II THESSALONIANS 3:16

          


  " Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in
                  every way.  The Lord be with all of you."  (NIV)





I have heard it preached more than once that fear if the opposite of peace. God does not want His children to live in fear. When fear enters our lives, Satan catches a piggy-back ride!  Fear focuses on self: faith and peace focus on God.  " There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear... The one who fears is not made perfect in love."  I John 4:17,18  NIV

So then, how do we overcome our  fears?  First we need to make an honest inventory of ourselves, acknowledging our weaknesses and fears.  Like any battle, we need to first understand who the enemy is, what we are fighting against...  Whatever our foe is, we must first recognize it, and confess it to ourselves and to the Lord. Once we have acknowledged those weaknesses and fears, we need to rely on God through prayer and Bible study- these are the weapons to fight our foes!God's Word helps us to overcome our fears.  There are countless examples of scriptures that give us reassurance of His help. Here are a few:

     "Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the well of salvation."  Isaiah 12:2,3

     "I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears."  Psalm 34:4

     "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline."
                                                                                                                   II Timothy 1:7

     " So do not fear; for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."  Isaiah 41:10

When we let doubts and fears intimidate us, we lose our effectiveness as God's people.  When fear begins to creep in, call on the Holy Spirit within you to overcome your fears.  He is available.  Always.

II KINGS 3:16

          And he said, "This is what the Lord says: 'Make the valley full of ditches... You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink.'" (NIV)



  The book of II Kings was probably written by the prophet Jeremiah, although this is not known for certain.  It consists of history... the stories of the kings of Israel until Israel's defeat by Assyria.  Throughout these stories, the kingdom of Israel was divided into two areas - Israel and Judah - each with separate kings.  Unfortunately, the two groups didn't always get along with each other.  The stories in the book of II Kings are told chronologically; king-by-king.  Sadly, four out of five kings was evil... Not too surprising that the nation fell, is it?  (Sound familiar?)

Water flowing from a rock in the desert; unknown photographer

      The location of this three-sixteen is the desert of Edom.  The prophet Elisha is speaking,  giving a message from God to the kings of  Edom, Israel, and Judah.  Elisha's prophecy starts with the pronouncement that   despite their being in the Moab desert,  there would be water in the morning.  Prolific amounts of water. The prophecy goes on to say that against all odds the Lord will hand over Moab to Israel in battle.  Sure enough, God kept His promise, and the valley was flooded the next day despite the fact that it had not rained...
      The water played a large part in Israel winning the battle over Moab.  When the army of Moab saw the water, they saw a red reflection in it and thought it was blood.  They assumed that the kings of Israel, Judah and Edom had fought to the death, and that they were all slain in battle.  So they rode on their horses into the camps of the Israelites, where the Israelites fought them and won.

"Blood River",  from Butterfunk.com

  God keeps His promises.  In this story, Elisha's prophecy was fulfilled right down to the tiniest detail. That's the way it is when you listen and obey. (Yup; it's the pesky obedience word, again!)
     Elisha was the direct spiritual heir of Elijah.  Both prophets had deep compassion for the people, but their focus was different.  Elijah was a warrior who called down fire from heaven to destroy captains and armies.  Elisha, on the other hand, performed miracles to serve the common people, such as providing water in the desert.
  
      But, all miracles come from God.   Are you prepared for miracles in your life?
  
       They happen every day.

DEUTERONOMY 3:16

     "But to the Reubenites and the Gadites I gave the territory from Gilead down to the Arnon gorge and out to the Jabbok River, which is the border of the Ammonites."

     Okay, this might sound like a boring verse. "So what if God gave certain territories to certain tribes?", we might ask.  Well, it was a little more involved than that. God promised the land to these people, but in order to possess the land, they had to battle the giants living in most of the territories. The Israelites were ordinary people - not particularly tall - not particularly short - average.   But the Bible describes the inhabitants of these lands as very powerful and tall.  Giants.  The Ammonites were descendants of the Rephaites - giants. 


     Ella Ewing was 8 feet 4 inches tall.  Photo courtesy of http://www.stevequayle.com/
     Imagine a giant 2 to 3 feet TALLER than her!   Intimidating, to say the least...

     Looking back just a few verses, Deuternomy 3:11 states that Og, King of Bashan was so big that his bed measured 13 feet tall and six feet wide!  Now, I', thinkin' that the Israelites were more than justified in being nervous about fighting a battle with these people...
     BUT, God said, "Do not be afraid; I will hand them over to you - the entire army and the land."  The Israelites obeyed God  (there's that pesky obedience word again!).  And, they won the battle.  Battles have a way of being won when the Lord is on your side.
     What if they had disobeyed? What if they had given in to fear?
     Are you, perhaps, missing a blessing because of fear?  Or are you missing God's best because you avoid conflicts on God's behalf?  How can you gather the spoils of war if you are unwilling to fight the battle?
     Enlarge your territory!  If life hands you illness or disability, allow the slowing of your physical self to create a richer spiritual self - the plunder of spiritual warfare could be a life you never knew was available.  For a financial setback,, allow God to do His mighty work in your life so that you can tell others of His power - the spoils of spiritual battle.  Surrender any small defeats in your life and He will make you a mighty warrior.
     What battle are you fighting today?  Are you trying to fight it alone?  God will help.  Ask Him to help and He will.  Even if your problem seems to be a giant.