Day 152: Proverbs 10:27

"The Fear-of-God expands your life; a wicked life is a puny life." ~Proverbs 10:27, MSG

I don't generally prefer the MSG version of the Bible. It always seems to me that the version tries to hard to make things simple - so much that it actually makes things complicated. For example, what exactly is the "Fear of God"? Respect, honor, praise, worship, okay, I guess it's every bit as confusing as "fear" in the Biblical reverent sense. Giving God what He deserves (glory) expands your life, and not just in years of living as some other versions would suggest - but also mentally and emotionally. Trusting God gives you confidence to move forwards, keeps yourself secure despite conflict.

A life without God is a puny life, difficult to make into something big, a challenge, short and tough. Not always, but often enough. We don't have to live a "wicked" life though - we can always choose another path. This path, in this case, is God. Let your life expand!

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Day 151: Psalm 140:7

"Sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer, you shield my head in the day of battle." ~Psalm 140:7, NIV

Psalms! Always proclaiming what they know to be true about God through verse. Our God loves and cares about us, right? He made the Universe, therefore He can control and change any and everything in it. He's strong. And He wants to make sure that we make it through to be the best people we can be.

But we have to choose Him. We know He is strong, we know He loves us, but we still have to choose to trust Him with our fears and our problems. The psalmist says 'you shield my head'. People, we need our heads! God can protect our thoughts, and He can help you choose not to fear the nonsense that the world tries to throw in our faces. He can save you. And He loves you.

Where's your head?

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Day 150: Proverbs 30:5

"Every word of God is true. He guards those who come to him for safety." ~Proverbs 30:5, NCV

The Bible is considered the Word of God. Now if this verse from Proverbs is true, then it means that every statement in the Bible is true. Whether or not you believe that or to what degree you believe that is up to you, but for the purpose of this verse, just bear with me.

We've seen before how God promises to protect us, and how He commands us to "fear not." Every word of God is true. Therefore? He doesn't make empty promises, nor empty threats. He guards those who come to him for safety. Are you counting on Him to protect you from your fears? Do you believe all of the promises He made?

Every word of God is true. He will protect you from your fears, He will protect you in your best interest - which doesn't mean bad things won't happen. But He will be with you, and He will help you make it through. Believe that?

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Day 149: Psalm 32:6

"His purpose titanic, his verdicts oceanic. Yet in his largeness nothing gets lost; Not a man, not a mouse, slips through the cracks." ~Psalm 32:6, MSG

Hear, hear! I wish to describe the God we serve with a little bit of ancient poetry. My God's purpose is titanic. He wants to rescue all of humanity from our own foolishness. My God's wisdom, it's vaster than the ocean, as though you could really comprehend that!

'But wait, if that's how big my God is, why would He want to pay attention to little old me?' Well, the psalmist here seems to understand that, at least a little. We can't comprehend God's enormity, but we know for a certain fact that nothing escapes God's attention - He's taking care of ALL of the details. There are no cracks for a man, or a mouse to slip through. Nothing slips past God.

Including your fears.

God knows and sees that you're afraid, and He wants you to know that He cares, and that He wants to help you. All you have to do is believe that, and choose to know that He's got the whole world in His hands, and that He wants to make you into the best person you can possibly be. I know I say that a lot (goodness, am I repetitive!) but I only say it because it's what I know to be true. Don't let your fears stop you from following Him and jumping out of your boundaries. He's got you, in all of His greatness!

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Day 148: 2 Chronicles 19:11b

"Take courage as you fulfill your duties, and may the LORD be with those who do what is right." 2 Chronicles 19:11b, NLT

The good king Jehoshaphat was, like most people, not perfect. But he did manage to try and lead his people, the Israelites, back to God after a time of rebellion. He appointed judges throughout the land to try and make sure God's justice was maintained in his kingdom. The verse above comes from the king's instruction to these judges.

It's not usually easy to do the right thing. It can be intimidating, downright frightening, especially in the world we live in. But God has this verse to tell you as you go about doing the right thing: "take courage," and "the Lord will be with those who do what is right." You're not doing it alone - you've got God on your side. Whatever makes it difficult is nothing in comparison to God, so never be afraid to do the right thing!

Take courage!

