No Fear Here
Feb 17, 2023 | by Diana Wade
In the Spring of 1970 I acquainted myself with Proverbs 31. The 25th verse in the Amplified Classic says this, “Strength and dignity are her clothing and her position is strong and secure; she rejoices over the future [the latter day or time to come, knowing that she and her family are in readiness for it]!” At that time I had no “family” except my family of origin which looked like it was falling apart, but I decided I would believe for my future, because the plans I thought I had for it had evaporated.
My Grandma Jalah has been in heaven for 30 years now. If you had known her you would know that if you visited her you would probably catch her praying, reading the Word, writing a card to someone, or sitting quietly. You could ask her, “What are you doing, Grandma?”, and she might say, “Just studying about something”. Today we would understand that she was “meditating”.
In Joshua 1:8 the Lord told him this, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” The book of the law (first 5 books of the Bible) was the only “Word” Joshua had at that time, but it had in it all the wisdom he would need to continue to lead his people.
In Second Timothy 2:15 we see our key to this wisdom. It says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
So back in 1970, as I was graduating from college, I began a journey of “on purpose” learning, digesting, and believing both what He said about me and what He provided for me in His Word. I read the Word. I went to bed listening to it. I woke up thinking about it. I listened to teaching tapes while driving to work. I found friends who encouraged me in it. It became my greatest joy… just ”studying”.
And then I meditated about what the Lord was teaching me. I “studied”. That studying produced a love of the Word that, although I had been a Christian and loved Jesus since I was eight years old, was greater than I could have imagined. The Word became what I based my life, my decisions, my foundation for everything, my very purpose, upon. Once I understood that God really does love me, He’s not mad at me, and He wants good for me, it changed me forever.
The years have passed quickly since that day in 1970 and I now have a family. Fast forward to Thursday, December 29, 2022. Pastor Gary and I were so excited about the “Finishers’ Party” we were hosting the next night. We went to bed talking about the tables we would set up, the candles we would use, the games we would play, and the prizes we had for them. And everyone was going to make their own ice cream sundae!
Then, about 3:00 am on the morning of the 30th, he woke me up. He was in such pain that we decided to go to the hospital. And-- a very long story short--14 hours later I was sitting in the surgical waiting room. All I was thinking about was the goodness of God and that He would watch over my sweetheart. Fear didn’t enter. I am so glad that I can say that because of THE WORD I have learned since 1970.
Let me repeat that… I am so glad that I can say that because of THE WORD I have learned since 1970. I repeated that because sometimes people think when they hear a testimony like this that we’re bragging on ourselves. The opposite is the truth. It’s NOT something great about me, it’s the GREATNESS AND GOODNESS OF OUR LORD AND THE LOVE HE HAS FOR US. It's for you! And you don’t have to wait 53 years to think that way. The amount of time is not the point.
The decision to believe is...
So today I continue to believe that I have no fear and that I “rejoice over the future (the latter day or time to come), knowing that I and my family are in readiness for it!”
“STUDY” on that today. STUDY both by learning the Word and by meditating on it. Make this the day you decide there is no turning back to fear, care, and worry. Know that God is truly a good God and He wants a lifetime of good for you—even when things don’t look good!