God is looking out for you/fear

This post is really about Fear.  Fear pops up at various times in our lives and really tears us apart, separates us from God and generally makes life miserable.  You may think that your fear is not bad but is, in fact, a responsible person's reactions, but its not.

Fear is a human reaction, usually to events present or something perceived to be coming in the future.  Fear can be a catalyst to action and that is good, but what action should fear promote?

Let's go back to my title for a minute.  I was speaking to my mother the other day and she said something very simple and yet very profound.   She said "when you bring a child into this world, you are responsible to look out for them."  I'm 58 years old and was surprised that she felt that way still about all of her children.

If my mother feels that way about her children, how much more does God feel that way about us?  I know we always talk about how much God loves us, etc. but do we really think of God as "looking out for us".  It just really brought it home to me.

In this world, obviously, bad things will happen but to know that God is looking out for us gives a peace that passes human understanding.  Now lets go back to fear, which is a human emotion, given by God.  What should fear produce in us if we know that God is looking out for us?

I believe that fear should produce preparation.  If we have fear about a current issue, we should work to resolve that issues following God's plan, doing the best we can and leaving the rest to Him.

If we are afraid of something coming, we need to prepare for the event and then rest in the knowledge that God is looking our for us.  Fear in itself adds nothing to us.  It does not help us react.  Mostly it helps us NOT react as we should.

Lets take a tornado for example.  If we are warned that a tornado or terrible storm is headed our way, what good is fear?  Fear should make us prepare, board up our windows, make sure everyone is safe, get out candles, etc.  Then you will know that you have done the best you can and you can leave the rest up to God.

I worked in emergency management for many years and studied how the brain reacts during emergencies.  People who let fear overtake them, usually froze and often did not survive.  Those who had thought through scenarios, planned and prepared themselves for the worst, were able to, not only save their own lives and those of others, but were calmer and healthier overall.

God IS looking out for us.  We are His children and although this world has terrible things happen, with God's help we can make good come out of everything.

Please don't let fear overtake you and separate you from God's love, joy, and from the peace that He wants you to have.

Questions:
Do you fear something everyday?
What does fear do for you?
Do you believe that God is looking out for you?

What the Bible says about fear

Isaiah 41:10 ESV 

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

2 Timothy 1:7 ESV 

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

1 John 4:18 ESV

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

Psalm 23:1-6 ESV 

A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. ...

Psalm 34:4 ESV 

I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.

Proverbs 29:25 ESV 

The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.

Philippians 4:6 ESV 

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Psalm 56:3-4 ESV 

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?

Joshua 1:9 ESV 

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Romans 8:15 ESV 

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

Romans 8:38-39 ESV 

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Isaiah 43:1-3 ESV 

But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.

Deuteronomy 31:6 ESV 

Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

Luke 12:22-24 ESV 

And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!

Psalm 56:3 ESV 

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.

Deuteronomy 7:21 ESV 

You shall not be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God.

1 Peter 5:7 ESV 

Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Psalm 27:1 ESV 

Of David. The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 27:1-14 ESV /

Of David. The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident. One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock. ...

Philippians 4:13 ESV

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Matthew 10:28 ESV 

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Isaiah 12:2 ESV 

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”

John 14:27 ESV 

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

 2 Timothy 1:6-7 ESV 

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

Psalm 125:1 ESV 

A Song of Ascents. Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

1 Peter 2:17 ESV 

Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

Psalm 27:1-3 ESV 

Of David. The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.

Ephesians 5:16 ESV 

Making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

Acts 9:31 ESV / 

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

Psalm 112:7-8 ESV 

He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.

Psalm 23:4 ESV 

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Matthew 14:27 ESV 

But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

Luke 12:4-5 ESV 

“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!

Jeremiah 29:11 ESV 

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Isaiah 54:17 ESV 

No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.”

Psalm 3:6 ESV 

I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.

Romans 8:31 ESV

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Joel 2:13 ESV 

And rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.

John 16:33 ESV 

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Matthew 6:27 ESV 

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

Psalm 55:1-23 ESV 

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David. Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy! Attend to me, and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and I moan, because of the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked. For they drop trouble upon me, and in anger they bear a grudge against me. My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me. ...

Psalm 37:1-40 ESV 

Of David. Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. ...

Acts 27:24-25 ESV 

And he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.

Matthew 24:6 ESV 

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.

Ecclesiastes 1:1-18 ESV 

The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises. ...

Malachi 3:6 ESV 

“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

2 Chronicles 17:10 ESV 

And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, and they made no war against Jehoshaphat.

1 John 5:4-18 ESV 

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. ...

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 ESV 

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Deuteronomy 20:1 ESV 

“When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 7:18 ESV 

You shall not be afraid of them but you shall remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt,

Psalm 34:18 ESV 

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Revelation 2:10 ESV 

Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Luke 6:22-23 ESV 

“Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.

Matthew 5:10 ESV 

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Jeremiah 1:19 ESV 

They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.”

1 Chronicles 16:19-23 ESV 

When you were few in number, and of little account, and sojourners in it, wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people, he allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account, saying, “Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!” Sing to the Lord, all the earth! Tell of his salvation from day to day.

2 Corinthians 5:1 ESV

For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Revelation 21:4 ESV 

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Luke 10:19 ESV 

Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.

1 John 4:4 ESV Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

1 Peter 1:1-2 Peter 3:18 ESV 

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ...

Deuteronomy 3:22 ESV 

You shall not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you.’

Romans 5:1-15:33 ESV 

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. ...

Isaiah 8:11-14 ESV 

For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Proverbs 27:12 ESV  

The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.

Exodus 2:1-16:36 ESV 

Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. ...

Genesis 28:15 ESV 

Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

Philippians 1:1-4:23 ESV 

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. ...