Day 147: Psalm 71:5

"For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth." ~Psalm 71:5, NIV

Hope, hope, hope. There's been a lot of talk about this idea lately, and for good reason. Chew on that thought for a while, and look at how this psalmist proclaims who God has been for him.

There's this funny thing about God, and that is the fact that He never changes. As one who created, and hence is outside of time, the definition of time - change - doesn't apply to Him. If He has been one way and used to do great things, then you can be 100% sure that He still will be one way and do great things.

We know that today, Jesus is our hope. We can confidently come before Him and ask for help, ask for courage, trust that He's got a plan for us. He has been our hope, and always will be our hope. Maybe you used to hope in Him, but you changed your mind. In your youth, you knew Him. Something happened since then, maybe.

Look at your neighborhood 3 year old. S/he probably believes in a God. That's part of the reason why Jesus calls us to be childlike, confident in the good God we were told about. We don't have to understand why bad things happen, we just have to know that God isn't going to abandon us, and that He will take care of us. He's our father, and parents teach their children the way they should go through discipline, letting them make their own mistakes, and always accepting them when they run back.

Until the day you die, God is that father, with outstretched arms, waiting for you to trust Him with your fears.

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Day 146: Romans 15:12

"And again, Isaiah says, 'The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; in him the Gentiles will hope.'" ~Romans 15:12, NIV

Hope. It's an idea that strongly empowers people. Paul knew that, Isaiah knew that, and Jesus knew that. Isaiah knew it because God gave him hope, Jesus knew it because He was the hope, and Paul knew it because God told him Jesus was the hope.

God made a promise through Isaiah that was fulfilled in Jesus. Christ died, and rose from the dead to gain the power over the whole world, a power that He gives us permission to access. If God fulfilled His promises then, God will fulfill His promises now.

He promised to give hope. Now we can have hope, the strongest combatant of fear you'll ever find. Will you embrace Him?

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Day 145: Zechariah 8:15

"But now I am determined to bless Jerusalem and the people of Judah. So don’t be afraid." ~Zechariah 8:15, NLT

The Israelites have had a rough history. They'd been in exile, and there was only a remnant of them left - they could easily be wiped out, nevermore to be remembered by anyone. But in Zechariah, God gives promises to bless Jerusalem, to bring back the remnant and grow them into His country. His anger, God's wrath, it's been extinguished. The punishment has been paid.

Now, He's "determined to bless Jerusalem." To further encourage His people, God adds "don't be afraid." We can take this to heart as well, for as God's wrath had been poured out, the punishment paid by the Israelites, so now in the man known as Jesus this has been done once more - for all time. God's fury was pacified, as it were, by Jesus and His death on the cross. Thus we can have hope again, that God will bless us, and that we don't need to be afraid of His wrath, so long as we trust in Jesus and have Him living in our hearts and making us into His image.

So don't be afraid.

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Day 144: Hebrews 6:18

"So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us." ~Hebrews 6:18, NLT

We've been reading a lot of Paul's words lately, but this one's from James. (At least in my Bible it's attributed to him...) Now, in Hebrews 6, James is discussing God's promises and how He fulfills them. As an example, he's used the promises God made to Abraham. A promise, and an oath, to be precise. But the point of that explanation is to validate God's word as absolutely true, and His promises as absolutely valid because "it is impossible for God to lie."

This argument leads up to the idea that we can know for certain that the "hope that lies before us" (who is Jesus, and the resurrection from the dead) is a promise that will be fulfilled, an oath impossible to break. Thus when we find refuge in God, we can be 100% sure that our hope is true. This hope dictates a reason to never be afraid again - with Jesus, we are safe in God's arms, safe from the nonsense of life and confident in the fact that God loves us and wants to make us the very best versions of us that we can be.

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Day 143: Philippians 4:19

"And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus." ~Philippians 4:19, NLT

When we're afraid, we often forget a simple, fundamental fact - God is our provider, and that means He takes care of us. He took care of Paul, as Paul himself testifies in this verse and in fact, throughout his letters of the New Testament. And here, he explains that God will supply all our needs.

See, God gave us "glorious riches" through Christ Jesus that we sometimes forget about. You may recall some of those riches that we talked about in 2 Timothy, the spirits or states of being. Quite simply, you don't need to be afraid because, as I'm reminding you, God's going to take care of you!

