When Fear Grips Your Heart

By Earline Kline

These devotionals based on "do not be afraid" scripture verses are designed to hold you firmly on the Rock when the waves of fear overflow you. They are almost always spoken by God or one of His messengers. He assures you He is with you and will see you through the storm. When the waves recede, your feet will still be on the solid Rock, the Lord Jesus.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Perpedit Publishing, Ink
• Release date: Aug 25, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223453321

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When Fear Grips Your Heart

Do Not Be Afraid Devotional Collection

Earline Kline

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To the Reader

My prayer is that these devotionals based on Be Not Afraid scripture verses will bless you and encourage you in the fearful situations you encounter in life. No matter how many waves and billows wash over you, keep your feet firmly planted on the Rock, Christ Jesus.

For all who are fearful and need to hear God’s gentle whisper: Do not be afraid, for I am with you.

God Calls Abram

Genesis 15:1-6

After this the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.’

Genesis 15:1

God called Abram out of the city of Ur, led him to a foreign land, and promised to make a great nation of him. Years passed before God appeared to Abram again and renewed His covenant with him.

When Abram said, I have no son, God assured him he would have a son and that his seed would be more numerous than the stars of the heavens. The Bible tells us Abram believed God would keep His promise.

I doubt many of us will receive a call from God in the same manner Abram and other Bible characters did. Yet before He left this earth, Jesus commissioned His followers to make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20).

Many years ago when my husband, Dan, and I and our two boys lived on a ranch near Idaho’s Salmon River, we became friends with Jim and Shirley Perkins.

They had journeyed west to establish an evening Bible school for adults and were looking for a suitable building for the school.

They finally found it in Weiser, Idaho, and asked Dan to be one of their teachers, which meant a move to southern Idaho.

The day my husband quit his secure ranch job, his boss said, You are foolish to move with no job and no house waiting for you.

But knowing God was in the details, we packed our possessions and relocated to Weiser. Dan soon found a carpentry job and taught in the Bible school for many fruitful years.

If God calls you to a special ministry, don’t be afraid. Obey Him and go. Your joy will be full.

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Insight: God is with us wherever He leads us, even if it looks foolish to those around us.

God Rescues Hagar

Genesis 21:8-21

God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, ‘What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there.’

Genesis 21:17

Because Sarah was childless, she gave her maid Hagar to Abraham, and she bore him a son, Ishmael. Several more years went by before God fulfilled his promise to give Sarah and Abraham a son. They named him Isaac.

But one day Sarah saw Ishmael mocking Isaac. She said to Abraham, Expel the slave woman and her son.

Abraham, after consulting with God, did as she asked. He gave Hagar a skin of water and some bread and sent her out into the desert with Ishmael.

After the water and bread were gone, Hagar left her son under a shrub and moved some distance away, so she wouldn’t have to watch him die. God heard the child crying and said to Hagar, Do not be afraid.

He promised her He would make a great nation of her son. Then He opened her eyes to see a nearby water well. God graciously preserved her life and the life of her and Abraham’s son.

We, too, cry out to God during desperate times, and He hears us. He often brings a scripture promise to mind that we can cling to like a lifeline. Sometimes He speaks to me through the words of a hymn to assure me of His care.

When I am broadsided by the unexpected, I realize God is still in control and nothing takes Him by surprise. He will make a way through my problem. I don’t need to fear the outcome.

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Insight: When we face desperate times, God whispers, Do not be afraid. Sometimes, help is just around the corner.

God Appears to Isaac

Genesis 26:1-25

That night the Lord appeared to him [Isaac] and said, ‘I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.’

Genesis 26:24

Afamine came to the land where Isaac lived with his family. God told him not to go down to Egypt. Instead, he was to dwell in the land He would show him. Isaac moved to Gerar, where he prospered and acquired flocks, herds and servants.

The Philistines, who envied him, insisted Isaac leave. He did as they requested and moved to the valley where his father, Abraham, once lived.

To provide water for the livestock as well as for his family and servants, Isaac’s men reopened one of the wells Abraham’s men had dug.

But the Philistines claimed the well as theirs. Isaac moved on and had his men dig another well. Again, the Philistines quarreled with them over it.

And again, Isaac chose to relocate and have his servants dig yet another well, one the Philistines did not claim as their own. Finally, Isaac’s people had peace.

From there, they moved to Beersheba, where God appeared to Isaac and blessed him with the blessing of Abraham, his father. I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of My servant Abraham.

When we have godly parents and grandparents who are blessed by God, those blessings can also benefit us and our children. It gives me great joy to see my grandchildren following God and honoring Him with their lives.

I trust they will also teach their children the ways of the Lord.

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Insight: In the same way Abraham’s blessing fell on Isaac, God’s blessings in our lives can also benefit our children.

Joseph Tests His Brothers

Genesis 41:41-45:15

‘It’s all right,’ he [Joseph’s steward] said. ‘Don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks; I received your silver.’

Genesis 43:23a

Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt. However, after much adversity, Joseph became prime minister