The Value of Fear

Okay, okay, so I know what you're gonna say...that God did not give us a spirit of fear...and I know that, but I am seeing that even though God didn't give it to us, that there can be great value in it. It's just like pain. If you didn't feel pain when you accidently touched a hot surface, how would you know that you need to move your hand? Fear is similar to that, it serves to get our attention.

As parents, one of the biggest areas that can bring fear into our lives is circumstances surrounding our children. Our love for them wants only the best, but life gets in the way of that. God promises that in this life, you will have trouble. But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. How does God overcome the world? Sure, He is God and He can do anything He wants. But I believe that He desires for us to partner with Him in the circumstances of our lives through intercessory prayer.

Of course, we shouldn't remain in fear, for this shows that we don't really trust God. When I'm experiencing fear and trepidation, I try to remember to turn to prayer, even if it's for just moments at a time. Each time I turn from the fear to intercession, to our loving Father's face, instead of dwelling in the fear, I experience a measure of victory that leads to greater strength in the future. I don't even notice at the moment of choice that I am being strengthened, but slowly and surely the victory and peace begins to move through my spirit and emotions.

We have to remember that we truly do have an enemy that hates us, because we bear the image of the living God and he hates Him. He really wants to destroy us, as quickly as possible. We must remain in persistent prayer over an issue and not let up. We are in a battle and we must use every weapon available to us from the heavenly arsenal.

A couple of weeks ago I went to a wonderful retreat. We spent four hours every morning seeking the Lord and journaling where He was in the events of our lives. Then in the afternoon, we took turns reading our journals to the group.

I was so surprised to see that every single person had had really hard times in their lives and every single one of us were dealing with current problems. I guess I was surprised at that because they all looked like they had it together. We forget that behind every life, there are struggles and issues. The enemy loves to lie to us and tell us that we're the only one with issues so that he can shame us and send us into troubled places. He uses lies and fear to separate and shame us.

The goal of our lives should not be to try to avoid troubles, but to be sure that our foundation is strong through the storms. We all know how that is accomplished, but the main thing I want to say today is that God is good, faithful, powerful and merciful and full of grace and He is our sure foundation. Whom shall I fear?