FEAR NOT!

Peyton Elkins

Hello Everyone! I am very excited to be joining this team for their next trip to Romania! I can hardly believe that I will have the chance to travel around the world to meet with believers and share the Gospel—it'll be a new experience for me! In my excitement, brand new luggage and a small stash of toiletries have already found their way into my house. my ticket is purchased, my passport has arrived, funds are being raised, and I am trying to get ahead on my schoolwork. however, as important as it is to have a passport and deodorant, nothing is more important than being spiritually prepared. You see, my excitement is definitely mixed with a lot of fear. I'll be sharing what God has done in my life with strangers who come from a different culture. My flesh keeps telling me that I simply cannot do it or that even if I do, nothing I say will really matter.

Combating this dangerous lie is perhaps the most important thing I can do before I leave. So, I have been looking through God's Word, searching for His commands to "fear not." Many of the verses I found go on to say why the person being addressed need not fear—because God is with them. Genesis 26:24, Joshua 1:9, Isaiah 41:10, Jeremiah 1:8, and many other verses call on specific people to take courage because God is with them and will not leave them. These words make me strong when I remember what Jesus said to his disciples, and to me, before He left the earth, "I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matt 28:20). I know that the Lord will be with our team as we journey to Romania. I know that I need not be afraid because His Spirit will give me the words I need to say. I know that God does not want me to be afraid, "for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control" (2 Tim 1:7).

Please pray for our team as we ready ourselves, physically, mentally, and spiritually for our trip in the spring. Please pray that we will be fearless, not because of the strength and abilities we think we possess, but because God is with us.