Fearless

Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” – John 19:11 (NKJV)

Are you walking in fear? Are you allowing your life circumstances to create fear in you? Are you more afraid of man than God?

Entrepreneurs sometimes are crippled with fear when they find themselves in the midst of situations that seem impossible. Entrepreneurs find themselves in many challenging circumstances: the bank will not renew the line of credit and payroll is due, a key employee decides to walk out at a critical time, a client threatens to end a major contract, or a government agency threatens to impose significant fines on the business. Although we cannot control what others do to us, we can control how we respond to them. No matter the situation or the circumstance, we must always remember the sovereignty of God. Nothing and no one has power over our lives and our business unless God grants it to them. We, therefore, must fear no one but God and pursue our strategy and vision with fearless righteousness.

Jesus walked the world without fear of any man or anything except God the Father. He understood that His life was in the hands of God the Father and unless God ordains it, nothing could happen to Him outside of His Father’s plan. There are many illustrations of that in the Scriptures, but my favorite is in John 18 and 19. Jesus is betrayed by Judas, arrested by the Jews and turned over to Pilate to be killed. In John 19:5-11, while the Jews are insisting on crucifying Jesus, Pilate does not want to kill Jesus and begins to ask Him questions, but Jesus does not respond. Pilate says to Jesus, “Are you not speaking to me? Do you not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?” – John 19:10 (NKJV)

Jesus answers, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” – John 19:11 (NKJV)

Jesus understood the sovereignty of God. He recognized that in spite of the difficulty He was facing and despite Pilate’s earthly authority, Pilate had no authority over Him unless God permitted it. Jesus had complete trust in the Father and the Father’s plan for His life. Jesus was fearless.

To be fearless means to trust in the sovereignty of God and to not be intimidated by people or life’s circumstances. It does not mean to be completely void of fear – rather, it is to fear no one and nothing except God.

Jesus put it this way; “And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him! Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” – Luke 12:4-7 (NKJV)

What business or personal issues have you allowed to cripple you with fear? My prayer for you this week is that you will cultivate a fear of the Lord and no longer allow anything or anyone to intimidate you with fear and become fearless.