#DailyDevotion The Lord Is Fighting For You. Do Not Fear.
October 21st
Read Deut 20:1–20
Deu 20:1-9 “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. (2) And when you draw near to the battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the people (3) and shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them, (4) for the LORD your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’
As the Lord is preparing His people to besiege the land He is giving them, He prepares and instructs them how to conduct battle. Never-the-less, the Lord reminds them it is not they who will fight their enemies in the land but the Lord Himself who goes with them and ahead of them to fight against their enemies for them. In these instructions, the Lord weeds out certain people, those who have just begun certain entanglements of life which might divide their attention and devotion to the thing at hand. Secondly, He weeds out those who are fearful and would cause other’s hearts to melt when they see them quiver. For fear is contagious. There is no room for fear when fighting with the Lord.
In similar fashion Jesus tells us, Mat 10:37 “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” And St. Paul says, 1Co 7:33-35 “But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, (34) and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. (35) I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.” As we serve the Lord Jesus, He wants our undivided devotion to him. All other relationships must come second and must flow out of and from our devotion to him.
Concerning fear, our Lord Jesus say, Mat 10:28 “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.” Why should we fear anyone or anything? The Lord is on our side. We know whose we are and who we are. John writes, 1Jn 4:18 “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.” Our Father in Heaven loves us and shows us His great love for by sacrificing His only-begotten Son, His beloved Son that you may not perish but have everlasting life, immortality, eternal bliss. If this is so, then we should be filled with His love for us and approach life unafraid. The Lord is with us, through thick and thin, better or worse, sickness and in health, richer or poorer and even when everything is just plain out boring.
Lord Jesus Christ, give us undivided hearts and faith instead of fear that we may live our lives pleasing you and loving our neighbor. Amen.