Deuteronomy  20:3    And shall say unto them, “Hear O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies:  let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them!”  (KJV)

I have had days like this!  I bet you have too.  Heart palpitations, sweaty palms, dry mouth, knees knocking, hands shaking, body shivers, and all I am doing is presenting a Sunday school lesson, or seeing the principal about a child, or admitting an error to a parent, spouse, friend, or even my children.  Not exactly surrounded by “enemies” and I am shaking in my favorite knock-off designer boots.  Not all battles are fought with swords, guns, or fists.  The most exhausting battles are of the heart, the soul.

I hear the LORD is saying “fear not,”  but I NEED more info!  HE has got to tell me how to not be afraid.  Don’t tell me not to fear unless your are going to give me an escape hatch!  

I don’t know what your battle is today;  some days the battle is to just to get out of bed and face the world.  Every day we “repenters” have to face a new onslaught of attacks from the enemy or someone he has enlisted to “help” him.  As long as I am asleep, he leaves me alone…. except for the nightmares, the tossing and turning, the mental recorder that I can’t shut off.   Just in case you are new to this band of Christ believers, there really is a battle and we do at times experience a fear response complete with the fight or flight physiological change when facing our enemy.  It (the enemy comes disguised) appears as a formidable enemy!  (Note-he is already DEFEATED!)

I cannot just look at this one verse!  I need verse 4 too! This is hope! This is WHY the enemy is defeated!

Deuteronomy 20:4   For the LORD your God is He that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies to save you!  

Whew!  NOW we can discuss “fear not!”  This God, who created me, you, and an entire universe, single-handedly kicked Lucifer’s ungrateful self out of His throne room, and raised Jesus from the dead, can certainly handle my enemies!  He will go with you.  He will fight for you.  He will save you.  He IS the best LIFEGUARD ever!  We really can relax and let Him save us from the situations that cause us to shake in our boots.  

Yvonne