Janet Ramsdell Rockey - Fear Less, Pray More: A Womans Devotional Guide to Courageous Living

2017 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.

ISBN 978-1-68322-185-2

eBook Editions:
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Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked TLB are taken from The Living Bible 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

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Let those who fear the L ORD now say, His mercy endures forever.

P SALM 118:4 NKJV

Fear is an alarming emotion caused by a belief that someone or something is likely to cause harm, pain, or present a threat to us or our loved ones.

The Bible uses two connotations of the same word, which overlap in definition. We who fear the Lord have a humbling respect for His magnificence. We are also afraid of what He could do to us, if not for His immeasurable grace.

A live wire hopping on the ground, shooting sparks in all directions, causes us take a few steps back. We remain safe when we acknowledge its deadly power. Electricity has no mercy.

By the same token, if we fear the Lord in reverence, then we have no reason to cower in fear of His wrath. We believe He sent His Son, Jesus, to take the death sentence meant for us.

Heavenly Father, how liberating to know that we can dwell in Your loving presence where fear has no power over us because Your mercy endures forever!

Do not fear them, for the L ORD your God is the one fighting for you.

D EUTERONOMY 3:22 NASB

Traffic delays, misplaced items, command of the remote controlare only a few of my everyday devils ant bites.

These minor irritations, piled upon one another, produce mountains of frustration. My husbands rare victory for the remote control provides a great analogy: football.

In American football, the object of the game is to move the ball downfield to the goalpost. Your offensive line gains eight yards. Their defensive line pushes you back ten. You throw the ball to a teammate. They intercept it and advance toward their goalpost.

Such is our daily scrimmage with the devils ant bites. Each incident of advance and retreat can leave us exasperated, unless we give it to the Lord. When we realize He is willing to fight for us before we engage in the skirmish, the enemy is defeated.

Dear Lord, You have provided broadcasts of biblical teaching during traffic delays, answered my prayer for misplaced items, and offered a life lesson in my husbands choice of programming. Thank You for fighting for me.

Now you dont need to be afraid of the dark anymore, nor fear the dangers of the day.

P SALM 91:5 TLB

During a trip to visit my sister, my husband and I took a tour of a cavern park nearby. We sat on a bench inside the cave, waiting for the scheduled lightshow to begin. The pointed stalactites hanging from the ceiling resembled giant teeth, ready to devour us. Then all the lights went out. Pitch darkness pressed around me. I gripped my husbands hand. The show had begun.

In total darkness, we cant perceive direction. Our sense of balanceas well as securityis lost. Danger might be lurking right next to us.

The biblical theme of that lightshow reminded me that I have no need to fear the dark. Since the day I believed in Jesus Christ as my Savior, the only darkness in my life is the shadow of the Most High.

O Holy God, Your faithfulness is a permanent shield and fortress. Thank You for Your promise to be a light in our dark days.

The L ORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

P SALM 27:1 NASB

Fear lives next door to faith.

Davids personal testimony proves he was serious about praising the Lord, yet he still pleaded with God not to hide His face from him. Davids enemies stumbled and fell when they came against him, yet he asked the Lord to not deliver him into their hands. He knew God wouldnt abandon him in the days of trouble, yet his one desire was to dwell in Gods presence every moment.

Like David, our one desire in life should be to dwell in Gods three-fold presence all the days of our lives. In Gods omnipresence, we see Him everywhere we look. He dwells in us as the Holy Spirit the moment we believe in Christ, and He will never leave us. In His manifest presence, His embracing calmness soothes our souls in our darkest moments.

Teach us, O Lord, to focus on our faith in You and see Your goodness in the land of the living.

The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory belongs to the L ORD .