Instead of Fear: What God Gives You When You Let Go of FearSampel

Day 4: Start Fresh

Several years into her marriage, Helen realized the relationship had been a terrible mistake.

Helen had grown up going to church with her family and decided to follow Christ at an early age. She was so dedicated to living for Jesus that she went to a Christian college to avoid influences that didn’t match her values. But after she graduated and found a job, she began to date a coworker who was not religious. In fact, he was an atheist.

Helen’s friends warned her about the difficulties she would face in a marriage without shared values, but she didn’t listen and married him anyway. Some time after their kids were born, she stopped going to church altogether. Finally, with this last source of peace and hope gone from her life, fear struck as she realized the miserable consequences of walking away from God.

A friend encouraged Helen to hit the “reset” button with God. Confess and dive back into the Bible—His love letter to her. She did, and she began taking the kids to church on her own too. Healing began to take place in her heart as she let go of fear and began to worship God in earnest. The kids learned to love Jesus too.

Then she began to pray for her husband. Many years later, albeit through some tough times, he came to Christ and their marriage was redeemed.

In a similar way, when the children of Israel realized that they had sinned by asking for a human king instead of living under God’s righteous rule, they were terrified of His wrath. But Samuel showed them how to experience hope once again through repentance and returning to true worship. 

If you’ve sinned, don’t live in fear of God’s wrath on your life. Instead, put yourself in the hands of the Savior. Wipe out fear with a clean slate.

Things to Ponder:

• Have you ever made a mistake that you were “stuck with” for a long time?  
• Is there sin in your life that’s led to fear? Confess it and start fresh today!
• Is there someone that you need to forgive who has sinned against you?