of His jigsaw puzzle. You know, Noah looked like the world's biggest fool right up until the water was neck deep and still rising. We need to have faith and stand on God's Word. It's real. It's powerful, and it's true. This isn't manipulating the Lord. You can't pick something and say, Ooh, I claim it. Okay, I'm going to get it. What does it say in that Word? What is the context of that promise? What is required for that promise? You'll find things where the Lord says, Oh, when they follow my commandments, I will. Well, that means you need to follow His commandments or He won't. Not because He can't, but because you move out from the place where He is moving, where He is blessing. If you move out of His yard, you can't pick up the stuff He's placed in the yard for you. Aligning ourselves with the Word is the first step so that we can say what Jesus said in the garden. Not my will, but yours be done. Without faith, it is impossible to be well-pleasing to Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Hebrews 11.6 Moses' parents believed that God would help them, and He did. We can believe the same thing, and He will. The Lord loves us. He loves to bless us. He loves to delight in us. Proverbs 12.22 But there's no delight without faith. There's no faith without dwelling on the Word, aligning yourself with the Word, and abiding in the Word, thinking about what it says, how it says it, and why it says it. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Romans 10.17 That's how we strengthen our faith, how we build it up. Daily, read it at home. Read it on your break at work. Listen to it on your way to work, while you're doing your chores, as you go to sleep, or at any other time that you have a few minutes. Dwell on it. Believe it. Receive it. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand it. It's important. It is the living Word of the Most High God. Draw close to Him, and He'll draw close to you. James 4.8 Have faith. Choose it. Our daily affirmation of God's love is Song of Songs 8.6-7 Love is amazing. And the love of God for us should take your breath away. The best part, well, one of the best parts anyway, is that it is never quenched. It is never satisfied. There is always something new about it, and about us, for the Lord to find fascinating. Forever and always, He will be there waiting for you when you open your eyes in the morning. Forever and always, He will be there to soothe your brow and whisper in your ear as you fall asleep. He loves you, and He wants you to know. He loves you, and He wants you to realize it. He loves you, and He wants you to feel it. Joyfully, completely, and satisfyingly. He loves you so much, and He always will. As we close, remember that you have worth. You are precious and valuable. Declare this. Today, God loves that I, now 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? There's 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. 1 John 4, 9-10 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. And this is love. Not that we loved 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 that is wonderful. See you next time.