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Character Blog

Unafraid – God keeps me safe and His Word is my weapon

By June 10, 2019 No Comments

“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:17

 

Is fear something that we are born with (instinctive) or is it something learned (reactive)? It’s an interesting question to think about when one begins to consider the things that make us afraid.  Often times the things that made us fearful as children are no longer things to be worried about as adults.  Why is that? When does danger lose its threat?

When I asked my family their thoughts on fear, they mentioned that knowledge is what usually both causes and alleviates a fear. And there’s a lot of truth to that, isn’t there? We become fearful when we realize that there are very real dangers that could cause harm to ourselves or our loved ones. Likewise, if we know (or understand) the cause behind something it may lead to a peace of mind simply because the danger wasn’t what we thought it was.

For many of us, we have experienced how knowledge (or a lack of) can either stir up fearfulness or put the fear to rest.  It’s the unknown that can continually cause us to be afraid. How shall we equip ourselves so that we can be unafraid? How can knowing (and trusting) that God will keep us safe alleviate our fears?

Call to Action

KNOW THE WEAPON – Charles Spurgeon said “To be a Christian is to be a warrior” and we definitely get a feel for that in Ephesians 6 with the call to put on the armor of God. Every day is a new battle for our families against our own sin natures and the lies that the world wants us to believe. The Apostle Paul identifies the greatest weapon of the Christian as the sword of the Spirit or the Word of God. Spurgeon points out that in this passage of Ephesians, there is only one weapon mentioned (the Word), the others (armor) are articles of defense.

TRUST THE WEAPON – The Sword of the Spirit has the power to pierce the heart. It convicts us by stirring our souls and making us realize that we are guilty over and over again.  But just as the Spirit has the power to pierce, it also has the power to heal and to make us alive again. The Sword that we are called to carry becomes a source of protection and when we are properly protected, we no longer have a reason to be afraid.

 

 “Stronger than steel is the sword of the Spirit, Swifter than arrows, the Light of Truth,

Greater than anger is love that subdueth.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 

Tracy LaBreche