“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” NIV
So, it turns out that “dwell” in the context of anxiety appears just that one time in the whole Bible. This morning, I began working my way through the “fear nots,” listed in my King James concordance. This is the first of those.
According to my Hebrew to English dictionary, the word “shield” in this verse is not only the oiled leather shield that a warrior carried to defend himself, but this word also was used to describe a leader who protected his people.
Reward is translated “wages, pay or fare.”
God is promising to protect Abram and to reward him for his faithfulness.
Abram, however, isn’t satisfied with that. He is quite concerned about his ability to bear children, or lack thereof. In fact, in response to God’s words in this verse, Abram asks, “what can you give me since I remain childless …”
How often do we box God in like that? How often do we hear His promises, and then disregard them, because they don’t fit our definition of solving our problem? Instead, we prefer to go on worrying about our little issues and attempting to find our own solutions.
I don’t want to do that. I want to wait upon the Lord and to be in His will.
That’s my prayer today.
365 Days of Peace 
So fear not and acceptance (of answered prayer) go hand in hand. Just the act of remembering that He always answers my prayers is difficult when I am wrapped up in fear and worry. My life as well as the scriptures are full of examples of God ALWAYS answering. He never fails us. By faith, I hope to say “thank you God for answering my prayers” constantly. To be successful at this is to actually live what I believe 24/7. It seems so simple in these words but it is very difficult for me!