1 Chronicles 22:13 (NASB20) "Then you will prosper, if you are careful to follow the statutes and the ordinances which the LORD commanded Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and courageous, do not fear nor be dismayed.
In this passage David is preparing Solomon to take over as the King of Israel. He’s telling Solomon to build the temple for God, and that God has told him that Solomon will be a “man of rest” and have peace during his reign. He’s basically telling Solomon that all the preparations have been made, and everything will go well for him. All he has to do is do the work that God has prepared for him to do, and to do it without fear.
I may not be a king, and I may not be building something so great as the Temple of Solomon, but God has prepared a work for me to do. Preparations were made before me, and God has cleared the path ahead of me in order that I would accomplish the work that he has prepared for me to do.
I might not always know what exactly the work is, but I can be sure that whatever it is God will prepare me for it, and guide me in it. It might be doing this thing that I’m doing right now. Meditating on His word and sharing it with others. The internet has been prepared before me, the website where I post this has been prepared before me, the Bible I’m reading has been prepared before me, I have the peace every morning in which to read and pray and write, and little-by-little this work is getting accomplished. I do not have to be afraid or anxious about what I will say, or how others will perceive it. I only have to do the work and know that God will take care of the rest.
Is that true for you? What work are you doing that God has prepared the way before you and guides you along in it? Whatever it is, be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed.
1 Chronicles 28:20 (NASB20) Then David said to his son Solomon, "Be strong and courageous, and act; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of the LORD is finished.
In this passage David is preparing Israel to take on the work of building the temple, and Solomon to be the king. He admonishes them to follow the commandments of the Lord so that their nation may be passed on to their children as an inheritance. He goes into great detail about the work that needs to be done, and then he encourages Solomon to be courageous and not to fear or be dismayed because God is with him.
When God chooses us to do something for Him, he always provides what we need in order to do it. It’s up to us only to be courageous and do what God is calling us to do. God chose David to be the great king of Israel — David didn’t ask for it. And God chose Solomon to build the great temple — Solomon didn’t ask for it. God provided both men with everything they needed to accomplish His purpose for them. All they had to do was be fearless in following God to accomplish their mission.
What has God chosen you to do? What has He prepared you to do? What is it that lies before you that you have only to be fearless in accomplishing? Do not fear, but trust in the Lord.
2 Chronicles 20:15-17 (NASB20) and he said, "Listen, all you of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: This is what the LORD says to you: 'Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's. 'Tomorrow, go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel. 'You need not fight in this battle; take your position, stand and watch the salvation of the LORD in your behalf, Judah and Jerusalem.' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow, go out to face them, for the LORD is with you."
This passage if from a story where Moab and Ammon have joined forces and invaded Judah in the time of king Jehoshaphat. It says that when Jehoshaphat heard of the invasion he was afraid, and turned to the Lord, and proclaimed a period of fasting throughout the Judah. Then he stood before the assembly in the house of the Lord and prayed to God. He admitted that they were powerless against the invading army, nor did they know what to do — “but our eyes are on you,” he prayed.
Then it says the Spirit of the Lord came upon one of the Levites in the midst of the assembly and that quote above is what he said. And it says that Jehoshaphat and all the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem fell down and worshiped the Lord.
The next morning Jehoshaphat told everyone to “put your trust in the Lord,” and they went out singing. And what happened? The invading armies turned against each other and destroyed each other. And the people plundered their enemies and returned to Jerusalem with joy and celebration. And, it says, the dread of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands.
God works in amazing ways. So amazing sometimes that it’s hard to believe it — or, to put it another way, hard to hope and trust in it. I think we fool ourselves into thinking that we are strong enough to handle whatever the world throws at us, and then we get discouraged when we find out that we’re not - when in fact we never were.
Israel did not conquer the land by their own strength, and then prosper in it by their own strength, and then just need God’s help when a strong enemy attacked. Israel was always too weak to do any of those things. Israel always needed God’s help, and protection, and provision. It’s only when they thought that they were strong enough to do things without God that God let them try to do it by their self.
We always have needed God’s help, and we always will need His help. There is never a time in our lives when we will ever be fully in control and fully strong enough to conquer the obstacles in our path. Whenever we perceive any success as being from our own strength rather than from God’s grace, that’s when we begin to harden our hearts towards Him — and that’s when He starts to let us go our own way, which ultimately leads us to destruction (because we eventually find out that we can’t do it without Him).
Thank God today for always taking care of you, and for never forsaking you, and trust that He always will take care of you. You do not have to be afraid, but if you are, turn to God and tell Him about your troubles and praise and worship Him. Then you too will be able to see God fight on your behalf and give you the rewards of trusting in Him alone.
2 Chronicles 32:7 (NASB20) "Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria nor because of all the horde that is with him; for the One with us is greater than the one with him.
This passage is from the time of king Hezekiah. The army of Assyria has invaded Judah and set up a siege around Jerusalem. Hezekiah did not fear them, though, because He trusted God. Instead he told the people to be brave and not to fear because the Assyrians only have “an arm of flesh” but the people of Judah have God to “help us and fight our battles”. Then he cut off the streams flowing out of Jerusalem so the enemy would not have an easy supply of water.
Then the Assyrians went on to insult Hezekiah for believing in God, and it says they even wrote letters to insult God. And what did Hezekiah do? It says that he and Isaiah “prayed about this and called out to heaven.”
And did God respond?
And the LORD sent an angel who destroyed every warrior, commander, and officer in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned in shame to his own land. And when he had entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons killed him there with the sword. 2 Chronicles 32:21
Again and again we see that people who fight with their own strength lose when they fight against God. Sure, when two people fight each other, both in their own strength, then the strongest one will probably win most of the time. But against God, well, God is undefeated.
And who fights our battles? If it’s us we risk losing, we often fear losing. But when God is fighting our battles we do not need to fear. God is so strong that we need only stand behind Him praising and worshiping as He conquers all who would stand against Him. Do not fear, but trust in the Lord!
Nehemiah 4:14 (NASB20) When I saw their fear, I stood and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: "Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses."
This passage is from the story — after Israel has returned from the Babylonian exile — where Nehemiah has come to Jerusalem and started to rebuild the wall around it. He started the process in secret because he knew that he would face opposition, and, sure enough, after the work began the neighboring cities around Jerusalem started to get uncomfortable and started opposing the work.
They tried to interfere politically, and when that didn’t work they started to threaten violence. Nehemiah was not deterred by these threats, though, but adapted to the situation by assigning guards as well as workers all around the wall.
Nehemiah knew that this work was glorifying God, and so he never lost heart, but persisted in it until it was accomplished. And he told the Israelites to do the same — do not fear, but trust in the Lord.
If you ever face opposition for doing something that glorified God, take Nehemiah’s example. Persist in it, trust God and do not be afraid. Adapt as necessary so that you can be successful in accomplishing your purpose, but trust God for protection, provision, and the ultimate accomplishment of your mission.
We are here because He put us here. He gives us work to do for His glory, and we need only trust in Him for its accomplishment. We do not need to fret or try to accomplish anything in our own strength, but only have strength of faith that whatever God is doing with us and through us that He will accomplish it, and we will see it and sing His praises.
To God be the glory!