Listen For God’s Voice To Avoid The “Dread Of Evil” And Calm Your Heart

Psalm 146:2-6

I will praise the Lord while I live.  Do not trust in princes, In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation. His spirit departs, he returns to the earth; In that very day his thoughts perish. How blessed is he whose help is God, whose hope is in the LORD his God; Who made heaven and earth, The sea and all that is in them; Who keeps faith forever

Proverbs 1:23, 33

 Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. But he who listens to me shall live securely, And shall be at ease from the dread of evil.

Proverbs 2:6-12

For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth [come] knowledge and understanding.  He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; [He is] a shield to those who walk in integrity,  Guarding the paths of justice, And He preserves the way of His godly ones.  Then you will discern righteousness and justice And equity [and] every good course.  For wisdom will enter your heart, And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;  Discretion will guard you, Understanding will watch over you,  To deliver you from the way of evil.

    The thing that knocks most people off of the apple cart of security is the “dread of evil,” the anticipation of what might happen to you or someone you love. See, it’s not necessarily the “thing” or event itself that causes you major distress; it’s when you begin to worry about or “dread” what will happen as a result of some change in your life. And that’s why God, “the maker of heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them,” has a strategy or prescription to keep you from “the dread of evil.”  When something happens or potentially happens that causes you to almost break out in a sweat every time you think of it, because the prospect of it undoes you, don’t listen to that negative voice in your head that is telling you that the “thing” will be to difficult for you. Look instead to God who specifically promises that “if you listen to Him, you will live securely.”  God promises to be a “shield” for you.  Visualize that when your spirit becomes anxious.  Know in your heart that what God calls you for; he equips you for, whether the issue is with a move, a change in your job, your health, or in the life of someone you love.  God says not to trust in “princes, the people who are here today and gone tomorrow.”  Look instead to God to handle what you alone could not.   Keep repeating in your heart that “God causes all things to work together for good to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).  Pray for His wisdom to enter your heart and when it is the right solution, that knowledge will be “pleasant to your soul,” and you will feel peaceful about your decision.  Trust God to calm your spirit and lead you in the way that He would want you to go.  Having God as your protector and guide at the end of the day is the only “thing” that can ease your heart from “the dread of evil” or your fear in what might happen, because He is the only One that made and ultimately controls everything and everyone in “heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them.”