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Sense of God’s Presence Banishes Fear, July 9
Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou
dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou
goest.
Joshua 1:9
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Only the sense of God’s presence can banish the fear that, for the
timid child, would make life a burden. Let him fix in his memory the
promise, “The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear
him, and delivereth them.” Let him read that wonderful story of Elisha
in the mountain city, and, between him and the hosts of armed foemen,
a mighty encircling band of heavenly angels. Let him read how to Peter,
in prison and condemned to death, God’s angel appeared; how, past the
armed guards, the massive doors and great iron gateway with their bolts
and bars, the angel led God’s servant forth in safety. Let him read of that
scene on the sea, when to the tempest-tossed soldiers and seamen, worn
with labor and watching and long fasting, Paul the prisoner, on his way to
trial and execution, spoke those grand words of courage and hope: “Be of
good cheer; for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you.... For
there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I
serve, saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar; and,
lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.” In the faith of this
promise Paul assured his companions, “There shall not a hair fall from the
head of any of you.” So it came to pass. Because there was in that ship
one man through whom God could work, the whole ship-load of heathen
soldiers and sailors was preserved....
Let the self-distrustful, whose lack of self-reliance leads them to shrink
from care and responsibility, be taught reliance upon God. Thus many
a one who otherwise would be but a cipher in the world, perhaps only a
helpless burden, will be able to say with the apostle Paul, “I can do all
things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
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