January 12th

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9

The Lord feels so strongly about the power of fear in our lives that He commanded us not to be terrified or afraid. Cowards do not enter the kingdom of God. Cowards are in a continual state of unbelief. Perpetual unbelief tells God that we reject His offer of salvation; instead we get caught in the stronghold of fear. In the place of trusting in love, we choose to become independent of God ourselves.

A continual lifestyle of fear is also a lifestyle of sin that prevents us from receiving the grace of salvation. When we are consistently in fear, we are not trusting in our relationship with the Lord, who constantly wants to be with us. In doing this, we do not value our relationship with Him or His ability to save us from our difficulties.

God promises to be with us wherever we go. This indicates His willingness to rescue us from whatever problem that besets us.