My greatest enemy is fear, and I know that some fear comes directly from the enemy! But there is a good kind of fear that is sanctioned by God and brings us closer to Him. Psalm 111 is a Psalm of praise and acknowledgement of God's goodness, power and authority. It begins with a promise to praise God in the "council of the upright and in the assembly". It goes on to declare the awesome majesty of God and His works.
Then, the key words are in verse 10: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To Him belongs eternal praise." This verse deserves some study. If the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, then what is the origin of foolishness? Could it have something to do with fear as well? In this post I am going to research the kind of fear that defeats us:
1. Fear stemming from wickedness that leads to paranoia: "The wicked man flees though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion." Wherever sin exists and we allow it, we know it is there. It causes fear, and it should, because we are in opposition to our God. But that fear can result in paranoia. A friend of mine from my youth talked badly about other people. A lot of what she said was speculation, and that was obvious because she drew conclusions that she had no way of proving. I tried not to let anything she said pass through my "filter" and into my opinion of other people, but somehow that type of thing is like a cancer eating its way into other people's reputations. I had no choice but to confront my friend. After that, it was as though she thought I was out to get her! She berated me behind my back, as I had heard her berating others to me. It was very upsetting and threatened to derail me. There is an illustration I have used when talking about gossip with my Bible classes. "When you speak ill of another person it is like this: (I would stand on a chair and rip up a piece of paper into tiny bits of confetti and then release them into the breeze.) Now go pick up those bits and put that piece of paper back together again. Oh, you can't? Well, that is how hard it is to get back something bad you have said about another person. It does damage forever." Finally, I decided to choose peace over anxiety with that situation. After all, had I ever sinned against someone with my tongue? Have I ever been guilty of judging another? I let my "friend's" sin serve as a painful reminder of my own. The enemy quit pursuing me in that situation.
2. The fear of evil. This one is tough, because evil is out there. Raising children in today's climate is enough to make cowards of us all, but the one thing children need is courageous parents. I applaud the young parents I know. They are raising their children with thoughtfulness, kindness, care and wisdom. It is a good thing, because I can't even imagine the world my grandchildren will face. But this I know, God will be in control.
Good will win in the end of every situation, especially if we give Him control. In fact, God is the answer to the fear of evil. Yes, evil happens in a world of free will, but we can all call out to God. I pray daily for God's care for my children and all children. Nothing can make me go into fierce Grandma warrior mode more than a big kid looming over my grandson. But I won't always be with him, and neither will my son and daughter-in-law. He must learn to prevail over evil, and even when he does, there will always be the "giants" out there.
He must, like David, learn to carry in his pocket the stones and slingshot of faith in the One who created the universe. In Psalm 23:4, David, the shepherd boy turned king, wrote, "I will fear no evil, for You are with me....your rod and your staff, they comfort me." Shepherds used the rod to beat off predators and the staff to guide the sheep. O Lord, My God, please use your rod to beat off the predators in our world, and give us the wisdom to be guided by your staff, and we will live our lives in the comfort of Your protection.
3. Fear of death. I grew up surrounded by the pall of the fear of death. In my grandfather's family, his brother was drowned in a river at a young age. My grandparents, who raised children during the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma in the Great Depression lost their only son to an infection when he was nine years old. Their oldest daughter was crippled by juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, my mother almost died from a ruptured appendix like her brother, and their youngest daughter died at childbirth. My grandmother never got over the losses, and my own mother lived with the fear of losing someone she loved. It colored my childhood.
I didn't learn to swim until I was twenty years old, and I love swimming! My own mom still can't swim. Could that stem from my grandfather's brother drowning? I think so! To this day if I call my mom and I'm at the gym or the store in the evening, she worries. She's always saying to me, "Why don't you stay home?"
I understand. No one goes out the door at my house without me saying to them, "Wear your seatbelt." My neighbor scolded me for warning my son like that....my 25 year old son...insisting I must have embarrassed him. So I asked my son, and he said, "No, why would that embarrass me me, Mom? I'll be 45 years old, and you will still say to me, 'Wear your seatbelt.'" So, my sons have grown accustomed to my fear of their death. But I don't need to fear their death or mine, because it is just a passageway into a life where death and tears do not exist. The hope of Heaven takes away that fear. Our fears should motivate us to share our faith with our children, as we admonish them to do things to protect their lives. Let's leave behind that fear of death and fear only anything that would separate us from our eternity with God in Heaven.
4. Fear that paralyzes us and makes us ineffective. This is the fear that plagues me the most! Some call it the fear of failure. I think it is what is behind every unmet goal: the fear of taking action! I despise this fear in myself and others! Looking at my youth, I seemed not to possess this fear, but the boldness I had then was my reaction to the fear around me. I was determined to make All-State band on bass clarinet in Texas, so I practiced for hours every day before doing hours of homework. We lived in a tiny little house on a farm in West Texas, and I'm pretty sure my mother and brother were grateful for the miles of wide open spaces where they could escape my endless etudes and scales. It paid off. I made first chair in All Region and Area bands, but I only always made 1st or 2nd alternate at state, because they only let 2 bass clarinets into All State band! That meant one or two people had to die...or at least get really really sick...for me to get to go to Houston. It never happened. Every year my mother said, "You try too hard. Don't try so hard and you won't get disappointed." I hated that advice! It spurred me on! But what in the world has happened to that audacious young girl? She is buried somewhere in all of the weight I am carrying around...and I don't just mean the pounds I am determined to lose. I am talking about the weight of failure in my life! I carry my failures around like trophies that I shine up and put on a shelf. If I don't try so hard, I won't be disappointed. I reject that fear! This proverb is so full of wisdom that I am constantly considering it. Proverbs 22:13 reads: "The sluggard says, 'There is a lion outside! or 'I will be murdered in the streets!'" So slothfulness can begin with fear...or at least fear can be used as an excuse for lazy inaction! Let us reject the fear that paralyzes us and get about conquering the lions in our path!
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