I delight in the command to fear not.

Today I had the opportunity to speak in sacrament meeting today which is the main meeting in my church. I spoke with three other women in the congregation who I have the opportunity to serve with right now. We all spoke on the scripture from Isaiah 41:10,

 10 ¶^aFear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I amthy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.


Some things I learned were this, 

• We ought not to permit fear and uncertainty to distract us from doing what we ought. 
• 2 Kings 6: 13-17

 13 ¶And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.

 14 Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.

 15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?

 16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his ^aeyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and^bchariots of fire round about Elisha.

• "I'm here, I have always been here." He has always been with us and he always will be. What do we have to fear when He is with us?
• What fears do I need to stop taking councel from?
• Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven. 
• Sometimes we want strength without struggle
• We can't pray to be painlessly incapacitated so we can get out of things. We need to rely on the Lord and keep in mind that we are always accountable to our Heavenly Father.
• Failure is not an option to the Lord. 

I shared about my "almost encounter" with a bear and talked about the many ways the Lord has sent me assurances that have kept me moving forward in times of fear. One of those is the story of the people of Alma from Mosiah 23-24. That story saved me as a missionary time and time again because it reminded me that the Lord doesn't deliver us from the things that make us fearful or that are hard but he makes it so we can handle it, he strengthens our backs to carry the load if you will.

I found another scripture in Isaiah 43: 1-5 that struck me so deeply, it states,

But no thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, that I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.

When thou passes through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour…

Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.

Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring ty seek from the east, and gather thee from the west.

I love how Christ emphasizes here, not that he is the Savior of the World, although he most certainly is but here, talking one on one, ministering one by one as he does he says, thy Saviour. He reminds us at so many times and in so many ways that he is our Savior. I am grateful to know the true character of Christ, that he cares, is compassionate and that he wants me to rely on him and fear not. He is my Savior and your Savior.