Be it supplying you mentally, physically or emotionally, Jesus has all you need and more, and He wants to give it to you. He will give it to you, if you let Him. Now I understand that I say that a lot "if you let Him," and today I'd like to elaborate a little bit.

When God made us, He gave us this trait that we call "free will." That means that in everything, we have a choice, and it's OUR choice. God doesn't make that choice for you, your mom doesn't make that choice for you, only YOU can make that choice! And there's one basic choice that every human being will make at one point or another, and that is the decision to either follow God, or not. Nobody can make that decision for someone else, and there's no other options - you're either following God, or you're not. If you are, congratulations, you have access to choose God's good and glorious gifts! If not, you can still choose to change that decision! Now with that choice out of the way, we suddenly have a zillion new choices that we have to make with God's will in mind. We choose words, attitude, we choose fear, courage, we get to choose everything about us! And we have to make sure that our choices line up with God's will, which He tells us through the Bible, through His other children (like your pastor, or youth group) and sometimes He will just TELL you. Most of the time, though, you've got to make your decisions based on the Bible.

Likewise, you have to make the decision to trust God no matter what happens. And this is what I mean when I say "if you let Him." Ask for good gifts, but trust that everything that happens is happening so that God can make you into the person He wants you to be - and that is one awesome person! Because God isn't going to give you everything you ask for, which is why you have to trust Him! Believe that He really wants what's best for you - it's just another choice to make. And it's one that will spare you a lot of worrying.

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Day 142: John 19:7-8

"The Jewish leaders replied, 'By our law he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God.'When Pilate heard this, he was more frightened than ever." ~John 19:7-8, NLT

I know that I write here to combat fear, but I think that this verse shows a simple, important, missed fact. God is scary. I know, He's good, and what He does is always in the best interest for humanity. There's always the age-old question, if that is true and God is good, why do bad things happen? Simply, Christians do stupid things and attribute them to God. Crusades, Inquisition, anyone? And I quote Jordan "Blimey Cow" (look him up on Youtube, you won't regret it unless your sarcasm detector is broken and you take all things at face value) - God doesn't want to and doesn't take the credit for all of the stupid things people, especially Christians, do. God is the creator of the Universe - doesn't that put some things in perspective? Doesn't that scare you? Maybe you should rethink this whole Christian business. Again I quote "Blimey Cow" - God is love and love is terrifying. Christians should be some of the scared-est people ever. Or at least scariest, because think about it - we serve God.

Pilate up there, he was scared of God's son. And we serve Jesus. Who was God. People, if Pilate, the highest form of Roman power that Jesus came into contact with, was frozen with fear (check some of the other versions) imagine how the Emperor would have felt! "You're God's son and you're leading a rebellion in Israel against me? I'm doomed!" It should be occurring to you that part of the reason people ridicule Christianity is because they're scared to death that we could be right. They're scared to death that they actually don't have any control over their lives (which can be scary for us sometimes too...) and that an invisible, living God could be calling them to abandon their illusion of power and control.

By the law of the world we should die because we serve God. But don't worry, all the anger and hatred is just a way of covering up fear. And you don't have anything to fear, because remember? You're the one serving God! Which is pretty scary sometimes. But at least you don't have all of the things of the world to fear in addition to God zapping you with judgement. (PS: He doesn't usually do it that way. But He will on Judgement day.)

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Day 141: 2 Timothy 1:7

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." ~2 Timothy 1:7, NLT

Paul was a really great and loquacious guy - at least we hear the most from him in the New Testament, and this letter to Timothy is no different. God gave Paul a fervent spirit for missions, and for His people. He also gave Paul a great understanding of many confusing and perplexing items of faith - including, in this case, the general gifts that God gives all of His children. And in this verse, it's clearly spelled out what God has NOT given us, and that is fear. Being afraid is not a gift, it's something we don't even need if you consider the gifts He DID give us!

HE GAVE US POWER

It's almost the exact opposite of fear - when you're afraid, do you feel powerful? No! You feel terror because you have a realization that you are powerless to make a change to your situation! And yet God gave us a gift of power... It's not our own power - it's God's power. God, who made the Universe, has the power to change your situation. Now even if you can't change your situation, He can. In that power, why don't you ask Him to show you why this situation is occurring around you, what He wants you to learn from it, and how you can make it through? (Here's a hint: you'll need His help.)

