No Reason To Fear
Download MP3Welcome to a place of peace, hope, and divine encouragement. This is Joy in Every Step with your host, beloved preacher, retired teacher, and faithful faithful servant of the Lord, Sarita Bernadette. Each week, Sarita shares heartfelt messages rooted in the Word of God, filled with wisdom, joy, and the gentle reminder that God cares deeply for you. Whether you're walking through the valleys or dancing on the mountaintops, Sarita's voice will guide you back to his promises step by step. So open your heart, settle your spirit, and take the next step in faith with Joy in Every Step.
Sarita Bernadette:Hi, I'm Sarita Bernadette and welcome back to another episode of Joy in Every Step. I'm glad you're here. Second Timothy one and seven states, For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Let's talk about fear today beloved. It's one of the enemy's biggest strongholds.
Sarita Bernadette:Some of you may be familiar with the story of Job. Let's learn a little bit about his journey today. Job one:one-three reads, There once was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. There were born to him seven sons and three daughters.
Sarita Bernadette:He had 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all of the people of the East. Job had all that he could ever want or need. Yet the scripture tells us he still worried about all that he had. The next two verses of this piece of scripture read, His sons used to go and hold feasts in one another's houses in turn, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when the feast days had run their course, Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all.
Sarita Bernadette:For Job said, It may be that my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. This is what Job always did. Verse five spells out something interesting, beloved. Each time Job's grown children would spend days partying, He would step in and direct them to go through ritual cleansing, and then he took it a step further. He would carry out a series of ritual sacrifices on behalf of said grown up children.
Sarita Bernadette:The scripture says Job's reason for doing this each time was just in case any of the children had sinned and cursed God silently in their hearts. So he thought it was his responsibility to orchestrate their repentance and to throw in a few extra sacrifices. As the scripture goes on, we read about a meeting between Satan and the Lord. God asks the accuser, as he's called in some translations, where he's been, and he answers in verse seven. He says, From going to and fro on the earth and from walking up and down on it.
Sarita Bernadette:Then God brags a bit on Job. He tells Satan that Job is blameless and upright. He fears the Lord and that he turns away from evil. Then Satan says something like, Well, of course he fears you. You've blessed him.
Sarita Bernadette:You've put a special protection around him and all that he has. Satan then challenges the Lord to stretch out his hand and take it all away. And he says that Job would then curse him, the Lord, to his face. Verse 12 of Job one reads, The Lord said to the accuser, very well, all that he has is in your power, only do not stretch out your hand against him. So the accuser went out from the presence of the Lord.
Sarita Bernadette:Now, many in the body of Christ believe that because God is sovereign, the enemy of our souls needs and obtains his expressed permission to create havoc in our lives. In other words, God is orchestrating various trials and tribulations in our lives to test us and build our faith. Many Christians point to this particular example, the life of Job, to declare this long held belief to be true. So, beloved, I'm going to challenge that today.
Introduction:And I'm telling you that that notion has always bothered me. I've been confused by the idea that a good God could impose bad things on the children that he loved so dearly. Now I'm aware that there
Sarita Bernadette:are indeed natural consequences for the decisions that we make. Sometimes we just do things and it's wrong and there are consequences and things happen and we suffer. But we brought that on ourselves, right? Our God is a loving Father. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.
Sarita Bernadette:He did that for us. Why then would he give the enemy permission to attack Job in this story? I do understand that it reads that way. One could make that deduction based on the conversation between God and Satan. Let me go back to that for a moment.
Sarita Bernadette:God asked Satan where he had been. Now, do you really think that God didn't already know exactly where he'd been? God is omnipotent. He knew Satan had already been lurking around Job. He said, Have you been looking at Job?
Sarita Bernadette:Another translation says something like, Have you considered Job in your heart? God wasn't offering Job up to be tried and tested. Because of Job's actions, listen beloved, stay with me specifically, his hyper vigilance around his children's reveling, God knew Job was entertaining fear. Yes, fear. Therefore,
Introduction:he
Sarita Bernadette:was allowing Satan to whisper in his ear. John ten ten tells us about the enemy of our souls. It says, The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. If Satan shows up, we know he's up to no good.
Sarita Bernadette:If he shows up, we know he's coming to do one of those three things: to steal, kill, and destroy. Job's case was no exception. He was there looking for an opening. Fear allowed the enemy an opportunity to wreak havoc in Job's life. He didn't need permission or a push from God to take Job's family and his goods.
Sarita Bernadette:Satan was already intent on doing that. When he showed up questioning God, he already knew what he wanted to do, and he wanted to get God involved in it. He wanted it to be said that God allowed it to happen so God would take the blame, so that people would blame what happened to Job on God. Verse 12 in the Amplified Classic tells us how God replies when Satan tells him that Job would curse him if he took away his prosperity. God tells him, Listen, behold, all that he has is in your power.
Sarita Bernadette:Only upon the man himself put not forth your hand. Beloved, I believe that's where God acknowledges that Job has left the door open for the enemy because he is living in fear. He fears he's going to lose everything. He's meditating on his fear. He's offering sacrifices out of fear and not faith.
Sarita Bernadette:Yielding to fear leaves the door open for the enemy to come into our lives and do what he does: steal, kill, destroy. First Peter five and eight reads, Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion, your adversary the devil prowls around looking for someone to devour. Why would the Lord warn us like that if we were helpless? That verse tells me that I can do something to prevent the enemy from having his way in my life.
