Scripture: "Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the One you are to regard as holy, He is the One you are to fear, He is the One you are to dread." (Isaiah 8:12-13)
A few years back, I read Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg, the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook. She encouraged women to be more assertive in taking on leadership roles, rather than sit on the fringe. One of the questions she asked was, "What would you do if you weren't afraid?"
Well, to start with, what are people afraid of? What am I afraid of? Insufficient income, job loss, illness, a leaky roof, car trouble, cancer, tornadoes, loved ones making poor decisions, awkward social situations, fire, bad report cards, unkind remarks, unintentional mistakes, other people's opinions of me, snakes, mosquitoes, and on and on..... The mountain of fears can appear so daunting sometimes.
How can I be unafraid when there are internal and external voices bombarding me with messages of fear, especially when one or more of these circumstances has become reality? For one, I ask myself, "What is Truth? What's a half truth? What am I believing or thinking that offends God? What thoughts honor Him?" When I check my thoughts against what the Bible says, I begin to separate the truths from the lies. I remember the goodness and presence of God that always covers His children. Then, I can say, "Get away from me, Satan, you and your lies! You have no place in my thoughts."
At the end of the day, God is the only One we have to fear and dread. He is our Creator, Provider, Sustainer. We answer only to Him. Furthermore, through Jesus' death and resurrection, He conquered death. And because of His love, "we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (Romans 8:37).
It isn't that we truly have nothing to fear. Fear God only. All the other things - the Apostle Paul's list included trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword - dim in comparison in the light of the reality of who God is. If we take a risk that is in line with God's purposes and will, then there truly is nothing to fear.
What would you do if you weren't afraid of anyone or anything but God?
A few years back, I read Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg, the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook. She encouraged women to be more assertive in taking on leadership roles, rather than sit on the fringe. One of the questions she asked was, "What would you do if you weren't afraid?"
Well, to start with, what are people afraid of? What am I afraid of? Insufficient income, job loss, illness, a leaky roof, car trouble, cancer, tornadoes, loved ones making poor decisions, awkward social situations, fire, bad report cards, unkind remarks, unintentional mistakes, other people's opinions of me, snakes, mosquitoes, and on and on..... The mountain of fears can appear so daunting sometimes.
How can I be unafraid when there are internal and external voices bombarding me with messages of fear, especially when one or more of these circumstances has become reality? For one, I ask myself, "What is Truth? What's a half truth? What am I believing or thinking that offends God? What thoughts honor Him?" When I check my thoughts against what the Bible says, I begin to separate the truths from the lies. I remember the goodness and presence of God that always covers His children. Then, I can say, "Get away from me, Satan, you and your lies! You have no place in my thoughts."
At the end of the day, God is the only One we have to fear and dread. He is our Creator, Provider, Sustainer. We answer only to Him. Furthermore, through Jesus' death and resurrection, He conquered death. And because of His love, "we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (Romans 8:37).
It isn't that we truly have nothing to fear. Fear God only. All the other things - the Apostle Paul's list included trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword - dim in comparison in the light of the reality of who God is. If we take a risk that is in line with God's purposes and will, then there truly is nothing to fear.
What would you do if you weren't afraid of anyone or anything but God?