READ: 1 Kings 11:34-39 & 12:31-32
MEMORY VERSE
“I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you.” 1 Kings 11:38
BACKGROUND
“I love you. I’ll never leave you.” Julia saved her husband’s text message so she could read it whenever she was afraid. A troubled childhood had left her with a fear of loved ones abandoning her.
She’d often ask for reassurance from her husband, and she would wait anxiously for him to come home from work.
Prayer and counseling helped Julia respond to her fear in healthier ways. “I’d look at my fear in the light of my husband’s loving promises to me,” she says. “I’d think, His promises are true! and behave accordingly.”
King Jeroboam also had unfounded fears. Because of Solomon’s apostasy, God had already promised Jeroboam, “I will take the kingdom from [David’s] son’s hands and give you ten tribes” (1 Kings 11:35). God assured him that if he obeyed Him, He would “give Israel to [him]” (v. 38).
Yet Jeroboam was afraid. “If these people . . . offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem,” he thought, “they will . . . return to King Rehoboam” (12:27). His fear drove him to set up nearby sites of idol worship to prevent his subjects from turning to Solomon’s son (vv. 26-33).
As a result, Jeroboam faced God’s judgment (14:7-16). If only he’d trusted God’s promises!
We don’t have to deal with unfounded fears on our own. God has given us the safety of His promises in Scripture. Let’s allow His loving truths to illuminate our mind and steps.
Karen Huang
INSIGHT
Jeroboam wasn’t the first (or last) Israelite king who succumbed to fear rather than trust in God (see 1 Kings 12:26-33). Saul was afraid of a Philistine assault and presumptuously offered a sacrifice. By doing so, he gave up a “kingdom over Israel for all time” (1 Samuel 13:13).
Saul later failed again to obey God because he “was afraid of the men and so [he] gave in to them” (15:24) and Samuel repeats the verdict on Saul’s dynasty (v. 23).
Likewise, other kings throughout Israel’s history were judged on whether they acted out of compromising fear of others or a healthy fear of God, otherwise known as faith.
Tim Laniak
APPLICATION
What unfounded fears do you have? What does Scripture say about them?
PR’s (Pastor Richard) RE-EMPHASIS (From Today’s Post)
“We don’t have to deal with unfounded fears on our own.”
PR’s TAKE
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” 2Timothy 1:7
PRAYER
“Dear God, please teach me how to respond to my fears and help me obey You.”
TODAY’S HYMN/WORSHIP/PRAISE/GOSPEL SONG
“I WILL FEAR NO MORE” The Afters
Every anxious thought that steals my breath
It’s a heavy weight upon my chest
As I lie awake and wonder what the future will hold
Help me to remember that You’re in control
You’re my courage when I worry in the dead of night
You’re my strength ’cause I’m not strong enough to win this fight
You are greater than the battle raging in my mind
I will trust You, Lord, I will fear no more
I will lift my eyes, I will lift my cares
Lay them in Your hands, I’ll leave them there
When the wind and waves are coming, You shelter me
Even though I’m in the storm, the storm is not in me
You’re my courage when I worry in the dead of night
You’re my strength ’cause I’m not strong enough to win this fight
You are greater than the battle raging in my mind
I will trust You, Lord, I will fear no more
I will fear no more
No power can come against me ’cause You have overcome
No darkness can overwhelm me ’cause You’ve already won
No power can come against me ’cause You have overcome
Oh-oh-oh-ohh
No darkness can overwhelm me ’cause You’ve already won
(Oh-oh-oh-ohh,
You’re my courage when I worry in the dead of night
You’re my strength…
(Oh-oh-oh-ohh
I will fear no more
(Oh-oh-oh-ohh, I will fear no more
I will fear no more
I will fear no more
