Let’s face it, we are living in scary times. Every day we see more and more evil and corruption. We also see prices skyrocketing, and the value of the dollar decreasing. Not knowing what our future holds can cause us to fear and give into anxiety. But when we fear, it shows our lack of trust in God and his word.
An example of this is King Jeroboam in 1 Kings 12. God ripped part of the kingdom of Israel away from Solomon after he had turned to other gods, and he gave them to Jeroboam (1 Kings 11).
Before this, Jeroboam was an overseer of forced labor and worked for Solomon. It was not his idea to take the Kingdom from Solomon; it was God’s.
It Was All Because of God
A prophet met him on the road one day and told him that God was taking ten tribes from Solomon and giving them to him. Everything that eventually came about was 100% because of God’s word spoken through the prophet and had nothing to do with Jeroboam. Yet after it all came to pass, exactly like God said, Jeroboam became fearful.
You would think Jeroboam would be amazed at how his life had suddenly changed, and he was now the ruler of ten tribes because of nothing to do with himself. He should have thanked God and given him the glory because of what he had done for him. But instead of looking at God, Jeroboam looked at what could happen.
Fear Made Him Forget
1 Kings 12:26-27 states And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah. Jeroboam started thinking about the what-ifs and forgot the what happened. He forgot that God was the one who established him.
God also promised Jeroboam; if he served Him and kept his commands, he would be with him and establish a house for him, as he did for David. God promised him the kingdom if he obeyed. There was nothing anyone could have done to take the Kingdom from Jeroboam. But fear drove him to doubt the words of God, and he began to look at what could go wrong.
Look to the Promises
As we watch the world crumble around us, we must look to the word of God and remember what he has promised us. We cannot focus on what could happen or how bad things could get. Instead, we must remember that God promised he would never leave us nor forsake us (Deut 31:6). He also promised he would uphold us with his righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10). If God is with us and holding us up, then what do we have to fear?
We have many promises in the Bible, one for every situation we face. We must take the promises of God and firmly stand on them, not looking at anything except what God says. No matter how bad things look, we must remember who we belong to and what he says regarding us.
If Jeroboam had looked back on what God spoke to him through the prophet, he would have known he had nothing to fear. We must remember what God has spoken to us through his word and to our hearts. I encourage you to find scriptures to stand on regarding your current situation. Look to what God says and tune out everything else. Because all God’s words are true, they will not return to him void. He is faithful and trustworthy, so if he has said it, you know you can stand on it.
Referenced Verses: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Kings+11&version=ESV
. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Kings+12&version=ESV https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deu%5Cteronomy+31%3A6&version=ESV https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+41%3A10&version=ESV
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