FEAR NOT: Because God Is
Day 1I Am Your Shield
Scripture
Genesis 15:1 · · ESV
FEAR NOT.
Those two simple words are scattered from one end of Scripture to the other, starting right here in Genesis 15. This is the first time God ever says “Fear not” in the Bible, but the phrase “After these things” makes the timing even more significant.
God told Abram to leave. Leave his country, his relatives, his father’s house. There was no forwarding address and no map of what came next. Just a voice, a promise, and his feet.
So, Abram went.
Abram continued waiting for the large family God had promised.
Abram walked with that promise through a famine that sent him down into Egypt. He walked with it when he separated from Lot because their herdsmen argued over grazing land. And he carried the promise into battle against the allied kings to rescue Lot.
Years had passed since God first made the promise. Abram still had no son. Every passing year seemed to widen the distance between receiving the promise and seeing the promise fulfilled.
The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision.
And God said:
“Fear not, Abram.”
Whatever else Abram may have feared, when he responded to God, it was not about the kings or land or possessions. He asked about the child who still had not arrived.
“O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless…?”
Abram knew God’s promise. What he didn’t know was when.
But God did not begin by giving Abram a date.
He began with Himself.
“I am your shield…”
God did not say, “I will give you a shield.” He said, “I AM your shield.” God Himself was Abram’s shield.
Then God brought Abram outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then He said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
God still did not tell Abram when his child would be born. God simply reminded Abram that He protects and He provides.
Those two words, “Fear not,” are more than a command. They are also a beautiful invitation to remember God’s heart, remember His words, and turn to Him with our doubts and questions.
Abram did. He brought his question to God about the child he prayed for.
Abram’s openness with God reminds me that I can come to Him with my questions as well.
When my life gets confusing, I find myself saying, “I hear Your Word. I understand Your promises. I just don’t understand what is going on right now.”
There are times inmy life when what I want most from God is information.
A date. A direction. Something that lets me see a little farther down the road.
But I am learning that God does not always begin by answering my uncertainty with information.
I may still want to know when.
I may still want to know how.
But before I have either answer, I have Him.
FEAR NOT when the promise seems slow in coming.
BECAUSE GOD IS your shield.
What have you been quietly hoping for, or worrying about, as you look toward the future?
Prayer
I want to learn to always talk with You honestly.
To say, “This is what I’m carrying in my life right now. This is what I don’t understand.
This situation does not seem to match what I thought You were doing.”
But I trust You. I know You have the answers. You are my protection. My shield. My God.
Amen.
Amelia