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?

The Safest Place

In light of the recent gloomy economic news in our nation, sometimes I find myself thinking that my husband and I would be better off if we were in some other business or just had regular jobs, rather than functioning in the marketplace. Surely, everyone else's provision is more secure than ours, isn't it?! Whenever I begin to think about which job or business would be the most secure if the economy really tanked, I actually discover that every job and business will be affected.

Every time I start down that path I feel the Lord speak to me very clearly about the fear that wants to rise up and destroy me. He always assures me that the safest place we can be is where He has placed us. It is not a matter of where we are physically, but where our hearts are. He has promised to shake everything that can be shaken, everything that is not based on His Lordship. When fear arises within us, looking at Him is our only help. If we have built our kingdom upon worldly foundations, then they will be shaken. Our Heavenly Father loves us too much to leave us in a place of relying on anything but Him. He knows what we need, He knows what will bless us and those around us. We can choose sinking sand or we can choose the Rock!

Fear so easily creeps into our minds, especially when we are focusing on ourselves and the possibilities that could happen to us if the economy gets really bad. But God has not given us a spirit of fear, but He has given us a Spirit of power and of love and self control. (2 Timothy 1:7) He wants to deal with anything in our lives that comes between us and Him and fear is one of those.

As I was looking for a scripture recently about fear on line, I was shocked to see how many references there was for "fear". I have a feeling that God knows that we need lots of help with this one, because the enemy knows how much we are affected by fear. And I know that God does not want to leave us there in a place of fear or timidity.

He tells us in Romans 8:15 that we have not received a spirit that makes us a slave again to fear, but we have received the Spirit of sonship. We are the precious children of the King and Creator of the Universe and He knows everything about us and knows what's best for us. As we spend time with Him and look at His face and come into greater intimacy with Him, He will bring us out of the fear and lead us into a peace that passeth understanding, even in the tumultuous times that we are now in.

He also tells us that we are to lean not on our own understanding, but to acknowledge Him in all our ways and He will make our paths straight (Proverbs 3:5,6). If we focus only on our circumstances, the storms and the possibilities, we will be easily overwhelmed. As we acknowledge Him in everything we do, even if it seems like it won't accomplish our plans, He will straighten out all the circumstances and calm the storms. His perspective and vision is much higher and greater than ours and we can trust Him in everything that we face. Praise Him in the midst of the storm and watch Him work!!

Peace I 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 14:27