There are times in life when fear just takes hold of us. I think we can all relate to this right now in our world. We began the year with great plans for the future. My husband and I had three trips in mind before the year even started and suddenly fear made us cancel everything. It wasn’t a virus that stopped us from traveling. It was fear of catching the virus. Fear of giving it to someone else. Fear took over the entire world because everyone was afraid that the virus equalled certain or very probable death.
Fear is not a new tactic of the enemy against us. It is one of his greatest weapons because if you can make people afraid, you can control their actions. If you doubt that, look around you. How much of what we do every day is done out of fear? How much of that fear is grounded in truth?
I’m not going to get political about this, though I do believe there is a strong political element in the world that controls people out of fear. I’d rather look at fear through the eyes of Jesus, who knew we would face this foe and told us how to defeat it.
If we look back in history to Old Testament times, we often see people afraid. In the Garden, Adam and Eve were the first people to show fear because they knew they had broken God’s ONE command and that made them afraid of discovery. We often fear getting caught for doing something we know we shouldn’t, don’t we? Then, if we do get caught, we fear the consequences so we may then be tempted to lie or defend our way out of the situation. Fear leads to greater sin.
Abraham lied to protect himself for fear that he would be killed because of his wife’s beauty. (Strange fear to us today, but back then it was a thing.)
Moses feared going back to pharaoh and leading Israel out of Egypt. He actually kept up an argument with God out of fear. God didn’t take no for an answer. (I rather like that about God.)
Joshua had to be told several times to take courage, don’t be afraid, when he took over as leader in place of Moses.
Elijah feared Jezebel simply because she threatened to kill him, despite the fact that he’d just proven that the God of Israel was the only true God and her threats meant nothing to Him.
Jonah feared that God would spare Nineveh if he preached there, because He knew God was a forgiving God, so he ran away. God didn’t let him go far. He has a way of catching us when we run from Him.
Peter feared exposure when he tried to find out what was happening to Jesus so he denied the Lord three times.
Even the great apostle Paul admits to fear. And Jesus told us not to let our hearts be troubled. He told us why we need not worry, and He promised to be with us until the end of the age.
God is not the author of fear. He does not give us a spirit of fear and perfect love (that comes from God) casts out fear.
If we are in Christ and know Him personally, we have no reason on earth to fear. And yet so many of us fall prey to this. I know I do. Yet I wonder…why?
I understand that dying is an unknown as far as how will we die, what will it feel like, will I be in pain, etc.? We could fear the future, especially if we really knew what the enemy is up to behind the scenes. Trust me, it isn’t good. It never has been.
There will come a day when the enemy of our souls will gain the edge and will rule the earth. God said it would happen and none of His prophesies have failed yet. Neither have His promises.
Should we fear the enemy and those whom he controls or fear God who has the power over our life and our soul? The enemy, the devil as he’s better known, can’t kill our soul. If we belong to Jesus, no one and nothing can separate us from His love. We are secure in the palm of His hand. And that should erase our fears of anything we face on this earth.
I know this is all easy to say and much harder to practice. As I just mentioned above, even great men of Scripture feared greatly. But God always came through for them, and He will do the same for us.
Why talk about fear? Because I hate to see people I know and love living in fear of this world or the things in this world. We can fear walking out our doors for a thousand reasons. Right now it’s been a virus or riots in the streets, but we can fear so much more. Tornadoes, Tsunamis, Earthquakes, Hurricanes, War, Human Trafficking, Abuse, Murder, Violence, Illness, Aging, the Future, Loss…the list is endless.
Proverbs pokes fun at fear and laziness when it says, “There’s a lion out there! If I go outside, I might be killed!” (Proverbs 22:13)
Does that mean we act foolishly? Of course not. But we have lost the ability to think rationally on so many levels. Logic and common sense have been replaced by thinking that doesn’t stand up to reason.
And a reasonable Christian needs to seek truth in Scripture before giving way to fear found in the world.
Fear is insidious because it can be so subtle. It starts out sounding reasonable, but it doesn’t stay reasonable. Look back in history and you can see it happening then and it’s continued to happen down through the ages. Watch documentaries on the rise to power of the dictators of the 20th century. Fear was one of their main tactics to gain power and rule over unsuspecting masses.
Fear is also insidious because it comes straight from the pit of hell. Fear is a liar. The enemy, who doesn’t deserve to have his name spoken, is the father of lies. If God does not give us a spirit of fear, who does?
I realize I may sound a little harsh or strong on this, and if you know me you might wonder why. I’ll freely admit that I grew up with anxiety and fear. It was something I learned and that held me hostage at times. I am learning to trust. Perhaps that comes with time in knowing God. It is a lesson that takes a lifetime.
SOME WOULD ACCUSE CHRISTIANS OF USING FEAR TO SAVE PEOPLE FROM ETERNITY IN HELL.
SO TO CLARIFY THAT, LET ME EMPHASIZE—THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF FEAR.
There is the fear we all know at a deep level, whether we admit it or not—fear of the things of this world, fear of death, which is a tool of the enemy.
And there is fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom. Fear of the LORD (Yahweh) makes us aware of who truly holds the power of life and death.
Fear of God is the kind of fear Adam and Eve had in the Garden when they hid from Him. They knew God. They knew they deserved to die for what they had done because they knew that was the consequence they’d been promised. They had a correct view of fear.
Since then, the enemy has used fear against every human that has ever lived. But his fear is to make us fear dying, NOT to give us hope that after we die (which we all do) we can live for eternity with a God who loves us.
Perfect love (which is God) casts out fear. Fear of hell flees the moment we understand and know the real Jesus—the Jesus of Scripture, not some type of Christ we have created in our own image.
My point in all of this is aimed at those who already know Him. If you don’t know Him, then I pray you will seek and find Him because He longs for you with perfect love.
But for those of us who do know Him, I pray we will examine why we allow fear to rule in our hearts. We will be in bondage to whatever we choose to obey, so if we obey our fears, we will be held captive by them. We need to allow the peace of Christ to rule in our hearts by faith. Faith beats fear every time.
May God’s favor rest upon you and give you peace and courage today and every day in the future—to overcome whatever the world throws at us next time.
Selah~
#faithoverfear #perfectlovecastsoutfear #godislove #fearisinsidious #benotafraid
