Does human fear stop God's promise? This is the question Jacob wrestled with in Genesis 32, and many of us wrestle with it today. The chapter opens with Jacob declaring that "this is God's camp!" in verse 2. In the next verse, Jacob sends a message to his brother Esau about his new status and the riches he gained while he was gone. In verse six, the messengers returned and let Jacob know that his brother was coming to meet him with four hundred men. Verse seven states, "Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. He divided the people with him and the flocks and herds and camels into two camps." It has been my experience that when fear settles in, I automatically go into planning mode as Jacob did.
Generally, human intuition is to go into self-preservation mode whenever fear is experienced. In verse nine, we see Jacob turn to God with his fear. verse nine states, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who said to me, return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good." Then Jacob acknowledges God as the giver of all things in verse ten when he says, "I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed the Jordan and now I have become two camps." God's promises are not based on whether we experience moments of fear. His promises are tried and true and have stood the test of time. As life cycles throughout its stages and paths change and opportunities come and go, the one thing that is certain in all of it is the promises of God. Matthew 5:45 states, "So that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven for he makes His sun rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust." When Christ died, he died for the world according to John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." I encourage you to read the entire chapter of Genesis 32.
With this reminder, the verbiage fear not is in the bible 365-times, according to my favorite search engine Google. Our Father knows we will experience fear and anxiousness, and He made a way to comfort us through these times by ensuring that we had access to His living Word. The same word gave new life to the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. God's word transformed the eunuch in Act 8, and God's word still has the same transformative power today. An encounter with God brings true transformation, as seen in Ephesians 4:28 "Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer but must work doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need." If you hear Christ knocking, spend time in His Word, and find a local church that is biblically based. I will leave you with Hebrews 10:25 "not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."
Remember, God loves you, and so do I