HE GAVE US LOVE

God is love. He gave you the gift of love. God gave you Himself - through Jesus, we have access to the power described above. If you haven't accepted Jesus, the first step to claiming your gifts and letting God take care of your fears is to embrace this love. In another letter, Paul (at least I think it was Paul) explained that perfect love casts out all fear. If you're living in God's love, you're already aware that there's nothing to be afraid of. Brilliant, eh?

HE GAVE US SELF-DISCIPLINE

Now this one made me scratch my head a few times. God gave us these great and monumental gifts like love and power, and then... self-discipline. Feels a little anti-climactic to me, but it's not! You see, we have to choose to accept the gifts. We have to choose to know and love God. We have to choose to believe that He loves us, and of course, we have to choose to fear not. That's just the drawback of free will. We have to freely choose to bind ourselves to Christ. But when you think about the things Christ did, who wants to willingly bind themselves to the pain, the hardships, the trials? Generally, we just want to bind ourselves to the love and confidence and forget everything else, but it doesn't work that way. If we bind ourselves, we bind everything. To get us through the rough spots of choosing, God gave us the gift of self-discipline. In every bad situation we have choices. This gift helps us make the right choices, the ones that make us better people, the ones that let us know Him better, the ones that help us realize we don't have to be afraid.

After all, God didn't give us the gift of being afraid.

One final note - I used the word "gift" but in the verse, you'll notice Paul used the word "spirit". The difference is simply a matter of being. "Gift" sounds like an item you can activate, but "spirit" means a state of existence - and as beings who exist, our attitudes or "gifts" are perpetual on the timeline.

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Day 140: Genesis 50:21

"Easy now, you have nothing to fear; I'll take care of you and your children." He reassured them, speaking with them heart-to-heart." ~Genesis 50:21, NCV

Hey, remember Joseph from the other day? We talked about the first part of his speech to his brothers, where he reminded them he wasn't God, and thus they had nothing to fear from him. Well, this is the second half, and it's very much along the same lines.

His brothers had every reason to expect vicious revenge from Joseph. But God's people aren't like that, because they know God is the source of all justice, and that it's His job to avenge them. They also know that God is the only one to fear, and that acts of revenge go against Him. Later on in History, Jesus puts this point very clearly by telling us to love our neighbors as ourselves, and to do good to those who hurt us.

God's people should make the world a better, safer place. And Joseph demonstrated that nicely - "you have nothing to fear" from me, "I'll take care of you and your children." Sometimes that means putting dangerous people in prison. Sometimes that means embracing forgiveness and offering a loving hand to those who hurt you. You shouldn't have to feel defensive around God's people - that doesn't mean much, though, because we're all just sinners serving a God who loves us.

Allow me to be a Joseph today - God loves you, and like in Joseph's case, He can make every bad situation work out to something good, if you let Him. With that in mind, need you fear for your future, if you know that every step of the way, no matter how different or uncomfortable, will make you into the very best person you can be?

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Day 139: Leviticus 26:6

"I'll make the country a place of peace-you'll be able to go to sleep at night without fear; I'll get rid of the wild beasts; I'll eliminate war." ~Leviticus 26:6, MSG

The header of Leviticus 26 (NLT) reads "Blessings for Obedience". Now, lots of people don't recommend taking the headers seriously because they were added in by English scribes and weren't actually part of the original Scripture. But I think the header gives perfect context for today's verse.

Leviticus is a part of the Torah, and explains many of the rules that God gave the Israelites to follow so that they could be righteous and pure in His sight. Verse 3 begins with "if you follow my decrees and obey my commands..." and begins to list off God's promises for the Israelites. The promise to make Israel a place of peace is conditional - if the Israelites obeyed God's commands, then He would fulfill His promise. While we know God works for good in all things (Romans 8:28) we also know that He wants to give His children good gifts - peace of mind. We can ask God for this gift without the stipulation of following every single command in the Torah, because our "if/then" statement has been updated - if you repent of your sins and believe Jesus is Lord, then God will give you peace, or at least He'll help you sleep at night without fear.

