The Second Wave of Fear - Part 3

Learning to rely on the presence of God in the presence of the waves of fear

Honestly, I think a key in this season is to be more aware of the presence of God and more intentional about choosing to lean into the presence of God. We need to stand on what we know and believe to be true and rely on the promises of God and His great love for us and His presence with us! (If you do not know what you believe about God in this season it is a great time to start to lean in, ask God questions of people that you see are walking well with God and invite Jesus into your life.). God said repeatedly and clearly in the Word, “Do not fear”, as if it is actually possible to live in fear. If He has said do not fear, He is saying that we do not have to live in fear and that He has a solution to our fears. That can seem like an outlandish statement for God to make unless He can deal with our fears and give us a means and way to get some victory over them. I have always taken note of the fact that His promise of fear often comes with a promise of His presence or a promise connected with abiding in His presence. (See Isaiah 41:9-10,13-14, Psalm 91) Even Jesus speaking time a group of concerned disciples about to carry out the gospel and live our kingdom without Him were given a promise that He would always still be with them by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus promise is to always be with us!

His presence in and with us is a game changer in our fears.

“This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:13-19 NIV

The word “rely” is an important word here in this passage. Relying comes with experience and hearing Gods voice and word. As you experience and hear Him speak you begin to believe that He is good for what He promises and will keep you and be with you in your time of need. Like a child being told and shown repeatedly of ones love so that they can come to believe it to be true. It may take time but once it has been received it can be lived into and relied upon.

From this place of presence we are able to invite Him to inform us of what He would want to do in any given moment. From the place of presence we are able to love people better than from a place of fear. When we are aware of God’s presence, we also give less space to fear and have more room to trust God and rest in the peace that He offers us.

In the presence of fear there is no room for rest because we are always in a restless, reactionary, “fight or flight” posture.

In the presence of peace we are able to rest because we are in a place where our souls have identified that we do not need to run, hide or fight...we are sheltered, protected and loved. The Psalmist talks about this in Psalm 91, and offers a rest for anyone who will find their rest in God’s presence. This Psalm is a timely read for anyone who is encountering fear in these days. This is a promise of God for today, as much as it was for the psalmist who wrote it. This promise of rest comes with a clause of sorts. It requires that we find our rest in God. That we intentionally and consistently turn our hearts and thoughts towards God and actively seek His presence. We need to invite His presence and choose to focus on Him more than on our fears, and as we do, we give Him space to fight on our behalf, to inform us about what He is able to do in our circumstances, and to allow Him to face our fears for and with us as we find ourselves in Him.

If you are standing well in these days and finding that fear does not have a great deal of space or ground in your life, then this is a time for actively demonstrating the presence and peace of God in a world that is experiencing and choosing to act and live in unprecedented levels of fear. What you have in you, what you have encountered in and embraced in God’s presence and love is something the world is desperately longing to find for themselves, and in Christ, you are empowered by God’s presence to bring the culture of the King and the Kingdom with you into every place that you go. We can only bring into a room that which we have inside of us. If you have embraced Christ and been filled with the Holy Spirit, then you have the ability to transform and elevate any room that you come into, because “He who dwells in you is greater than He that is in the world.”(1 John 4:4)

Where ever you find yourself in this journey of faith in the areas of fear and anxiety I want to encourage you today to lean in to God’s presence, to what He offers us in this hour and to trust Him more than you have chosen to trust your fears. This is the scary thing at play here, in order to become fearful we need to lean into our fears and anxiety and give them the same place that love, hope and peace are meant to occupy. It is the same place that God wants to come and fill with His presence. In order to give space to fear and anxiety we need to take back control of our some part of our soul from God for a moment and give it to fear or anxiety. In these moments we entrust, through agreement, some part of who we are to fear and anxiety thinking that they will keep us safe, help us or protect us. This sounds crazy when you say it, but that is the way it happens, perhaps unintentionally at first, but bit by bit fear and anxiety try to claw back space that you and God have previously enjoyed together. As the enemy claims ground He begins to set up camp and makes a case to be there.

When this happens we need to make a conscious decision to shift our focus off of the fear and anxiety that have stolen our attention and affection from God and return our trust and focus to and on God. At the end of the day, He is the only one that can do anything about our circumstances and fears. We need to make the choice to lean into the presence of God more than the presence of our fears, and choose to give Him full access to our souls to realign and reorient our focus and loves to align with the culture of the King and the Kingdom!

It’s time to realign your heart with His presence.

Today, God wants to partner with you in taking back that ground that you have given away in your soul. Ask Him to show you where you have chosen to focus more on fears than on His love and presence. Confess that you have given that space away and ask Him to forgive you and give you the courage to step away from your fears and to lean in to His love. Then spend some time today thanking Him for His love and presence, and choosing to align with your heart and thoughts with Him and the truth of who He says that you are in Him. When fear tries to creep back in, take notice of it, but don’t let it take hold. Stand your ground, tell it to go and that you do not have any room for it in your life. Then demonstrate that choice by choosing to refocus your heart on God’s love and presence by reminding yourself of who God is and agreeing to trust and rely Him even in the face of fear and anxiety!

Excerpts taken from my note published on March 18, 2020, posted to facebook called “Thoughts on this current season and Time...Reflections on Fear, Anxiety, COVID-19, the Kingdom and the King.” To read the full note you can find it on my public Facebook page on that date. Additional thoughts added.