Immune to Fear Week 3Sample

  God is Not in Hiding!

  Some people believe that God has distanced Himself from mankind. They view Him as being withdrawn, uninvolved, and even apathetic towards His creation. But since Jesus came, the Father God has revealed Himself more and more! He manifested Himself through His Son Jesus and then sent His Holy Spirit to be with us for always. Jesus said, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you?” (John 14:9).

His presence and power are vivid in the Bible and in the world, even to this very day. If anybody thinks God has dwindled away or disappeared, let him or she come to Africa! I have seen Him there, manifested in greater power than anywhere in the Old Testament. I have seen Him expelling demons, restoring the sick, and healing the blind, the cripples, and the deaf. God did not do that even with Moses! God is shaking cities and nations. Perhaps that is where God “disappeared to”—living among those who believe Him! 

The idea that God disappeared is an old fear of unbelief. Israel participated in the Exodus, saw His glory, and knew it was all true. But within months, they became distrustful and afraid. They wanted something to see, so they made a golden calf to lead them back into slavery. (See Exodus 32.) Unbelief always leads to slavery, but faith leads to freedom! However, the Israelites lost all of their passports and visas of faith in God and never crossed the border into the Promised Land, with two exceptions—Caleb and Joshua, who held onto their faith and entered in. 

Unbelief is that ancient. It is neither clever nor modern. We can trace it all the way back to the Garden of Eden, where Eve doubted. For her and us, doubt is a satanic piece of foolishness that never did anybody any good. If we are to relate to God, how on earth can we do it except by trusting Him? He will not have much trust with those who give Him the cold shoulder or pretend He does not exist. He owes us nothing, and if we want it to be that way, He will not interfere. 

“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting” (Romans 1:28). 

Jesus is alive and well and moving in the earth! You know, there are some who have never even seen a miracle with their own two eyes, yet they exhibit the most faith! Very few people ever saw a miracle until Christ came. Still, there were men and women before His time who displayed amazing faith! Jesus spoke of them and said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). They read the Scriptures and believed the God of the Exodus could not fail them and would work on their behalf. And He did! David, for example, never saw a miracle and had only the slightest experience of the supernatural, yet he forged ahead in total expectation of divine help—and He got it! Today, three thousand years later, his faith is still a model for us. Maybe you can relate to David. Maybe you have not seen the miraculous with your own two eyes and yet you know it takes place, and you know God is able, simply because you believe His Word is true! If that’s you, know this, your faith is known by heaven, and the Lord calls you “blessed!” 

Source: (Faith: The Link with God's Power. Part 2. Faith in the God of the Past.)