LOSS FROM FEAR
2 Samuel 4:4 tells the story of what really happened to Mephibosheth:
He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame.
Saul and Jonathan had been in a battle against the Philistines that would eventually claim their lives. When the news of their death reached the palace in Israel, the nurse taking care of Mephibosheth had a reason to believe that Saul and Jonathan’s death meant calamity for the young child. So, she decided to flee with him.
From this narrative, it is clear that Mephibosheth’s hope of safety was in his father or grandfather. When he heard of their demise on the battlefield, he lost hope of safety. But this isn’t just about Mephibosheth, it’s a common occurrence around us.
Some people’s greatest job security is a boss they’re extremely familiar with, who has their interest at heart. When this boss is no longer there, they feel like the world just collapsed on them, because they can’t say what the next moment holds for them in the establishment.
Some students’ greatest confidence is a lecturer or the head of a department they’re quite sure can help them at any time. When that lecturer or HOD is no longer in place, they feel like education has ended for them, because all their hope was in one person.
A lot of singles get into relationships where they’re ready to sacrifice everything, including their relationship with God, just to satisfy their would-be partner, because they feel if they lose it, it’s all over in life.
All these are anti-Scriptural practices. The psalmist admonished in Psalms 146:3, “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.”
Again in Psalms 118:8-9, “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.”
“The fear that ensues when a supposed hope in man is dashed, is proof that trusting in man isn’t worth it. Isaiah 2:22 says, “Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils:”
In essence, cast off your vain confidence in man, whose life is so frail that if his nose is stopped, he is dead. Let your confidence be in God.
When your hope is in anything or anyone outside Jehovah, once there’s slight news on something going wrong, you are destabilized on all fronts.
Some people died because a company died. Some people lost hope in everything because they lost a husband, wife, or uncle whom they looked up to. Some people fainted when they heard on the news that their candidate lost an election.
The case is different with the man whose hope is in the Lord. Hence, Jeremiah 17:7-8 says, “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.” It says, “For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green;”
These are the people who aren’t afraid of ‘what might be.’ Their trust is fully in the Lord and nothing else. They’re not moved with the fear that moves others.
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. Psalms 27:1, 3
Neither Mephibosheth nor his nurse had such confidence in the keeping power of God. Such confidence can only be developed through a deep relationship with God.
Now I ask you, do you have that deep relationship with God?
Without a definite relationship with God, you can be rattled by almost anything in life. You can be destabilized by any form of news that involves your supposed anchor in life.
“It takes a solid relationship with God to remain stable in the face of news that portends trouble for your future. It takes a relationship with God to stand strong in the face of impending danger.“
This is what Mephibosheth and his nurse lacked. As soon as they heard that Saul and Jonathan were dead, they gave in to fear and anxiety and scampered for safety. The nurse must probably have felt she was being proactive, yet the Bible says, “safety is of the LORD” (Proverbs 21:31). She had no direction from God to do what she did.
Let me ask you, how important is God’s voice to you? How important is Divine direction to you? Do you value your spiritual sensitivity? Do you value your ability to hear from God on serious matters that can affect your destiny? Or, do you just take actions based on fear and common sense?
Of Joseph, the earthly father of the Lord Jesus Christ, we read, “the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him” (Matthew 2:13).
Of Mephibosheth, we read nothing of such. There was no Divine direction to back the action. It was a complete reaction to perceived fear. God wasn’t in it in any way.
Read more at https://kingsviewbooks.com/road-to-re...
RIGHTLY POSITIONED
He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame.
Saul and Jonathan had been in a battle against the Philistines that would eventually claim their lives. When the news of their death reached the palace in Israel, the nurse taking care of Mephibosheth had a reason to believe that Saul and Jonathan’s death meant calamity for the young child. So, she decided to flee with him.
From this narrative, it is clear that Mephibosheth’s hope of safety was in his father or grandfather. When he heard of their demise on the battlefield, he lost hope of safety. But this isn’t just about Mephibosheth, it’s a common occurrence around us.
Some people’s greatest job security is a boss they’re extremely familiar with, who has their interest at heart. When this boss is no longer there, they feel like the world just collapsed on them, because they can’t say what the next moment holds for them in the establishment.
Some students’ greatest confidence is a lecturer or the head of a department they’re quite sure can help them at any time. When that lecturer or HOD is no longer in place, they feel like education has ended for them, because all their hope was in one person.
A lot of singles get into relationships where they’re ready to sacrifice everything, including their relationship with God, just to satisfy their would-be partner, because they feel if they lose it, it’s all over in life.
All these are anti-Scriptural practices. The psalmist admonished in Psalms 146:3, “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.”
Again in Psalms 118:8-9, “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.”
“The fear that ensues when a supposed hope in man is dashed, is proof that trusting in man isn’t worth it. Isaiah 2:22 says, “Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils:”
In essence, cast off your vain confidence in man, whose life is so frail that if his nose is stopped, he is dead. Let your confidence be in God.
When your hope is in anything or anyone outside Jehovah, once there’s slight news on something going wrong, you are destabilized on all fronts.
Some people died because a company died. Some people lost hope in everything because they lost a husband, wife, or uncle whom they looked up to. Some people fainted when they heard on the news that their candidate lost an election.
The case is different with the man whose hope is in the Lord. Hence, Jeremiah 17:7-8 says, “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.” It says, “For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green;”
These are the people who aren’t afraid of ‘what might be.’ Their trust is fully in the Lord and nothing else. They’re not moved with the fear that moves others.
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. Psalms 27:1, 3
Neither Mephibosheth nor his nurse had such confidence in the keeping power of God. Such confidence can only be developed through a deep relationship with God.
Now I ask you, do you have that deep relationship with God?
Without a definite relationship with God, you can be rattled by almost anything in life. You can be destabilized by any form of news that involves your supposed anchor in life.
“It takes a solid relationship with God to remain stable in the face of news that portends trouble for your future. It takes a relationship with God to stand strong in the face of impending danger.“
This is what Mephibosheth and his nurse lacked. As soon as they heard that Saul and Jonathan were dead, they gave in to fear and anxiety and scampered for safety. The nurse must probably have felt she was being proactive, yet the Bible says, “safety is of the LORD” (Proverbs 21:31). She had no direction from God to do what she did.
Let me ask you, how important is God’s voice to you? How important is Divine direction to you? Do you value your spiritual sensitivity? Do you value your ability to hear from God on serious matters that can affect your destiny? Or, do you just take actions based on fear and common sense?
Of Joseph, the earthly father of the Lord Jesus Christ, we read, “the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him” (Matthew 2:13).
Of Mephibosheth, we read nothing of such. There was no Divine direction to back the action. It was a complete reaction to perceived fear. God wasn’t in it in any way.
Read more at https://kingsviewbooks.com/road-to-re...
RIGHTLY POSITIONED
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