You will be strong and free from fear. What a lovely thought! I know I want to be strong and free from fear alright. Don’t you? The reality, however, is that we aren’t always strong. And I don’t know about you, but I am definitely not always fearless.
When taken out of context, this verse can feel like a false promise, or feel like a bit of a slap in the face, for anyone who loves God but is not feeling particularly strong or fearless right now. Context is key.
This verse comes from the book of Job. Job is being tested by Satan and has had everything stripped away from him. His livelihood was stolen, his children were killed, he was in poor health and in incredible pain. And despite all this he remained blameless before God.
These words were said to Job by Zophar in response to his suffering. Rather than coming alongside Job, Zophar blamed him for his suffering, believing that if Job “would prepare [his] heart and lift up [his] hands to [God] in prayer! Get rid of [his] sins, and leave all iniquity behind [him]”, then he would be strong and free of fear.
Zophar was essentially blaming Job for his troubles. He was assuming that God was either causing or allowing this to happen to Job and, if this was the case, then Job must have done something to cause God’s anger.
But he was wrong – these were a test from Satan, not a punishment from God! In fact, Job was described by God himself as blameless – a man of God and complete integrity (Job 1:8).
The reality is that we will face challenges and difficult circumstances in life (hopefully not to the extent of Job!) and sometimes they may seem too much to bear. But this can happen even when we are doing everything right and in God’s will for our lives. In fact, that’s when the enemy is most threatened and will try to force us off course!!
God doesn’t promise us smooth sailing and no problems – he promises that he will be with us through these storms and that we will come out stronger the other side, because of them.
It is in our weakness that he is made strong. It is through His strength and His hope that we needn’t fear. It is by staying the course, standing firm, not giving up, letting go and letting God, even in the face of fear, that his glory will be revealed. Not by our own strength, but by his grace!
Be careful who you let speak into your life. Wise counsel is important, but what might appear as wise counsel may not always be the case. Always use the bible as your starting point, letting God speak to you directly from his word and testing any human wisdom against it.
Photo by Humble Lamb on Unsplash
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