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What Are You Afraid
Of? "Fear is sand in the machinery of life." What is the sand in the machinery of your life? Natural man is full of fear. Without God in his life he should be fearful. Not only that, but many believers still have not conquered fear in their lives. Fear was introduced into the world in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve had rebelled against God. "And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." (Genesis 8-10). Fear entered when rebellion and sin entered into the heart of the man and the woman. Fear is an emotion which is a part of our natural make up, because we are born in sin, at odds with God. This emotion is caused by awareness and anticipation of perceived impending danger, that may or may not threaten life. It causes dread, panic and lack of courage. As a sons of God, born again of God's spirit, we have no reason, and no right, to fear anything. Fear in the life of the believer is an act of unbelief, cowardice, and a lack of trusting God. The word "fear" is sometimes used in the Bible to refer to awe and reverence of God. "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man" (Ecclesiates 12:13). This is not the kind of fear which is of lack of trusting God. To avoid fear in our life we have to trust God. "In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me." (Psalm 56:4). "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." (Isaiah 41:10). Through the years there have been men and women who have conquered fear by trusting God. "And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye fight." (Joshua 10:25). In the New Testament Paul said that God is not the author of fear. "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (II Timothy 1:7). If God is not the author of fear, who do you suppose the author of it is? None other than the great deceiver and manipulator, Satan. In John 9 there is a record of Jesus healing a man who was blind from birth. The religious leaders questioned the parents of this man about how he was healed. In verse 19: "And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see?" What was their answer? They didn't even stand by their son in his time of need for their support. Verse 21 is their response. "But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself." Verse 22 tells why they did not come forth with the support he needed. "These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue." The Jews had already said that if anyone said Jesus was the Christ he would be put out of the synagogue. They were afraid of the being kicked out of their synagogue. This was a serious and life-threatening matter. When a person was ostracized from the synagogue, people would not talk with him. Merchants would not deal with him. He was left out in the cold. It's no wonder they were fearful. How do you get rid of fear in your life? The answer lies in I John 4:18: "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." Perfect love is love that is complete, safe, peaceful, perfect, whole, full, finished, and without fear. There is no place in perfect love for anticipation of perceived impending life-threatening danger. Are you fearful about confessing your belief in God to your fellow-workers, or classmates? How about being afraid of what your neighbors might think or do? Maybe you think you might get sick, and fear the outcome. Is your job secure? What if the IRS audits your records? Will you have enough money to pay the heating bill, or the rent? Each one of us has certain fears to confront and go to God to exchange it for perfect love. God has promised He would take care of every need, even in seemingly impossible situations. "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19). The unfathomable riches of Christ Jesus certainly can cover any and all of our needs.
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