Saturday, March 15, 2014

LIVING BY FAITH OR IN FEAR

                Fear is a powerful emotion. It can motivate us or immobilize us. It can force us to grow or cripple us. We live in a world filled with fear. If we allow fear to dominate our lives, we will live in reactionary mode. If we face our fear, we can overcome it.

                Satan uses fear to attack us, and to get us to draw back from engaging in our world. If we live in fear of the influences of our culture, we will try to isolate ourselves. We will build a wall of protection that can only keep fear at bay. It cannot eliminate our fear.

                We can live in fear of what other people think. We allow them to dictate who we are and how we act. Instead of living out our unique gifts and abilities, we seek to conform to others opinions; to win their approval. This too is a trap. Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. Proverbs 29:25

                We can live in fear of failure, which will inhibit our willingness to take positive risks. When we are afraid to fail, we make it impossible to truly succeed. Fear handicaps us.

                Above all, fear is evidence of a lack of trust in God. Fear is born out of uncertainty and a sense of having no control. When we live in fear, we are really saying that we cannot trust God to see us through. We all experience a kind of biological fear that is normal and healthy. Satan can take our biological fear and turn it into spiritual fear. As followers of Jesus, we do not have to live there.

                Paul reminds us that Christ replaces our spirit of fear with a spirit of confidence and hope.  For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Romans 8:15-16 We can trust our heavenly Father to watch over us and care for us.

                When Timothy was struggling with a sense of apprehension and fear, Paul wrote to him to encourage him not to give it. Unhealthy fear does not come from God, but from Satan. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7

                The antidote to fear is to rest in the love of Christ. The more that we recognize and embrace the depth of Christ’s love for us, the less room fear has to play havoc in our lives. As John says, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” 1 John 4:18 When we trust the love of Christ, we can face the challenges of life with confidence. We can risk getting outside of our comfort zone. We can take a stand, even all alone, if we have to. Our confidence is in the strength and power of Christ, and not in our own strength.

                We live in a messed up world. We are confronted with threats from every side. But I refuse to live in fear. No matter what happens in this world, I am secure in Christ. In Christ, I will take my stand.

Romans 8:37-39

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

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