Do not be afraid!

Acts 18:  ⁹ One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. ¹⁰ For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” ¹¹ So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.

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“What would the crowd say about me?” was my thought as my mind raced thinking about the possibility of boos and hisses. I asked my boss for advice and he said “just stay focused on the issues and solutions and you won’t have a problem.” I went on stage and presented just that. The questions and discussions actually weren’t bad. You mean it wasn’t about “me?”

• Fear of the unknown can truly stifle me.
• Fear of the unknown can cause my mind to wander to worst case thinking which leads me to worry.
• Fear of the unknown can make me think even GOD can’t get me out of “this” situation.

Sometimes situations seem bleak at work or in the neighborhood or with family. “Life happens” all around me and in most cases I can do nothing about it.  When I turn on the news a flood of depressing stories bombards my mind ripping peace away from me. How can I find peace?

• When GOD says “do not be afraid” HE means HE has already taken care of the situation before it started.
• When GOD says “keep on speaking and do not be silent” HE means in spite of the situation and in spite of my sin keep spreading comfort and encouragement.
• When GOD says “For I am with you” HE means “I dare someone to go against ME while I am protecting you for there is no power greater than ME.”

GOD knows when I need a word of encouragement to move forward and HE did the same for Paul. Opposition will try to take praise out of my lips and attempt to break me down BUT GOD says “persevere and the reward will be great because I’M on your side!”

• What are you afraid of?
• Is fear preventing you from something?
• Is fear holding you back from serving GOD?
• Is fear holding you back from truly and sincerely changing your ways to get a deeper relationship with GOD?