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Day 138: Genesis 50:19

"But Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you?" ~Genesis 50:19, NLT

The tale of Joseph is one we all know well - his brothers hated on him for a God-given gift of dreams, and so they beat him up and sold him into slavery. Joseph ended up in Egypt, serving a powerful leader named Potiphar. One thing led to another, and Potiphar's wife sent Joseph to prison, where he stayed for a long time. His gift of interpreting dreams came in useful for two prisoners, who had gotten kicked out by the Pharoah. One of the prisoners died, one was returned to his position in Pharaoh's house. The Pharaoh had a dream, and Joseph got pulled out of jail to interpret. Thanks to God, Joseph did, and he was placed as the Vizier of Egypt - second in power only to the Pharaoh!

There was a famine in the land, and Joseph's brothers came to Egypt, where Joseph had been set in charge of collecting food for seven years prior. They didn't recognize Joseph at first (being a Vizier and all... they still thought he was dead!) but when they did, they were terrified! But Joseph replied with what should always come to mind when we are afraid - don't be scared, I'm not God!

No matter who or what you're afraid of, unless it's God, you don't need to be. What can a mere mortal do to your body, as Jesus asked? God is the one who will have to send your soul to burn if you do evil, and your soul is immortal. The rest can't do that. So why be afraid of THEM?

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Day 137: 1 Peter 3:6

"Sarah obeyed Abraham, her husband, and called him her master. And you women are true children of Sarah if you always do what is right and are not afraid." ~ 1 Peter 3:6, NCV

In this section of 1 Peter, the apostle is writing about how husbands and wives should treat each other: does "wives, submit to your husbands" ring a bell? This is probably where you'd find it. In true writerly fashion, Peter refers to Sarah and Abraham as two role models for the parts. I'd like to focus perhaps a little too narrowly, today, on the second half of the above verse.

Everything in this verse is referring to the way wives act towards their husbands. Yet just read the second half. "You women are true children of Sarah if you always do what is right and are not afraid." Without the context of what "right" is referring to (honoring your husband, if you'd like to know), we can still know that we SHOULD do what is right - fearlessly. Children of the promise are often referred to as Abraham's children - this verse suggests that the men are children of Abraham and the women children of Sarah. And God found both of them to be pleasing in His sight. So can we. How?

By doing what's right.

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Day 136: Jeremiah 5:22

"Have you no respect for me? Why don’t you tremble in my presence? I, the LORD, define the ocean’s sandy shoreline as an everlasting boundary that the waters cannot cross. The waves may toss and roar, but they can never pass the boundaries I set." ~Jeremiah 5:22, NLT

Sometimes God sends calamities to wake His people up. Sometimes the ones who should be following Him the most ardently are the ones who turn their backs when it counts. It is then that God says the above verse - to remind them, and to warn those who haven't turned. God isn't a teddy bear, lovey-dovey and one who never gets angry but always turns a blind eye to our mistakes. He's God.

He loves us more than we could know, and He is slow to anger, and He forgives our mistakes when we confess them and repent of them. He's still God, the one who defines the ocean's sandy shoreline, who created tectonic plates and dinosaurs. The only thing we have to fear in life... is God. Who loves us.

Remember that.

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Day 135: Luke 5:10b

"Then Jesus said to Simon, Don't be afraid; from now on you will fish for people." ~Luke 5:10b, NIV

Jesus has just called some of the disciples to follow Him, and He had them go fishing early in the morning after a full night of fishing and catching nothing. Immediately they caught so many fish that two boats were nearly sinking from the catch! Simon then threw himself at Jesus' feet, proclaiming what Jesus already knew - he wasn't worthy.

Jesus knows everything about us, including our inadequacy - but He says the same thing to us that He told Simon Peter - don't be afraid! From now on, you will fish for people. Okay, so maybe that made a lot more sense to Simon than it does to us. After all, Simon had spent his whole life as a fisherman. Fishing was the one thing that made sense to him. Jesus was telling him to go do something he had no idea about, and he was afraid! But Jesus reassured him that what He wanted was perfectly tailored to Simon's skills - fishing. Instead of for fish, for men.

God's plan, no matter how terrifying, is perfectly tailored for you. Yes, it seems big, bad and scary because its new, but it's your plan. God made it so that you could make the best of it with the skills, passions and abilities that He gave you. Don't be afraid to follow God's path, because it truly is for the best, and it will be the most awesome part of your life ever!

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Day 134: Psalm 3:6-7

"I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side. Arise, Lord! Deliver me, my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked." ~Psalm 3:6-7, NIV

The psalmist here is directly going straight to the point - and he exemplifies a three step process to cope with his fear.

