For the past two years, I have adopted the Bible verse; Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage neither be thou dismayed for the LORD your GOD is with you where ever you go” as my primary Life verse.

Some of the events that brought fear on into my earlier life  and why I was so afraid in life was partially for these reasons;  When I was about 6 years old, I drown and died in a swimming pool at the YMCA, I was miraculously brought back to life by two adults(With The Lord’s help) and with much physical labor  and effort by the resuscitators to bring me back to life. At about age 7, I was playing outside one day then another boy came along(whom I never met before) and asked me if I wanted to play.  I said sure, we went up on a train trestle(I knew not to be there). Well, we were up there shortly then suddenly, I didn’t see him any more. I called for him loudly, then answering me back, I found he was 25 feet bellow and said he was on the sidewalk. I jumped up on the edge of the train trestle bridge, looked over and asked this boy how he got down there so quickly. He said he jumped. I didn’t believe him at first and he insisted I do the same…jump. I refused and ran down the trestle and down the hill to the sidewalk. When I arrived to where he was yelling to me just a few minutes before, He was gone, and never seen him again(No doubt it was satan or one of his demons to get me to jump to my death).

Later the following year, I was crossing a street where there was a stop sign except the car that was supposed to stop-didn’t stop. It hit me instead. I was about eight years old.

When I was growing up, I was always taller than most kids my age. I guess that gave a lot of older kids licence to beat me up. Many times I arrived home with cuts, bruises, fat lips from fights or the kid with the good aim and great throwing arm because every time he’d throw a rock at me, it usually gave me a bloody-fat lip. Its funny(not so ha ha) that even when my family moved to the country when I was 9 years old, the kids there picked on me there also.

All the time I grew up in a unhealthy family and I was the oldest and the only son so things were sometimes confusing to me. If you were a kid growing up in my area  of Western New York and misbehaved long enough, it was pretty much usual to hear at some point; “If you don’t behave, we’re gonna drop you off at Father Baker’s Orphanage”. That used to scare the living stuffing out of me. That phrase was a pretty good motivator for any kid to be good. Bottom line though, just hearing I was going to be separated from my family was pretty scary stuff for me as a child at the time.

Many years later, I’ve suffered some pretty big blows in my adult life. Times of important people in my life saying they don’t love me or don’t care about me any more. There have been so many that for various reasons used the manipulation ‘button” or “game” to try and do some pretty good damage to me also. Adults are usually good at continuing to stick little pins in others when they are already down aren’t they? This is even true or sometimes common place in the church today.

I found my life changed when I accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. I was a “new creature” in Christ-hallelujah. I felt some areas of my life were definitely different. One area remained some what slow to improve though-fear. So many fears that I carried from my childhood to my adult year. Here I am now 47 years old and now able to say, I have few fears. I do have concerns, don’t get me wrong. Concerns are different than fears though. Fears will keep you from doing so many great things, especially great things for God. Fear will keep you from God’s best in your life. Fear will keep you from His peace, love and joy.  I want God’s best. I want Jesus to continually soak me in His presence through the Holy Spirit.

Looking at today’s world and societies, there is no doubt in my spirit that Jesus is returning soon. Whether you are a “Pre-trib” or a “Mid-trib” Bible believing Born-Again believer in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, the times and events of Bible prophecy are being fulfilled. Growing hatred of Christianity is everywhere especially in these United States, Canada and parts of Europe. We are reaping a harvest of persecution for our faith partially because of our fears to stand up for our beliefs in the past. Now the time has come for the True Body Of Christ to reject fear and stand up for His righteousness.

 For me personally, Come what may I say. I’m not asking for trouble or an open invitation from satan to douse me in his fiery darts or for the government to put me in jail but what I’m saying is simply this; God is in control. If I keep my focus on Him, God will help me to stand up to evil like David did in the Old Testament. Jesus said “Be not afraid what they can do to your flesh, but fear them that do harm to your spirit”(Luke 12:5). I want to have the full confidence and walk in the presence of our Living God knowing that in and through Christ, all things are possible because He loved me first.

What is your fear today?