The believer’s confidence: Jesus is with us

Hebrews 13:5-6 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” so that we confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?” There are a number of confessions throughout Hebrews, and here is another important one. There are things that we say because we are believers in Jesus Christ. In chapter 11, we say we are strangers and exiles in this world. In this verse, we say that the Lord is our helper as we run the race set before us, and therefore we will not be afraid of what man can do to us. The reason we are not afraid of what man can do to us is that man cannot take away what we have been given in Jesus Christ. We have His presence and help in any situation. We can abide in Him, confidently and continually draw near to His throne, where we know we will receive mercy and grace any time we need help, and in a timely manner. What a tremendous encouragement! Our confidence each day is that we are not alone. We have the Helper, the Holy Spirit, manifesting the presence of Jesus in our lives. If you remember in 2:18, the author wrote, “For because He Himself has suffered when tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.” His life, by the Holy Spirit within us, is our strength, wisdom, protection, and source of love so we can walk in love with Him. Let’s remember that this is in the context of the author admonishing his readers to let love of the brethren continue in order to show their gratitude for receiving an unshakable kingdom. This great fact, that we have Jesus as our Helper 24/7/365 forever, is unshakable. Therefore, we confidently say, “The Lord is my Helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?” My friend, Jerry White, in A Disciple’s Notebook, wrote about the way to walk with Jesus. “The way is by childlike faith, implicit obedience, and by simple abiding. The Lord Jesus tells us this is possible.” One last encouragement today. Let’s not miss this; the author wrote that we do say this with our voices and our lives. I think there is something important about our hearing our own voices say these great words. We can’t declare the truth enough. Jesus is my life! I will not be afraid. No one can take Jesus away from me. I hope you’ll memorize these two verses and open your mouth with this wonderful confession and then live in the confidence of it today as you live to love with Jesus. I invite you to become a partner in our ministry. Would you pray about becoming a regular supporter of Elijah Ministries and the Live to Love with Jesus ministry? I hope you will receive the joy and benefit of “giving it forward,” so others may receive encouragement to turn their hearts to God and to live to love with Jesus. You may give online or send a check to the address listed at www.spiritofelijah.com/donate.