{"id":9731,"date":"2023-04-23T06:11:53","date_gmt":"2023-04-23T11:11:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joanndownsalo.com\/?p=9731"},"modified":"2026-07-03T09:03:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T14:03:11","slug":"fear-how-its-meant-to-heal-not-hurt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/?p=9731","title":{"rendered":"Fear & How It’s Meant To Heal Not Hurt"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
What do you fear? Cancer, bankruptcy, public humiliation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The true God who pulled us from the dirt of nothingness says, in Isaiah 10:24-25, “Be not afraid of the Assyrians when they strike with the rod and lift up their staff against you as the Egyptians did. For in a very little while my fury will come to an end, and my anger will be directed to their destruction.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here’s a little backdrop for us: The prophet Isaiah was sent by God to the remnant. I prefer to call them, the minority of Holy God Followers. The warning went like this, I am sending Assyria to strike you<\/em>. The LORD was already callin it, “We’re goin to war kids, and I’m lettin’ your enemy win.” The God of Israel, in His righteous anger, was ready to put an end to His haters. The family was mostly troublemakers. He took these kids in as His own. Gave these hellions everything they could ever need or want\u2014loved them like His firstborn.<\/em> They had steak on the table, a three-bedroom out of the cold, missiles of defense, Nike on their chest. And yet… <\/em>most of them couldn’t care less what God had to say. And God had had enough.\u00a0<\/em>So, to His loving, listening children, The LORD sent this warning: Hunker down, don’t be afraid, I know those who are mine.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
THE FEAR OF THE LORD DEPOSITS NOTHIN BUT JOY, PEACE, AND FREEDOM IN THE HEARTS OF HIS LEGAL CHILDREN<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
We live in shaky days, you guys. As a whole, our world leaders are in the same pickle as rebellious Israel. They fear many enemies<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em> We see the majority bowing to anything<\/em> that could possibly preserve their land, their pride, their position, their skin… but jeer at the fear of The LORD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeerers have no clue Who put power in their hands.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is our own country’s motto? In God We Trust, <\/em>right? Well, I have to ask\u2014which one<\/em>? Plutus, the god of money? Is it Baal, the god of sexual immorality? Is it Buddha, the deity of positive thinking? Molech, the god of child sacrifice? Allah, a god without justice\u2014god minus Jesus?<\/em> Is it Gaia, the mother of nature?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With gods like these to choose from\u2014is it any wonder we’re riddled with anxiety and depression!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here’s the good news: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. <\/strong>We can take that to the bank of our everlivin’ spirit. The fear of the LORD deposits nothin but joy, peace, and freedom in the hearts of His legal children. Our inheritance rests in Jesus the Christ.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
ONLY JESUS INVITES,\u00a0COME, REST, STOP ALL YOUR TOILING<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
When trouble, loss, or worry bang on the front door of your life, you can call on the Spirit of the LIVING God<\/em>! There is but One God who gave his own life for His enemies. There’s only One God powerful enough to resurrect Himself from His own gravesite. Just One God took on demons, won, and lives forevermore to tell about it. <\/em>Only Jesus invites, <\/strong>Come, rest, stop all your toiling. Just surrender. I do all the heavy lifting<\/em><\/strong>. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Wonderful Counselor whispers still, I am with you<\/em>. When we’re afraid our kids will never come home, when we want more than anything to take control, the Mighty God\u2014who graciously draws all people to Himself\u2014states, I will be your courage & strength. <\/em>When we long like the dickens to silence the myriad of false promisers, the Prince of Peace proclaims, I will deliver you from every affliction.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
We can run in fear with the world’s gods of greed, immorality, deceit, cruelty, and exhaustion. Or, we can surrender in the fear of the LORD’S love, compassion, goodness, and redemption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.” <\/em>Isaiah 11:3<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let’s pray:<\/em> Father, save us from the ignorance of self-confidence. Grant us an ever-increasing, life-giving fear of You. Give us fear that brings wisdom to our simple mind, knowledge to our poor spirit, understanding to our humble heart. You alone deserve our praise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What do you fear? Cancer, bankruptcy, public humiliation? The true God who pulled us from the dirt of nothingness says, in Isaiah 10:24-25, “Be not afraid of the Assyrians when they strike with the rod and lift up their staff against you as the Egyptians did. For in a very little while my fury will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":143625079,"featured_media":9759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[54418],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bible"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pacmrQ-2wX","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":20270,"url":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/?p=20270","url_meta":{"origin":9731,"position":0},"title":"Where Does Joy Come From?","author":"Jo Alo","date":"August 1, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Isaiah 12:3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. The culture would have us believe there is no personal creator, there is no absolute morality, that there is really no absolute truth. The forces of evil ploy that we would continue in bondage to fear and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Bible"","block_context":{"text":"The