Welcome back to “Friday Feature!” Grab a cup of coffee, relax, and enjoy today’s devotion! If you missed last week’s devotion, you can read it here!
Allison Lowery brings us today’s devotion titled, “Fear.” Allison, a wife and dog mom, lives in my home state of Georgia, where she and her husband Trey are renovating their very own “Fixer Upper!” She’s a fashion influencer with a style that is both modern and modest! Give her IG page a follow! @allisonlowery_
Fear
John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Fear is a small word, yet such a huge feeling. With so much unknown in this world, it’s easy to let fear completely control us. Whether it’s from COVID-19, bad news from a doctor, or just wondering what the future holds for us. The devil would love nothing more than to cripple God’s people with fear.
Black Bart was a professional thief whose very name struck fear as he terrorized the Wells Fargo stage line. From San Francisco to New York, his name became synonymous with the danger of the frontier. Between 1875 and 1883, he robbed 29 different stagecoach crews. Amazingly, Bart did it all without firing a shot. Because a hood hid his face, no victim ever saw his face. He never took a hostage and was never trailed by the sheriff. Instead, Black Bart used fear to paralyze his victims. His sinister presence was enough to overwhelm the toughest stagecoach guard. (Today in the Word, August 8, 1992)
As I read this story it made me think how the devil doesn’t have to physically harm us and has no power, yet by his name our hearts are struck in fear. Planting a thought in our minds, he can paralyze us! The devil thinks he has the control but at the mention of Jesus, he has to flee and the chains will break! Let us not live in fear but live in total surrender and trust in God. Let us love and worship Him and know He has it all under control.
Psalms 56:3 says “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.” When life seems to be completely out of control, God is there holding our world in place. Letting go of fear can often be hard but we have to completely put our trust in God and know that He will always work it out. He’s still in control, He loves us, & He’s coming back for his children. He wants us to trust Him & doesn’t want us to FEAR! He’s never forsaken us so we have NO REASON to not trust Him.
I want to encourage someone who may be dealing with fear or any other problem, that no matter what you’re going through God has given us the strength to overcome whatever we are facing. If we would just bring our situations to Jesus, He will increase and the problems will decrease. Our mountains seem so big and unmovable but we must realize they are nothing compared to our mighty big God. So remember, when fear grips your heart God is still on the throne and He will always be in control.