Worship

“Protector” by Kim Walker-Smith

Scripture

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” -Isaiah 41:10 (ESV)

“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” -2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV)

Finding Strength in Scripture During Challenging Times

I have held tight to Isaiah 41:10 since I was 13 years old. We lived in Germany as missionaries at the time the Lord planted this Scripture in my life. I was attending Munich International School and was one of just three believers (two of whom were not walking with Jesus). It was a time of great persecution for me as a Christian as well as significant loneliness, culture shock, and disillusionment with the protection of God. One evening as I was babysitting for an American family, I sat just scouring God’s Word, looking for something to anchor me. I turned to this Scripture, and it might as well have jumped off the page and right into my body. From that moment on, it’s been one of my favorite Scriptures and an anchor of truth for my life.

I really sensed from the Lord—as well as from a few faithful friends—that I needed to address this ever-increasing unleashing of fear across the Earth. The floodgates of fear were opened following media reports in March of 2020 as it pertained to COVID-19. The more news one watched, the more paralyzed people became. Even churches closed out of fear. We’ve taken a deep breath the last few months, but lo and behold, here it comes again! May I implore you to take a sabbatical from mainstream media news and dive head first into the Word and into His presence! You need the word of the Lord more than you need the reports in the media!

The Command and Promise of Isaiah 41:10

God’s Presence Overcomes Fear

“‘Fear not, for I am with you (Isaiah 41:10a)'” comes with both a command and a promise. We are not to fear because the One who called you, loves you, chose you, and sealed you is with you! He doesn’t command you do something and not fulfill it with the fullness of Himself! We have everything that we need because He is with us! And if God is with us and for us, who or what can even stand against us (Romans 8:31)? Even COVID-19 with its 75,000 variants doesn’t stand a chance!

Our Identity in Christ

“‘Be not dismayed, for I am your God Isaiah 41:10a).’” Remember Him, the very One you chose to trust your eternity with? Remember Him, the One who didn’t withhold anything to give you new, abundant life? Remember the day you put your trust in Jesus because you knew in that moment He was enough—He was the answer to all you had been searching for? When did we forget who He was and allow fear to take the driver’s seat and dismay and paralysis to set in?

The Church’s Mission in Challenging Times

Learning from Church History

We have to get a righteous perspective on this creepy spirit called fear that attaches at every opportunity we give it! This is not a time for the people of God to go into hiding behind closed doors! Can you imagine if the baby Church in Acts did that in the midst of all the persecution and hardship it faced? The gospel would not have spread!

This is our hour, Church, to bring the fires of revival to the Earth! It’s our time to proclaim and demonstrate the gospel to a watching and desperately searching world!

Global Mission Perspective

I just returned from trekking the Dolomites in Italy with my daughter and a dear friend. God gave us a supernatural encounter with a couple from Belgium. We had very lengthy conversations about all the hot topics as I am so eager to get a pulse on what is happening in other countries. They shared with us that churches in Belgium are being turned into stores and restaurants. People don’t get married anymore, and “church” isn’t a part of their lives. But they are spiritually searching. I wondered to myself, “Who is going to Belgium to share the gospel? Where are our missionaries to Belgium to plant house churches and disciple young believers?” I had the same question for the small towns where we stayed in Italy. Who is taking the gospel there? If we retreat in fear, it only delays the return of Jesus because the gospel has to be preached to the whole world before He comes back!

It’s not our time to hide and shutter in fear, people of the Most High God! It’s your time to break free of fear, count your life as nothing but for the sake of Jesus, and run with the gospel! We have the greatest message of hope and life, and this dying, fearful world needs to hear it!

God’s Strength for His People

“‘I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10b).’” He is able to help us! In fact, He loves to help us! It’s His desire to come close, strengthen us, uphold us, and show us He’s greater than our fear. But it takes an honest moment before Him to ask ourselves, “Do we really trust Him?” Do we really believe that we can take Him at His word? Has He proven Himself in the past? Has His goodness and faithfulness been your testimony? Fear combined with unbelief is a playground for the enemy. This wreaked havoc on me when I was persecuted and rejected because I am a Christian. I doubted God’s protection most of all and formed an ungodly belief about Him that caused me to form reactions out of that ungodly belief. These took the form of a great fear of man, self-preservation, the need to try to control my circumstances, etc. It was in my late 30s that the Lord revealed to me what I had no idea I was truly believing about Him when fear or trepidation ensued. I repented and confessed my ungodly beliefs and came into agreement with truth. Then I began to renew my mind about what was true about God and His love and protection of me.

