The Yoke's On You - Hopefully

This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture that reject fear. Fear is a spiritual force used by Satan to keep people down. Instead, faith in God is championed. The Israelites were told to be brave and strong in their battles, and God gave them victory. The same applies to believers today. God has called us to a specific purpose and if we let Him be in charge, He will deliver us from our enemies and bless us abundantly. It may not be easy, but with God's guidance, all tasks are achievable. By putting God first, we will live blessed and peaceful lives. We must rely on His power and righteousness to overcome any challenges. No weapon formed against us will prevail. If we remain in Jesus and let Him lead us, there will be no missteps. God promises us victory and peace if we trust and obey Him wholeheartedly. 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 Joshua 10.25 Joshua said to them, Don't be afraid, nor be dismayed. Be strong and courageous, for Yahweh will do this to all your enemies against whom you fight. If you look above and below this verse, you get some real context, which is always what you should do, because no verse stands alone. The Israelites were fighting against five kings and their combined forces. Joshua was told to be brave and strong. His men were told to be brave and strong. And they were. They did awesome, because God gave them the victory. These kings fled and hid, but they were found, and they were brought before Joshua. And he called all the men of Israel to come and put their feet on the necks of these kings that had so scared them. This was a symbol of defeating a foe. See also Genesis 3.15. And he told them, here you go. You have kings, literal kings under your feet. Kings that you feared. Now, how is it? This is what God will do to all your enemies. This was just the start of what the Israelites were going to do. The start of the campaign to take the land. This is a promise of what is coming. If they let God be in charge. If they let God call the shots and be in charge. If they worship Him and keep Him as the first and only God they have. If they do these things, then He will deliver to them all their enemies and all the territory that He wants them to have and all the blessing that He has to give. Hint, it's a lot of blessing. Nothing has changed. Are you a believer? Then there is a land here on earth that the Lord God Almighty has called you to. A land to go and take. It could be a job, a place to live, a friendship, an enemy ship that He wants you to change, a vehicle, a new project, an old project, or something in between. It could be as outwardly influencing as a globally situated multi-tier business. It could be as seemingly minuscule as a kind word to a stranger. Each and everything is a parcel of ground in the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God isn't a physical place, but a spiritual reality. It is a land that is more than land. It is a real life connection between every believer on the planet and the Lord Almighty on the throne itself. And we're called to rise up on this earth and help bring people into the kingdom by going to the land He has called us to and rising up and taking it. It will probably not be a place of comfort. Rising up and taking something is not always as easy as planting a flag and crowing. The Israelites struggled with it. At the end of the book of Joshua, they were being prodded to complete it, but they didn't. There were several groups that they could not dislodge. They made them slaves and servants, but they remained with them and were the source of problems for the people of Israel, just as the Lord said that they would be. The people were tired of wandering. They were tired of fighting. They did not have the zealous energy that they had in the beginning. A little success, a little taste of the good life. And they weren't as concerned as they had been at the beginning. But they could have. God told them they could have. They just had to stick it out to the uncomfortable, wearying human end. We're in the same position. If you let God call the shots. If you let God be in charge. If you worship Him and keep Him as the first and only God you have. Social media, entertainment, and me time? I'm looking in your direction. If you will do these things, then He will deliver any and everything standing between you and where He's called you into your hands. Why? Because by calling you, He has empowered, equipped, and set His angelic host around you. There's nothing that will stop you in your God-given assignment but you. Is it hard to put God first? Matthew 11, 28-30 says, Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. My yoke is easy and my burden is light. Peaceful, delightful, and easy? Who doesn't like that? We toil like dogs for mortal masters to earn the pay and the right to get peace, delight, and ease on our time off. And here we're being offered a permanent state for free. Remember, though, that He doesn't give peace like the world, John 14, 27. So it won't look like the world's peace. Jesus was peaceful in His sleep in the bottom of a boat in a storm, Matthew 8, 23-27. Jesus doesn't offer us no ordeals, no persecutions, no trials, or easy street. He offers us Himself. The ability to abide in Him and He in us, He offers us true peace. Don't fight God. Ask Jesus what the deal is. He is always with you. He already knows what you're going through because He is right there with you. And He has given you the Holy Spirit as counselor, confident, reminder, and teacher to communicate with you. So ask Him what you need to do and then do it. That's it. Do it. All of it. He's given you the use of His name, authority, and spirit and every task is achievable by grace through faith in Him. Simple, but not always easy. Wait. Wait. That's a human thought. That isn't speaking life. Jesus said it was easy. