Fear

 


My husband made a thought-provoking statement in church this morning. "Without the fear of the Lord, all we're left with is fear." I grew up in a fairly conservative church for my early years. We didn't watch a lot of television, but it wasn't completely omitted. There was one time that my parents told me to go to bed, so I did what every young child does. I pretended to be asleep, and then snuck in to peek at the movie they were watching. I only saw a snippet of the movie, but had nightmares for weeks after. Of course, I couldn't come clean about why I was having nightmares, but I had a healthy dose of dislike for scary movies. I still do. I would much prefer to laugh than be afraid. I've even quoted the scripture, 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. NKJV     I would tell my kids that if God didn't give you a spirit of fear, why are you trying to bring something God didn't give you into your life by watching horror movies? All this is to say, our world is overran with fear. People are afraid to be in crowds. They're afraid of catching a virus. Some are afraid to talk on the phone. We may use different verbage but, ultimately, it's being overcome with fear. When my husband stated that without the fear of God, we are left with fear. I thought about what the fear of God was. It's simply having enough respect and reverence for Him that you listen and obey Him. When I was in school, I feared the principal. He was a nice man, and I talked with him regularly. I wasn't afraid of him. I respected the office he held and the power he held enough to not want to get into trouble for not following his directions. I liked him, but also had an appropriate amount of fear for who he was. With God, we love Him. He is a wonderful, loving father. But do you have the proper amount of reverence for Him? Do you respect who He is enough to listen to Him and obey? Do you know Him, who He is in your life, and who you are to Him? If not, we leave ourselves open for the enemy to whisper lies of who we aren't. We become convinced that we are inadequate, unlovable, and unable to face the world. We become overcome by fear. My challenge is simply this. Learn who God is. The more of God you have, the less room there is for fear.

Have a great week high-heeled warriors!

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