Be Not Afraid

I'm currently reading Tim Tebow's book, Through My Eyes, and a beautiful song just keeps playing in my head over and over like a broken record.  You know....the kind that you can't shake?

I keep humming and singing this song.  

It makes me happy.  It brings me peace.  It gives me hope.

It's a hymn that I learned in church many years ago, titled 'Be Not Afraid'.  Here are the lyrics...

You shall cross the barren desert, but you shall not die of thirst.

You shall wander far in safety though you do not know the way.

You shall speak your worlds in foreign lands and all will understand.

You shall see the face of God and live.

Be not afraid.

I go before you always.

Come follow me, and

I will give you rest.

If you pass through raging waters in the sea, you shall not drown.

If you walk amid the burning flames, you shall not be harmed.

If you stand before the power of hell and death is at your side, know that 

I am with you through it all.

Blessed are your poor, for the kingdom shall be theirs.

Blest are you that weep and mourn, for one day you shall laugh.

And if wicked men insult and hate you all because of me, blessed, blessed are you!

While there are 365 references in the bible that tell us to not be afraid, one that I read this morning is in Jeremiah 1:8.  

"Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you, declares the Lord."

A wonderful example of a human being today who isn't afraid to live his life as God intended while glorifying God throughout is Tim Tebow.  

He uses his spiritual gifts to breath life into people of this world, as well as the platform that he's been given to share his faith, to create dialogue, to change lives.  Here's an example.

This is a screen shot of him on national television in 2009 after winning the 2009 BCS championship and earning MVP.  As you can see and as many have heard, he has a reputation of writing scriptures on his eye black during games.  But this game was a very important one.....it was the championship, it was being televised, millions were tuning in.

According to google, the verse John 3:16 was among the highest ranked search term within a 24 hour period of the game.  Generating over 90 million searches.  Incredible!

At such a young age, he is a shining example of how I believe God has intended us to "Be Not Afraid".

- To profess our faith to people of this world without fear of condemnation.

- To use our spiritual gifts to fearlessly serve others.

- To trust in the Lord always to see us through all of life's challenges.

- To God be all the glory!