STEP 1

"I will not fear". The psalmist declares from the beginning that he's not going to be afraid. Even if he's surrounded by a physical army thousands strong all out to kill him, he's not going to be afraid. For us, maybe it's an army of negative and oppressive classmates that's putting us down. We can start with a simple declaration: "I'm not going to be afraid."

STEP 2

"Arise Lord! Deliver me, my God!" The psalmist knows that he can't really defeat an army by himself, so he appeals to the only source in the world that can: God. We can ask for God to rise up and save us from our enemies, or simply from our fears. In fact, we have to ask Him because we really can' t do anything substantial on our own except get overwhelmed.

STEP 3

"Strike all of my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked." Ask God very specifically to do something. If you just say "help me!" it's hard to measure whether or not God's answered your prayer, and then you might miss seeing His blessings over your life. Besides, if you're in trouble and ask for help, He might help you but only if you're specific - ask to pass that test instead of overcome your fears. (Actually, I don't know that. But I do know that Jesus said "You have not because you ask not.")

These steps are relatively simple, and can be done in any order. So long as you do them all, you should have everything you need to fight fear: God's word, God's spirit, God's promise, and God's command. Bring it on!

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Day 133: 1 Chronicles 19:13

"Be courageous! Let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. May the LORD’s will be done." ~1 Chronicles 19:13, NLT

This verse should sound familiar. That's because we just talked about this incident, in Samuel instead of Chronicles. David's army captain was about to take a city. He was working together with his brother, and they were going to conquer - if it was the Lord's will.

Yesterday we talked about how God commands us to be courageous. That means that if we let our fear overcome us, we're sinning. In loving our brothers and sisters in Christ, God tells us to "confess our sins to one another." If we know each other's weaknesses, we can support one another and be stronger. Joab, David's commander, might have known that his brother was scared, and Joab didn't want him to sin. So he reminded his brother to "be courageous!"

I don't know where you are or what you're facing, but remember to be courageous. You can still be scared, but don't let that fear control you - give it to God. Admit you can't do it on your own and ask for help. Fight bravely to do His will, and if you let Him control your fear, if you trust that He can pull you out, He'll use you to further His will.

And don't forget to help the people you know around you to live in accordance to God's will - courageously.

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Day 132: Joshua 1:6

"Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them." ~Joshua 1:6, NIV

In this verse, God is directly telling Joshua what He expects - strength and courage, leadership. It is our duty to God to stand strong, to step out in courage, and to show others His love. God gave a promise to someone, sometime - for Joshua it was the Israelites, it was Abraham. He wants to use you to fulfill His promise, and if you won't obey His commands, He'll just find someone else to do the job.

Joshua obeyed, he chose to put his faith in God, and God used Him to bring His promises to fruition - and what a victory that was! God can bring victory through you too, the only question now is will you let Him? That is the question we must answer every day.

What's your verdict?

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Day 131: Psalm 46:1

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."~Psalm 46:1, NIV

Psalm 46 is one of the greatest psalms ever if you're scared. Seriously, I think every time we have a verse from it, I'm going to ask you to read the whole thing. This is the beginning - a statement of truth, a vote of confidence in who our God is. Or at least who He can be to you if you let Him.

Refuge. Strength. Help. Not just help, but ever-present help, a help that isn't going to break, disappear, or leave. If you need a booster, just remember who God is, and who you are to Him. Focus on that, don't let anything else get in your viewpoint. Choose to focus, choose to look at His side, if not the bright side.

Answer this: who is God? And if you can't find a satisfactory answer, ask Him!

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Day 130: Proverbs 31:21

"When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet." ~Proverbs 31:21, NIV

The last 21 verses of Proverbs are dedicated to the description of a "Wife of Noble Character" as described by a certain King Lemuel. Most of the proverbs are attributed to Solomon, as most of the psalms are attributed to David, while significant portions of both texts were written by a myriad of other sources. This is one such example as translated - Jewish tradition upholds that Lemuel was a poetic name for Solomon, and some people think he was a king of non-Israelite origin entirely - we may never know, but it's a pretty veritable fact that he wasn't a king of Israel simply because he isn't mentioned again in the Bible. But enough history, let's move on to how I interpret this verse in terms of fear.

