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When Jesus walked this earth, He spent a lot of time
with people that had to deal with life in the same way you and I do.
They had to face the same daily challenges, sorrows, disappointments and
trials. Jesus knew their anxieties and wanted to calm their hearts.
Shortly before He was nailed to the cross, He had a long talk with his
disciples and others because they couldnt understand why He was
talking about going away. Listen to what He said in John 14:1 and 27:
"Let not your heart be troubled; believe
in God, believe also in Me.
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give
to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be
troubled, nor let it be fearful."
You might just take time to read the entire chapters of John 14-17.
What Jesus said at that time applies to us the same way. Its recorded
specifically for our benefit. Jesus is really saying,
"Everything is under control. You dont need to be so concerned.
Youre going to be in this world for a little while, but just believe
that I am not leaving you helpless. Im sending you a Comforter, my
Holy Spirit, and Im getting everything ready so we can be together
again".
You see, we werent created with the fear that cripples our
thoughts, immobilizes our bodies, and hinders our growth in Christ. But
when Adam and Eve chose to disobey God in the Garden of Eden by
listening to Satans lies, desiring to be like God and eating of the
fruit that God had warned them against, anxiety and fear
set in.
The Bible says:
"Then the man and his wife heard the sound
of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day,
and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the
Lord God called to the man, "Where are you?" He (Adam)
answered, I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because
I was naked; so I hid." (Genesis
3:8-10)
You see, when they had followed Gods commands and obeyed, they
loved to be with Him, spending a lot of time together, walking and
talking in the garden. But when they disobeyed, following their own
ideas, they became frightened.
We are told in 2 Timothy 1:7:
"For God has not given us the spirit of
fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind." (sound
judgment)
Can you see a little more clearly that our anxieties, fears and
worries were not to be part of our lives? They only come about when we
choose to go our own way and not trust our Savior to work things
out, believing that He has a purpose for all things.
Sometimes the purpose is to strengthen US in areas of weakness and
sometimes the purpose is to strengthen OTHERS in their areas of
weakness. By choosing to nourish the thoughts of the "big 3",
we become slaves to them.
The Bible says:
"For you did not receive a spirit that
makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.
" (Romans 8:15)
There is a correct "fear" that we should have. It is called
the "fear of the Lord". It means to reverence¸ obey,
worship or stand in awe of a powerful, mighty, loving, and
sovereign God. In fact, He Himself told Moses:
"
Assemble the people to Me, that I may
let them hear My words so they may learn to fear Me all the days
they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children." (Deuteronomy
4:10)
This type of "fear" means to reverence and obey. God
never changes
Hes the same yesterday, today and forever. So what He
told Moses for the people then remains the same for us today. He knew
the good that the right kind of "fear" would bring. Lets
look at a few:
- The "fear of the Lord" is pure, enduring forever Ps. 19:9
- The "fear of the Lord" is the beginning of wisdom Ps.
111:10
- The "fear of the Lord" is the beginning of knowledge Prov.
1:7
- The "fear of the Lord" is to hate evil Prov. 8:13
- The "fear of the Lord" prolongs life Prov.10:27
- The "fear of the Lord" is a fountain of life Prov.14:27
- The "fear of the Lord" is the instruction for wisdom
Prov.15:33
In Psalm 112:1 we read:
"Praise the Lord! How blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
who greatly delights in His commandments."
Verse 7 goes on to say:
"He will have no fear of bad news; his
heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord."
Personally, I like that promise, dont you? I think our God knows
what He is talking about. Click onto the next link to find the
"hope" God offers to any person battling the "big
3."
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