We are called to live as dead to this world, and a dead person cannot fear. Fear is the ultimate yoke of bondage, so a person who is dead to this world is therefore the freest of all. One reason we are called to die daily is to daily walk free.

       God’s truth sets us free, so our goal must be to live by His truth. If we have the holy and pure fear of the Lord, we will not fear anything else on this earth. In these times of increasing discord and chaos, we must be increasingly devoted to living by faith in Him and not fear.

       We’re told that Jesus “knew all men,” therefore He knew who Judas was when He called him. Even so, He received Judas into His innermost circle, knowing that Judas would betray Him. Can we follow Jesus even there, accepting and relating to people whom we know will betray us, or otherwise hurt us, because it is the Lord’s will?

       Many Christians have more faith in the devil to deceive them than they have in the Holy Spirit to lead them to the truth. These who live controlled by the fear of deception rather than faith in the Holy Spirit to lead them are perpetually deceived by missing the Lord’s will for their lives. His will requires faith to see and walk in it. We will be in His will to the degree that we have faith in Him and the courage to resist the fears with which this world seeks to bind us.

       It has to be the Lord’s will if anything bad happens to us, or it would not happen. Bad things do happen to us for our training, to help conform us to His image and ways. Therefore, those who follow the Lord do not allow circumstances or consequences to determine their course, but they follow the Lord wherever He leads.

       As someone once said, “Fear is faith for the things you don’t want.” Faith is a great power, and it can be used to release good or evil. We must have more faith in the Holy Spirit to lead us to the truth than we have in the enemy to deceive us. It is right to be aware of the enemy’s schemes and avoid them when we can, but we cannot let the fear of deception—or any other fear—control us and dictate our course.

       Let us not be beguiled and led astray from the simplicity of devotion to Christ. He went about daily risking His life to minister to people, as will some of His followers. This is a good way to die. In fact, it is the best way to die. It is how Jesus died, sacrificing Himself for others, even those who would crucify Him. Those who walk in His ways won’t be afraid to die; they have already died to this world and anything it can do to them.

       If we have this foundation but become prideful about it, thinking we are too wise and discerning to be deceived, we can fall. It takes grace to live by faith, and God gives His grace to the humble. In 1 Corinthians 10:12, we’re told, “Let the one who thinks he stands watch out that he does not fall.” One of the biggest deceptions is to think we cannot be deceived.

       If we follow the Lord, He will always lead us into His triumph, but we must keep in mind that His greatest triumph was the cross. The greatest souls to walk this earth laid down their lives to follow Him, and that was their greatest triumph. We can only experience triumph after a battle. He is not seeking to lead us to peace and tranquility but to the greatest peace and tranquility that we can have and maintain even in the biggest battles, even when we’re facing death.

       What we put our ultimate trust in is either God or an idol. An idol isn’t just something we love, but it’s what we trust in instead of the Lord. If money is what most of our trust is in, it is what we truly worship in place of God. Then, money will have more of our attention than God.

       We’re told in 2 Corinthians 3:18 that we are changed into the image of the Lord by beholding His glory. So, we are changed into what we behold. For this reason, the apostle Paul concluded his letter to the Philippians with this: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8).

       If we dwell on evil, that’s what we will become. If we fix our attention on the Lord and His goodness, that is what we will become. Keep your minds fixed on the Lord, on His goodness, trusting in Him above all, and your heart will become like His.

       The next two Words for the Week will be devoted to a prophetic perspective of the coming year. This past year, the WFTW was a preparation for a verse by verse study of the book of Revelation and its remarkable timeline of where we’ve been, where we are now, and where we’re going.

 

© 2025 Rick Joyner. All Rights Reserved.