Fear Not! A Journey From Fear To Freedom (Part 2)Sample

How Are You Living Your Dash?

“If you stay in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I am grieved over the disaster I have inflicted on you. Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear. Do not be afraid of him, declares the Lord, for I am with you and will save you and deliver you from his hands. I will show you compassion so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your land” (Jeremiah 42:10-12 NIV).

God’s plan was always to keep a remnant of Jewish people in Israel after many had been carried off into captivity to Babylon. Those left behind were living in fear of the Babylonians and wanted to flee to Egypt. 

There is the old saying, “you can run but you can’t hide.” That is certainly true when it comes to God and His being all-knowing. The remnant of people Jeremiah spoke to did not heed God’s warning and did move to Egypt. “Indeed, all who are determined to go to Egypt to settle there will die by the sword, famine and plague; not one of them will survive or escape the disaster I will bring on them” (Jeremiah 42:17 NIV).

Living life in fear is not really living at all. What has fear done for you? Have you run from God to your own Egypt? Jonah tried to run in the opposite direction from God and ended up in the belly of a big fish. You can run but you cannot hide from God.

What do all headstones have in common? They all have the person’s birth date, the date the person died, and in between is the dash. How are you living your dash? Are you living in fear of life or are you living it to the fullest? Jesus tells us, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). Are you going to believe Satan’s lies that lead to Egypt, or the words of Jesus that lead to life? 

The author of Hebrews tells us to “run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). True fulfillment in life comes when you run your own race; the one God designed for you. “In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.” ~ Abraham Lincoln 

Prayer: Lord, help me to live in the moment; not looking back on some great victory or big mistake, nor looking ahead at something that may never happen. May I live this day to the fullest, and always keep a heavenly perspective. I pray I will not look back on this life with any regrets, knowing that I made the most of every opportunity. In Jesus name, Amen.