Israel was a desert country. People didn't worry that much about snows, because it was hot. But in an Israeli context, it was a possible and highly undesirable occurrence that happened often enough to make it a valid fear of snows. But the "diligent" and "responsible" wife described throughout the half of the chapter has nothing to fear. In fact, not only does she have nothing to fear, but her entire household (which included her family AND the servants and their families) are clothed not only warmly enough, but in scarlet - a dye that showed prestige.

The thing about my interpretation is that it doesn't show a reliance on God. Basically it adds up to "if we work hard enough, we'll be safe". However, if we keep reading, we find out in v30 that this wife "fears the Lord". Her trust is in Him. She is God's blessing to her husband, and God blesses her so she can bless him.

God never said we were to be a lazy generation, and I think this verse shows that. God honors hard work, He doesn't provide it as the solution to problems in life, but more as a responsibility every person has - to work diligently. If we work responsibly for Him, He'll turn around and provide for our needs. As always, it probably won't be the way we want or expect it, but it will be for the best.

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Day 129: Psalm 20:7

"Some trust in chariots, others in horses, but we trust the Lord our God." ~Psalm 20:7, NCV

As imperfect human beings, we find security in a lot of interesting things. As the verse above states in ancient terminology, some trust in tanks to blow away opposition, others trust in speedy bikes to escape danger, but not God's children! Some trust in money to bribe away their enemies, others in prestige to intimidate their problems - but not us!

Let's face it, we try to synthesize security in a lot of ways, but there's only one thing that we can put our trust in that will never fail. That one thing is actually God. Everything else is superficial and won't actually help; they will bend and break under pressure. But God, no, He made the pressure, He can't break under it. He is stronger.

And you can be too, if He's your rock and the element you trust in.

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Day 128: 1 Samuel 22:23

"Stay here with me, and don’t be afraid. I will protect you with my own life, for the same person wants to kill us both." ~1 Samuel 22:23, NLT

David was on the run from Saul, and he had stopped in a little town called "Nob" where priests lived. He and his men were hungry, and David needed a weapon, so he asked the priests for food and a weapon. All they had was the sacred bread and Goliath's sword - so David took the bread and ate it, and the sword and used it.

Suffice it to say that someone told the king, and Saul was furious. He told his men to kill the entire priestly family of Ahimelech - because they had helped David. Interestingly enough, Saul's own men wouldn't do it, but an Edomite did. Of the 85 people in the household, only one young man escaped to tell the tale, and he is the one who ran to David. Upon hearing the story, David told the young man the above words - stay with me, don't be afraid, I'll protect you because the same guy wants to kill the both of us.

David was not God, but he still made some pretty potent promises. "I'll protect you with my own life"!? If a man after God's heart said these things, how much more will God himself say them? If a man of God's own heart would do those things, how much more will God himself follow through? David didn't have to fall through on the promise to sacrifice himself, but God did - He sent Jesus.

What then, should we say today? Today we choose to stay in God's arms, in His promises, and choose to fear not.

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Day 127: Isaiah 57:11

"Are you afraid of these idols? Do they terrify you? Is that why you have lied to me and forgotten me and my words? Is it because of my long silence that you no longer fear me?" ~Isaiah 57:11, NLT

God is speaking to Israel in these verses, asking them why they are no longer faithful to Him. "Are you afraid of those fakes?" He asks mockingly, "Do they terrify you? Are they the reason you stopped obeying me? Did they turn you into cowards, unable to hear my voice?"

The truth is, we have more to fear in God than anything else. Just because we can't hear or don't see Him doesn't mean He's disappeared, and He's always watching. He's always there. He promises not to leave us - but we do not make that same promise. We must remember that we've got nothing to fear when we're with God - not idols, not enemies, not death nor anything. God is our protector, God's words are what will last forever, along with our souls.

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Day 126:Psalm 62:8

"Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge." ~Psalm 62:8, NIV

He is God, and He is good. He is the one we are to trust in at all times, the one who is our refuge, because He is the one who loves us.

God is one of the few people that you can fully trust when you pour your heart out on Him. If you're afraid to let it all out to anyone else, take a chance on Him and just let go. Trust Him, and ask for some help - just the act of loosening the grip on your spirit, a spirit God knows well (because He created it...) can bring healing and with that, courage.