The “right hand” is a symbol of God’s power to deliver and protect. He takes His right hand and upholds us, meaning He supports, sustains, holds fast, attains, and grasps us. Fear has no room when we are grasped by the right hand of God! Sisters, this needs to become the greatest reality of our lives and thought lives when that spirit of fear comes knocking at your door, looking for residence.

“Children of a king are called princes and princesses. And so we are. Every Christian is a prince or princess of the Most High King, Jesus. Do we walk with our heads down? Royalty does not walk that way, even in enemy territory. Our Father owns this earth, even though it is temporarily under the rule of a trespasser (see 1 John 5:19). We can, therefore, walk with our heads held high, knowing who we are and who our Father is.” -Charles H. Kraft, “Defeating Dark Angels”

Walking in Faith

I want to equip you to pray and get rid of a spirit of fear if indeed you are sensing this has a hold on you or even want to pray this with someone you love who is battling the spirit of fear. This prayer is written by Tom Vermillion from MidCities Church in Midland, Texas.

Spirit of fear, I speak to you in the name and authority of Jesus Christ who has all authority in heaven and on earth. In the name of Jesus, I command you to release your hold on ______ now. By the power of his resurrection, I break your chains and nullify any authority you have ever had in ______’s life. In the name of Jesus and by his blood, I renounce you, bind you, and cast you out. You have no standing in ______’s life and no legal claim against [her]. You are defeated and hurled down as Satan was hurled from earth to heaven. I now tear down every stronghold by the mighty name and authority of Jesus Christ, by the power of his resurrection and the power of the cross.

By the authority of Jesus Christ, I command you, spirit of fear, to leave ______ and never return. Go immediately to the feet of Jesus and await his orders. I command you to go quietly and without incident–afflicting or harassing no one else as you go. By faith in Jesus Christ ______ takes back everything the enemy has ever stolen from [her] and renounces, nullifies, and uproots any and every lie sown in [her] heart by this unclean spirit. By the blood of Jesus, ______ is now free from any work or manifestations of their spirit in [her] life.

In the name of Jesus, based on His blood that was shed for ______, through the Holy Spirit, ______ now receives security, worth, power, love, a sound mind, trust, faith, courage, and the peace of Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name, I declare all these things and entrust them to him. Lord Jesus, I ask that you now enforce these things I have declared and establish them by your power. Amen.

Now, I take authority over the spirit of fear. You will obey the word of God. You will leave him right now in Jesus’ name. I command you to go right now.

I want to close this devotional with an emphatic encouragement to you: it is time to run free of fear! The enemy wants us paralyzed so we will not go into the world (including traveling internationally) to share the gospel. “It’s too risky,” we think. Sisters, it’s too risky not to go! God has prepared His Bride and has given her a co-missioning to go, no matter what it costs us. This hour has been made for us! If we lose it all for the sake of Christ, we have gained everything. These are days of increasing hope and excitement. Don’t believe the report of the enemy! Who has the final word on your life? Really answer that, not with a Christianese answer but out of sincere honesty. You will live your life from the raw honest answer to this question.

I want to close with this quote from Jessi Green from her book, “Wildfires”:

“Let’s violently throw off all that hinders and entangles us. Oh, how the enemy has used all his same old tricks to keep us distracted. It’s time to shake it off and run! It’s all about Jesus. Fix your eyes on the burning one, allow His flames to consume every part of your being, and let’s burn, burn, burn!”

Please be praying our Washington team of 14 women who are heading to Vancouver to bring the love of Jesus to that city! Pray for revival to come to Vancouver, for the Church to arise, and for many to come to know the love and power of Jesus. We will be there from August 11-18!

A Few Key Notes

• Join Arise for a 40-day devotional and fast beginning September 1! Purchase my new book “Revivalist Arise” on Amazon, and then sign up to join the devotional series. Please invite other women to join you!
• Join us on October 1 at the Hope Center to hear from speaker and author Christina McCraken. The cost to attend will go toward launching new Arise cities as the Lord brings them on. If you are interested in hosting a six-person table for $150, please contact Stacy Riddick at [email protected] or 214.514.3351.
• Join us October 22-23 in Midland, Texas, as we share the hope of the gospel for Harvest Day. Email me at [email protected] for more details.
• Check out this video about the Arise movement, and share it with other women to invite them to jump in!
• Arise is looking for women to lead initiatives in 70 cities. If you would like to start an Arise chapter in your city, email me at [email protected].
• Do you want to be equipped in sharing the gospel? Email me at [email protected] for details on trainings.