Jeremiah 42:11 Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid; do not be afraid of him,’ says the LORD, ‘for I am with you, to save you and deliver you from his hand.
All things are possible to those who love God and follow His ways. In the power of Holy Spirit we can stand against evil without fear of repercussions. God loves the world that He created and all of His creation not wanting anyone to live without Him. Carla
2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
The Holy Spirit is the One who gives us spiritual gifts and empowers us to use them. God’s Spirit does not impart fear or cowardice, but power, love, and a sound mind, or “self-control.” The Spirit imparts power for the various circumstances of ministry. The love the Spirit gives to us should be directed toward other individuals. Furthermore, as we use our spiritual gifts to build up the church, we should exercise self-control, using our abilities only at the appropriate times. The NKJV Study Bible
The Greek word used here, deilia, refers to cowardice that results from a lack of moral strength. Timothy may have been fearful to fulfill his duties because of a timid personality and the intense opposition he faced from false teachers. Paul reminds Timothy that such fear does not come from God’s Spirit (Romans 8:15–16). Faithlife Study Bible
Romans 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Isaiah 11:2
The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.
“Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not even owe.” Not sure who coined this, but I say, “Amen.”
We do know this; this blend of worry and fuss is a pickle, because it gums up the system. Stops the flow. Worry, from an Anglo-Saxon word "to strangle" or "to choke." As if literally cutting off the air supply that allows us to breathe emotionally and spiritually.
Numb, I have no bandwidth for things that matter to the heart; gladness, desire, intention, compassion and wholehearted fire.
This is not to say that we can't engage in activities, or service, or work. However, work that is fueled by a need to be needed, or need to prove value is too consuming, leaving no time for rejuvenation (sanctuary),
Or regaining our bearings,
or prayer, or delight, or the quiet work of the Spirit.
Let us be gentle with ourselves my friends. “Sabbath Moments”
Why are the evil works of the wicked forgotten so quickly (Ecclesiastes 8:10)?
Why do evil people seem to live long, prosperous lives no matter how many horrible things they do (Ecclesiastes 8:12)?
Why do bad things happen to good people, but good things happen to bad people (Ecclesiastes 8:14)?
As we've seen throughout Ecclesiastes, the author again gave an exclamation of "vanity" in Ecclesiastes 8:10, which comes from the Hebrew word hebel. Other Bible translations use words like "meaningless" (NIV), "pointless" (CEB), or "futility" (NASB), emphasizing the Teacher's frustration that leading a righteous life is not necessarily a path to earthly success. In fact, it sometimes leads in the opposite direction. Meanwhile, evil people appear to prosper on earth.
But even though the Teacher lamented injustice, he assured, "It will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God" (Ecclesiastes 8:13). In Ancient Near Eastern culture, the metaphor of a shadow often suggested how fleeting this temporal life and its successes are. We might say the shadowy success of the wicked exists on earth "under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 8:17), but it fades in eternity.
And unlike the wicked, "It will be well with those who fear God" (Ecclesiastes 8:12). This is almost a direct quote of God's own words in Deuteronomy 5:29. Instead of dwelling on injustice, God encourages us to change our focus, find joy in the simple pleasures of this life, and find eternal fulfillment in serving our Lord. Without hope in God, we'd be left to seek fulfillment in ceaseless, often pointless, earthly activities. But as we see in today's key verse, faith enables us to "commend joy, for man has nothing better under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 8:15).
There's so much wrong in this broken world that we're never going to make sense of. We can't understand all that happens or the divine mysteries of God's sovereign plans, purposes, and point of view (Ecclesiastes 8:17; Isaiah 55:8-9). Still, we know this for certain: God is good, and He will eternally restore all that sin has broken. Every day we follow Him, we are one step closer to that restoration (Revelation 21:1-4). First5
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