Bible","link":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/?cat=54418"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/getty-images-kqr1K7ASnGY-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/getty-images-kqr1K7ASnGY-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/getty-images-kqr1K7ASnGY-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/getty-images-kqr1K7ASnGY-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/getty-images-kqr1K7ASnGY-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12308,"url":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/?p=12308","url_meta":{"origin":9731,"position":1},"title":"A Word About Joy","author":"Jo Alo","date":"December 21, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"What does it mean to have the joy of the Lord? Does it mean we wear a smile on our face when all we want to do inside is cry? Does it mean we pretend sadness and sorrow can't touch us\u2014and we're fine, it's fine, and we're all fine? That's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "joy"","block_context":{"text":"joy","link":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/?cat=5840"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/aaron-burden-yzgF-AQt1sQ-unsplash.jpeg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/aaron-burden-yzgF-AQt1sQ-unsplash.jpeg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/aaron-burden-yzgF-AQt1sQ-unsplash.jpeg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/aaron-burden-yzgF-AQt1sQ-unsplash.jpeg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/aaron-burden-yzgF-AQt1sQ-unsplash.jpeg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2382,"url":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/?p=2382","url_meta":{"origin":9731,"position":2},"title":"Letting Your Fledgling Go","author":"Jo Alo","date":"May 11, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"A mama robin lands, shrilling from the roof of the shed. Across the driveway her last fledgling rests inside the gutter on the corner of the house reluctant to leave the comforts of home. We watched her and papa serve meals and guard their young for two weeks without a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Parenting"","block_context":{"text":"Parenting","link":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/?cat=5309"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/robin.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/robin.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/robin.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/robin.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/robin.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9432,"url":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/?p=9432","url_meta":{"origin":9731,"position":3},"title":"“Woe is me!” Isaiah 6:5","author":"Jo Alo","date":"April 18, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"We musn't mistake God for some overextended father figure. One busy with putting bread on the table. One who tires, errors, requires food for strength, rest from toil, shelter from the storm. Do not assume His patience for passiveness, His tolerance for acceptance, His timing for limitedness. Conceit can make\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Bible"","block_context":{"text":"The Bible","link":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/?cat=54418"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/img_0400-2.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1029&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/img_0400-2.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1029&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/img_0400-2.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1029&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/img_0400-2.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1029&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/img_0400-2.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1029&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3800,"url":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/?p=3800","url_meta":{"origin":9731,"position":4},"title":"Matters of Life & Death: How Do You Know You Love God?","author":"Jo Alo","date":"October 14, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Life and death, like seasons, roll in abruptly and fade away swiftly. The past year has felt severe. Storms, one right after another. Our bodies losing steam. Hearts sick with grief. The worlds\u2019 greed to dominate and deceive. No breaks in tears it seems. Everything feels overcast and threatening. Here's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "suffering"","block_context":{"text":"suffering","link":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/?cat=82348"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/18a627f7d730975da3748102b4250529.jpg?fit=500%2C686&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17395,"url":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/?p=17395","url_meta":{"origin":9731,"position":5},"title":"How Christmastime is Really About The End of Time","author":"Jo Alo","date":"December 16, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Have you ever wanted to write your story? I hear that phrase a lot: \"your story\". But there's so much more to us than one story, one book, one cover. We're more than 21 chapters, 50,000 words. We're not merely time, and space, and word count. The blood of Christ\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Bible"","block_context":{"text":"The Bible","link":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/?cat=54418"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/david-and-laura-BEARS.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/david-and-laura-BEARS.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/david-and-laura-BEARS.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/david-and-laura-BEARS.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/david-and-laura-BEARS.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joalo.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/heather-ford-tinbs_bjkxa-unsplash-1.jpeg?fit=4220%2C5712&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/143625079"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9731"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19390,"href":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9731\/revisions\/19390"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joalo.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n