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Whenever you get a thought that isn't in line with what the Word says, quash it immediately and, if necessary, out loud. I don't care if you feel embarrassed. I don't care if you feel stupid. I don't care if you get talked to, teased, or flat-out laughed at. Words are seeds. Unbelief will grow. Words of fear will grow. And before you're even aware of it, you have a major pruning job to do. When God tells us to do something, He enables us to do it. He equips us to do it. In Him we can do all things, John 15. With Him nothing is impossible, Luke 137. So all of this is as simple as doing it by the will and through the Word of Jesus Himself. If we let the Lord guide us and lead us, if we worship Him and remain obedient to Him by loving Him, by putting Him first place no matter what in our lives, then it will be easy, it will be light, and our tasks going into the land we're called to will be simple because Jesus has done the hard part. Our part is simple. We obey. We do. We stand. The Israelites were commanded to put the Lord their God first and foremost. They did not. They had issues. But whenever they repented and put the Lord their God first and foremost, the problems were solved, the issues went away, and they lived blessed and peaceful lives. Because they were blessed spiritually, they were enabled to be blessed in other ways. It was Yahweh God first, everything else after. The pattern hasn't changed. We're called to love God above all else, Matthew 22.37. Even our own families, Matthew 19.29. Nothing gets to be before God. We're not asked to forsake our family, only not to put anything before God in our hearts. If we prosper spiritually, then we will prosper in other ways because the Lord God is the source, 3 John 1.2. The source of our life, our peace, our joy, our faith, our grace, our love, our possessions, our anything and everything. In God and in God alone we move and live and exist, Acts 17.28. He is our fortress. Stand against any pushback by the enemy. Stand against any criticism. We rely on the Lord and the power of His might, Ephesians 6.10. It is not us who does it, but Jesus in us. Remember Isaiah 54.17. No weapon that is formed against you will prevail, and you will condemn every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of Yahweh's servants, and their righteousness is of me, says Yahweh. Isn't that awesome? We stay on Him. We stay in Him, and by His power, His word, and His righteousness, we get a victory against all weapons. By a declaration of Yahweh God of the universe, this is our legal right of inheritance. Believe it, receive it, claim it, and walk in it. This is the word promising us this victory. The word promising us God's peace. The word telling us that God should be number one, obeyed, and followed with all of our entire hearts. Believe Jesus. It's true. He is truth. He is the word. There is no lie in Him. It is pleasant and easy in Him. Jesus is the physical expression of doing the Father's will. If we remain in Him, we also will do the Father's will. If we let Jesus call the shots, there will be no missteps. If we let Jesus lead us in all things, from thought to action to words, we won't sin. It's all about who and what we yoke ourselves to. We'll either be letting Jesus lead us, or we'll be trying to lead ourselves. That gets messy and tangled and miserable in a very short amount of time. You want an easy and delightful yoke? Isaiah 54, 14-15. And this is Yahweh Himself talking here. You will be established in righteousness. You will be far from oppression, for you will not be afraid, and far from terror, for it shall not come near you. Behold, they may gather together, but not by Me, meaning it isn't His doing or idea. Whoever gathers against you will fall because of you. Why? Because no weapon formed, remember? You want a peaceful yoke? How about Proverbs 3, 24-26. When you lie down, you will not be afraid. Yes, you will lie down, and your sleep will be sweet. Don't be afraid of sudden fear, neither of the destruction or their recompense, which is a repayment in kind for their actions, of the wicked when it comes. For Yahweh will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being taken. The yoke is pleasant. The yoke is easy. The yoke is a delight. It is blessing upon blessing. Spiritual blessing. Victory after victory. For who? For those who are yoked to Jesus, who love Him with all they have, who worship the Lord in spirit and in truth. John 4, 24. Putting the Lord God first and letting Him lead our steps, wherever, however, and whenever He chooses. Psalm 119, verse 105. Don't wait a day. Start today. Believe it. Receive it. Walk in it. When you walk in it, it will lead you. When you sleep, it will watch over you. When you awake, it will talk with you. Proverbs 6, 22. Our daily affirmation of God's love is 1 John 4, 15-21. Not only is laughter infectious, but love is too. Real love, pure love, God's love. God is love, and those who dwell in Him dwell in love. Perfect love, which also casts out fear because fear cannot exist around love. Love is about trust, kindness, goodness, gentleness, peacefulness, and self-control. Love is great. It's a decision, a conscious decision, not an act of passion that you can't help. Love is of the heart and the mind, not of the loins. It is something we know because He is love. We love because God does. If we didn't, we wouldn't have that as part of us. We are in the image of God. We are a copy. Love is an all-encompassing thing. It allows us to be patient. It allows us to be accepting. It allows us to forgive. It allows us to be forgiven. That's why we are called to forgive others and accept them. Because of love, love is not blind. Love sees every fault, every failing, every speck of dirt, but love doesn't let that stop a hug. Love doesn't let that stop a kind word. We are not responsible for the hearts of those around us. We are not responsible for condoning their actions nor condemning them. We have all failed to uphold God's moral law. In love, real love, there is no fear for anyone involved. No fear of condemnation, no fear of justification, no fear of the Lord, no fear of each other, no fear at all. Love is love. Love is the purity of righteousness that we can all have in Jesus, which means we call things as they are and don't make excuses for bad behavior, even as we call things as they will be and embrace the forgiveness and salvation Jesus makes available to us. It's a beautiful picture. And to love Him is the best decision you will ever make. Ever. 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.