Sometimes we're afraid to let God protect us because we feel we "aren't good enough". Firstly, there's no such thing as "good enough". You either accepted God or you didn't. Secondly, (and a little paradoxically) He knows you're not good enough. If you thought you could hide that, you're lying to yourself. He knows our every weakness, and the thing is, He isn't disgusted by them - on the contrary, He wants to help you overcome your weaknesses! That's why this psalmist is telling the people to trust Him, and to pour out your hearts onto Him - those actions on our behalf ensure that He can best be our sanctuary.

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Day 125: Isaiah 41:10

"Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand." ~Isaiah 41:10, NLT

If you have a Bible handy, go ahead and open it up to Isaiah 41, verse 9, and read it too. Back yet? Okay.

"I have called you back from the ends of the Earth," v9, "for I have chosen you, and will not throw you away." Verse 9 is a direct reason why we should believe today's verse. Why shouldn't we be afraid, beyond the fact that God is with us? Why shouldn't we be discouraged, beyond the fact that He is our God? Why should we believe that He would strengthen us, and help us? Why would He hold us up in His right, in His dominant, victorious hand?

He chose us. He chose you, no matter what else you say. He chose me, no matter how I deny it. He chose everyone to encourage, He chose everyone to make us victorious, He chose to strengthen and help anyone who hears and obeys His call "from the ends of the Earth." That call for us was Jesus. Since/if we hear and obey Jesus, we don't have to be afraid! He promised to be with us, He promised to be our God, He promises to strengthen and to help us because we're His children. Because He chose us.

A lot of times we like to think that we chose Him, and while that's partly true (you did choose to accept Jesus into your heart and allow His love to make you whole) in reality He chose you first. He chose you to take part in His kingdom where He will make you victorious. If you're following in the path He chose, you can be sure of success, you don't have to fear failure, and you don't have to fear the inevitable interference of the Devil, because God's got you covered.

So go for it.

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Day 124: 2 Corinthians 3:4

"We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ." ~2 Corinthians 3:4, NLT

Paul is writing, for the second time, to the Corinthians in this verse. Some "missionaries" had come to Corinth and were presenting the Corinthian believers with all sorts of qualifications, and teaching a different gospel than the one of Jesus. Paul is refuting those qualifications, telling the Corinthians that he doesn't need any - v5 "[His] qualification comes from God."

Our personal validity, our actions' validity, it doesn't come from us. It doesn't come from the world. It comes from God, just like every good thing. We can be confident in our every action, our every word, our very being, because of Christ. (Assuming, of course, that our actions aren't against Him as described in the Bible...) We have to trust God to give our words meaning, we have to trust God to do what we cannot - change souls.

Are you afraid? Are you worried, because you're not in control? Cut it out, that's not your job! Your job is to be obedient to God; give Him the rest, let Him take care of the minutiae. You can't do anymore than that! So trust in Him, in all of it, to take care of you. He will.

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Day 123: 2 Samuel 10:12

"Be courageous! Let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. May the LORD’s will be done." ~2 Samuel 10:12, NLT

Purpose is something easy to lose sight of. Purpose! Meaning! These things are vital to our psyche as humans, yet how difficult it is to keep at the forefront of our minds! Purpose is where we're trying to go, meaning is why, and it's all important. Our purpose as described in this verse is twofold - for the Lord's will to be done, and for us to fight bravely for our God.

We need courage to do that. Courage that God tells us we need through an army commander and his brother. Don't believe me? Go look it up! Joab tells his brother to be courageous when they go out to fight the Arameans - and surely it was God's will that they should be successful.

Just as its His will for you to be successful. If you believe that, anyways.

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Day 122: Philippians 4:13

"I can do all things through Christ, because he gives me strength." ~Philippians 4:13, NCV

Sometimes I feel afraid to try and do something new, something different. I know I have no excuse, this verse says that clearly, but I do it anyways. We don't ever have to let fear control us in new situations, because Christ, in whom we chose to believe and trust, gives us strength to do all things, or simply anything.

Now this doesn't mean we should go out and rob a bank or nab a car, just because we can do "all things" doesn't mean we should. This verse does not cancel out the 10 Commandments because it is in the New Testament, this verse should give us courage to step out in God's plan for us with faith that He can make it work, and that He gives us strength when we don't have enough.

What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail? God can make that happen, although He doesn't guarantee a fail-free life. Go on, try!

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