Fear: The Forgetting of God part 5

THE PROMISE OF GOD'S PRESENCE

You shall not be in dread of them, for the LORD your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God. (Deuteronomy 7:21)

Moses has taught us to battle fear by purposely remembering God's past actions and future promises. Now He adds one final ingredient to his fear defeating concoction. “You shall not be in dread of them, (why not?) for the LORD your God is in your midst.”

Do you remember the time when you thought daddy was invincible? He was the biggest person you knew. You were confident he could beat up anyone. Fear didn’t exist whenever daddy was holding your hand. That is Moses’ point. Don’t be afraid, God is here.

“So what?” interjects our Israelite pessimist. “Of course God is in our midst. He is everywhere. But how does that help? That means He is in the midst of the Canaanites too.” Have you ever thought like that?

I think Moses would reply with something like this. “You don’t get it. When I say God is in our midst, I mean more than the truth of His omnipresence. I am not saying God is in our midst like the air is in our midst. I mean that God is with us in a special way. He is for us. God’s presence means God’s activity on our behalf.”

Consider the following passage from Hebrews to see this idea more explicitly. Notice how the author connects God’s presence with God’s activity on our behalf.

…"I will never leave you nor forsake you (God’s presence)." So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper (God’s activity on our behalf); I will not fear; what can man do to me?" (Hebrews 13:5-6)

This passage from Hebrews shows that we as Christians have the same promise of God’s presence. As you walk in trusting obedience to God, you can be assured that the LORD your God is in your midst too. You are not alone. God is with you and He is for you. You don't need to be afraid.