Sarita Bernadette:Job didn't have access to the word like we do. He did, however, have a reverential fear and respect for the Lord. And I truly believe God knew the heart of his servant Job. He knew that he wouldn't defame him. When we drop down to verse 20, we get confirmation of that.
Sarita Bernadette:Job one twenty-twenty two. Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and fell on the ground and worshiped. He said, Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Sarita Bernadette:Verse 22. In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing. If we read the rest of the book, we see that Job has a tough time coming to terms with what's happened to him. There's a pity party of sorts, and he feels quite sorry for himself. And his three friends that show up don't help the situation much.
Sarita Bernadette:They chime in and tell him he must have sinned big time. Then, in the third chapter, Job kind of tells on himself. He says in verses 25 through 26, Truly the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me. I am not at ease, nor am I quiet. I have no rest, but trouble comes.
Sarita Bernadette:The Amplified Classic really spells it out. It says, For the thing which I greatly fear comes upon me, and that of which I am afraid befalls me. Verse 26 reads, I was not or am I I was not or am not at ease, nor had I or have I rest, nor was I or am I quiet. Yet trouble came and still comes upon me. In other words, I haven't been at ease, and I'm not right now.
Sarita Bernadette:I haven't rested before and I'm not right now. And trouble comes. Trouble comes because that's what I meditated on. There it is, beloved. Job was battling fear all along.
Sarita Bernadette:Fear is not of God. Fear causes us to be uneasy. Fear causes us to lose sleep. It causes us to lose trust in God and instead to look within ourselves for answers. Fear will cause us to blame God when things go awry.
Sarita Bernadette:Sit with that for a moment. Look at Job's story. For over two millennia we have been attributing Job's troubles to God. And I know some of you think this is controversial, but here it is. We've been saying that he was tested by the Lord.
Sarita Bernadette:I believe it was God's grace that allowed Job to learn that all the rituals in the world could not keep his family and his possessions out of Satan's reach. It was indeed the mercy of the Lord. Second Corinthians ten:four-five reminds us, For the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ. We have the power to cast down thoughts.
Sarita Bernadette:We have the power to cast down the thoughts that the enemy brings that dispute the word of God. We have that power because God gave it to us. If you read Luke ten nineteen, it says, Indeed, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing will hurt you. God is sovereign, but he has given us free will and authority here on earth. God allows what we allow, beloved.
Sarita Bernadette:First John five nineteen, we know that we are God's children and that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one. Psalm one hundred fifteen and sixteen, hang with me, The heavens are the Lord's heavens, but the earth he has given to human beings. The Lord did not give Satan permission in Job one twelve. Job was already under Satan's thumb because the world is under Satan's thumb, but we have authority in this world. The scriptures declare that God gave control of the earth to man.
Sarita Bernadette:Yeah, the enemy's here. He's here, but we can do something about it. In the Garden Of Eden, man handed control over to Satan. So when the Lord said to Satan, All that is his is in your hand, when he said that about Job, he was simply stating a painful fact, a fact that would later require the ultimate sacrifice: Jesus Christ. I won't spend time detailing the conversations between God and Job.
Sarita Bernadette:In summary, most of the conversations between them took place in chapters 38 through 42, where Job asked God to explain why he was suffering. But God refrained from doing so. God responded to Job's suffering from a whirlwind. He challenged Job with questions about creation, and Job went on to respond with a humble confession and finally, repentance. This is a lesson for us as believers.
Sarita Bernadette:Job didn't get direct answers about why he was in distress, but what the Lord said to him changed his perspective. In Job forty two and five we read, Ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you. This is Job talking. I'm going to read it again. Ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.
Sarita Bernadette:Beloved, Job had an experience that shifted his belief system. Before his suffering, Job had only heard about God. His faith was based on what he'd been taught by others through tradition and ritual. After his ordeal, though, he declares that his eyes have seen the Lord. In other words, his eyes have been opened, and now he knows the Lord for himself.
Sarita Bernadette:He has a real relationship with the Father. Up close and personal, Job could see God's goodness directly. I truly believe that in the end, Job was able to enjoy his double blessing even more because of a deeper understanding of God's sovereignty and power. What reason could Job have to fear when he was serving the master of the universe, the one who created it all and holds it all together. I ask you that question, beloved.
Sarita Bernadette:What reason do we have to fear when we're serving the master of the universe, the one who created it all and holds it all together? Just as Job's life was restored, God brings restoration in our lives as well because he is always good, and he desires that we live an abundant life. Oh, how he loves us. Scripture reminds us in first Peter five and seven, Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Isaiah forty one and ten says, Fear not, for I am with you.
Sarita Bernadette:Psalm 30 four:seven The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him. When we encounter difficult times, we can be confident that it is not the work of God. Our heavenly Father is close by and working things out in our favor. Now, want to add here that we will feel afraid from time to time. It's a legitimate emotion.
Sarita Bernadette:It's a natural response to perceived danger, and it's useful in certain situations because it causes us to proceed cautiously. What we need to be careful about, beloved, is allowing us to paralyze us. We can't get stuck in it. We must use that energy to activate our faith and trust in God so he can give us our next move, so he can show us the way out, so he can prove himself to be right there near us. Joshua one:nine This is my command: Be strong and courageous.
Sarita Bernadette:Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. You've been listening to Joy in Every Step. I'm Sarita Bernadette and I'm grateful you chose to spend some time here with me. Feel free to share this episode with someone you know would appreciate it. You can find Joy in Every Step wherever you listen to your podcasts and give us a follow there.
Sarita Bernadette:Do check out the website at joyineverystep.org. See you next time.
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