Fear Assault

Although I’m not a gun owner and personally believe they’ve been given far too great of a place in social acceptance, there is something much more dangerous than any gun (and any other material weapon for that matter) that has ever existed. Fear. Nothing has ever ended more lives and held millions captive more than fear. The Republican conservatives want you to fear the always-appalling actions of the current Democratic-run US government. The Democrats want you to fear the looming Republican agenda. The Government as a whole wants you to fear the “evil terrorists” that are somehow always plotting to kill us all. And the Christian majority? Well, they seemingly lead the way. They want you to fear… well, everything. Non-Christians, hell, backsliding, gays, the wrath of God, people of other ethnicities, the sinful world and even Jesus if you’ve not been good enough and He’s mad at you for it. I don't even watch it and I know that the mainstream news and entertainment industry want you to fear every type of sickness and disease from the common cold to the ebola virus. Fear your neighbor that may be a serial killer. Fear a terrorist attack. Fear losing your job. Fear that the government governs too little or too much. Fear leaving your house and fear what might happen if you stay home! *sigh*

Daily, we are all attacked from all sides with emotion-driven fear. The future of our children, our job security, our health, financial situations… we could go on for days with scenarios of dread. Lurking in the shadows of every experience of life is fear. It may be buried deep down but it is always trying to rear its ugly head.

But what of the follower of Christ? How do we face these challenges in the midst of our daily lives? How do we respond when seemingly every avenue of influence in our lives attempts to drive us to fear? 

In regards to fearing judgment, 1 John tells us that “God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us.”

We also know from Paul’s writings in Romans that “the goodness (kindness) of God leads to repentance.”

We can pretty much spread wide a large umbrella for all of the other earthly and temporal terrors that plague us from ever side with just a few verses.

“Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea.” Psalm 46

“He [who properly fears the Lord] will not fear evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is upheld, he will not fear.” Psalm 112

“From my distress I called upon the Lord, the Lord answered me and set me in a large place. The Lord is for me; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” Psalm 118

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear (timidity), but of power and love and discipline.” 2 Timothy

“Peace I (Jesus) leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” John 14

Don’t let fear push you into or keep you from your directive. Never allow it be a role player in your decision-making process. There is a time for weighing pro’s and con’s over a thing, but fear should never be a deal breaker. Is fear holding you back from taking a new step in your life? The fear of failing… again? The fear of the unknown? The fear of things that are entirely out of your control? As a Believer, I can leave no room for fear. We can no longer, as a Body called according to the purpose of Christ, be so easily swayed and manipulated by fears that are broadcast to us from every angle.

How do we do it? Turn off your TV’s! Stop having a daily diet of FoxNews and everyone’s endless commentary on this worlds goings-on. Put down the printed trash that pollutes your mind with earthly mindsets. Forsake the conversations of gloom and doom around the water cooler. Stop eating of the endless trees of fear. Stop being an eager participant of the earthly chatter and propaganda-driven fears of the patterns of this world. Our absolute assurance cannot be rooted and established in the ebbs and flows of our natural condition. Set your minds on things above! It is time to come out! Come and out be free! Free to rise above it all and see things what they truly are. All that I’ll ever encounter is upheld by the Creator’s capable and mighty hands. In this alone I find rest.