The bible tells us in 1John 4:18 "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love."
Every one deals with fear in some form or fashion, some people contend with fear 24/7. I deal with fear on a daily basis, sometimes I have little fears ie; the fear of saying something stupid or embarrassing while I'm preaching. Sometimes I have not so little fears ie; The fear of a family member getting hurt or ill. Fear is a part of us. It's not of God, but a part of the fallen world we live in. We get advice on how to deal with it like; There is nothing to fear but fear itself, face your fears or put them in God's hands. These are all good, especially the one about God, but they are so incredibly hard to apply. The crazy thing about fear is the fact that what we are afraid of hasn't happened yet. It is always about what might happen or maybe even it's inevitable and you know it's going to happen. Whatever the case may be, the fact is, we are letting fear grip us and keep us from enjoying the "NOW" because of something that may happen or will happen in the future. Fear makes us feel out of control, unable and incapable, which brings me to my conclusion on how we should handle fear.
Return with me to the thought of putting it in God's hands, this is extremely hard and in reality impossible, this also suggest that we do not use logic and caution when we face our fears. If we fear something it's usually because God gave us the good sense to take measures to protect ourselves. A great example of this is seeking medical attention for a life threatening illness. It is not the fear we should place in God's hands....we should place ourselves in God's hands! Whatever God is doing or allowing in the life of a Christian is for a purpose and that purpose is so the Christian will become more like Jesus(Romans 8:28-29). Our way of dealing with fear should be the understanding that we belong to God and everything that happens to us is, in some way, of His allowance or design and He is always present at the time. He was not an absentee God with Job and He is not an absentee God with us. The Bible says, "not even a sparrow falls to the ground without our Heavenly Father knowing about it, are we not more valuable than the sparrows?" I've heard it said that if God brought you to it He will bring you through it, and my friends I believe that with my whole heart. I have not only seen it, I have also experienced it.
Once again, I will leave you with a verse of encouragement,It is one of my wife's favorites and if we apply God's word to our lives fear will be present, but it will not be prominent! John 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, that in ME you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer I have overcome the world."
No comments:
Post a Comment