"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand"
Isaiah 41:10

"For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline"
2 Timothy 1:7

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance."
James 1:2-4

There are several timeworn sayings about familiarity and taking life experiences for granted. Such as 'familiarity breeds contempt' or 'familiarity can mark life experiences as stale'. The same can be understood about our relationship with God. As Christians we walk with our Saviour every day. And at times can become overly relaxed with this and forget the Lord is even near us.

It's at these times we can be attacked and find ourselves suddenly struck with fear. A sudden feeling as if we are alone and nobody is there to support us. A short poem speaks of this when someone is walking with the Lord on a beach. After a time they look back at their footprints in the sand. It highlights how at times there are two sets of footprints. While at other times there were only one set. The pilgrim sees that the single footprints were at their utmost fearful times. So they ask the Lord where He had gone when he needed the Lord. The Lord calmly replied that at the darkest times of the pilgrims life He had carried him. That was why there were only one set of footprints.

The story is familiar to some. It highlights how we can focus on the darkest and not recognise the light of our Saviour. Or how He carries us through the darkest times of our lives. So as I was pointing out; someone who has walked with the Lord can easily forget how close the Lord is and commence to fall into the pit and trap of fear. Allow the devil to torment them with agglictions that the Lord is able to deal with if only we pray. Our first Bible quote reminds us of this.

Our second Bible quote reminds us that God did not give us a spirit of timidity or fear. That He gave us power, love and self discipline. Let's break this down into the three unique parts.

To begin with we will look at the Power that God has given us. In 2 Corinthians 12:9 it teaches us about God's "grace is all you need, for [His] power is the greatest when [we] are weak". When at our lowest and feeling least capable to deal with life's challenges and hardships God is there.

Secondly we learn of the love God provides us with. That it's by God's love that “He heals the broken-hearted and bandages their wounds". Our God loves us and supports us through the pain with His perfect and grace filled love for each of us.

There is the concept of self discipline. Reading in Revelations 3:19 the words "Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent". When God reproves us and disciplines us it is for our own benefit. In fact the Bible teaches us about self discipline as a form of God's teaching us a spiritual form of self awareness.

Finally there should be a time of rejoicing. A time when, though there is suffering, a sense of the closeness of God is manifested in our heart rejoicing. As James 1:2-F4 expresses it best. We learn perseverance in our faith. We learn to overcome our fear with the sure foundation of our God's perfect faithfulness.

So let us not fear as those who are lost fear; but rejoice in all occasions and at all times.