Fear that removes fear

Heb 2:14-15 - Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

If we boil down our fears or polled the masses of what they fear most, the answer that is always in the top 5 is death. And rightfully so, that unknown stop of all life can be a terrifying and paralyzing slavery. If our goal in life is to not die, than life will be lived with caution and and absence of risk that is required to live to the glory of God. But, if the fear of death is eliminated, somehow, and the future life looks better than this life, if there is confidence that we were made for the next life and that God is very much in control of this one, than we can be delivered from this fear and live well. Jesus did just that when he became man so he might destroy the power of death and the power of the devil so that we could be delivered. And if death isn't worth fearing than there should be nothing else either than leads us to fear. God has taken care of the biggest fear-producer and so the rest should be easy.

Ps 139:14-16 - I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

When we consider the human body, with all its intricacies and complexities, it should lead us to awe. We fear God because we are fearfully and wonderfully made. We fear him because he saw before we were. He created us and knew us and every day of our lives are written in His book before one of them came to be. So, not only did he remove the power of death, he also knew us before we were alive and knows how many days we will be alive. Our God is worthy of fear because he took away our fear. He has given us confidence and peace because He is already there.

Fear that changes everything

Heb 13:5-6 - Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

Wow. This is timely verse for this time and age. I have found myself becoming anxious in the past few weeks with all this talk of recession. I have found that I am never anxious when I think about God and how He promises that He will provide and care for me, but I do become anxious when I think about what could be, and how will I get what I need and what if things get worse. This I have always known. But, what surprised me in this passage was that the worry and fear is born out of a love for money and continual desire for more. Our fear is born not out of just surviving and making it, but losing money and losing stuff. God says, love me more than money, be content with little and like Philippians 4:11-13 says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Fear God and grow through this trial a fear and love for God that money can't touch. Use this time to dig deep the roots of trust and you will become rich in faith. Hebrews 11.6 says, "Without faith, it is impossible to please God..."

Ps 128:1-4 - A song of ascents. Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways. You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your sons will be like olive shoots around your table. Thus is the man blessed who fears the Lord.

The difference between blessing and lack of blessing is what and who you fear. Here the blessing is on the one who fears that Lord and walk in his ways. You will be blessed in the fruit of your labor, and prosperity and peace and joy will be yours, regardless of the amount of money you have. You will experience prosperity despite the amount of money you have. Your children will learn to trust God and experience a dynamic relationship of seeing God provide. You will grow rich in faith. It's who you fear that changes everything.

Fear that encourages

Php 1:14 - And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Why would someone be more bold to speak about God as a result of imprisonment? You would think logically that it would be the opposite. You hear someone gets thrown in jail for speaking about their faith, and most people would be tempted to turn and run. But, I believe there is something that is both inspiring and confirming when someone suffers for Jesus like this. It inspires and confirms because you realize that, maybe, just maybe, that God and this Heaven thing is really real. If someone is willing to risk his life for it, than it must be worth living for with all your heart. And if it worth living for because it is worth dying, in that Heaven is our true home and our most beautiful reality, then there is really nothing to fear. It may not be prison for you, but it could be a loss of job that you trust God through. It may be a loss of a loved one or a difficult trial you are going through. Your courage in the face of fear brings encouragement to others.

Ps 40:3 - He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.

When there is a song in your mouth in hard circumstances and a hymn of praise to God when there should be fear and curses, it causes other to see and fear the same God. Fear of God leads others to put their trust in God. If God isn’t big enough to handle our circumstances, then God is not big enough to fear. But, if He is, and He is, than fearing God is sharing Christ in the most natural and beautiful way. Fearing God encourages fearlessness which leads to courageous risk taking and bold living.

Fear that makes God worth obeying

Ga 2:11-14 - But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

I don't think I would have like to be at the receiving end of rebuke by Paul, but I guess he deserved it. Peter, the great Peter, was fearing what people would think of him so that he would not eat with the gentiles for fear of what the Jews would say. Fear does that. It raises the value of someone or something over God. Simply put, he feared the Jews rebuke more than he feared God's rebuke. It is possible that Peter could have justified it as trying to reach more Jews for Christ or something like that, but in reality, his fear of man, at that moment, was greater than his fear of God.

Ps 33:8 - Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him.

The whole purpose of Paul's ministry was to bring the gentiles into the kingdom of God. He was a Jew who had been sent to minister to the gentiles that God was welcoming them into eternity through the death and resurrection of Jesus. And here was Peter, fearing what the Jews would think, when instead, he should have been fearing the Lord that the whole world should be revering. This is a great wake up call to all who fear man over God. Turn your eyes heavenward and let the greatness of God make the weight of your friends or co-workers or family seem small.

Fear that humbles you

1 Pe 5:6-9 - Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

This passage shares that their will be anxieties. Their will be things to fear from the world, things to fear from Satan and things to fear in your own flesh. Fear is real. But fear is not right. And in this passage, Peter gives us the way out of fear. He doesn't say, "Just don't fear!" but instead says, "Humble yourself under God's mighty Hand" and cast your anxieties on Him and Resist the Devil and he will flee. We will all suffer and go through things that can bring fear, but the proper response is to humble ourselves under God's mighty, powerful, sovereign, loving hand and fear Him only, and that will bring the peace you are looking, despite the circumstances.

Ps 118:6 - The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
The answer is nothing. Not man, not the Devil and not the world. No one can do anything to you when your fear is in the Lord. We need to apply this to our lives, and we need to meditate on this thought. This needs to be appropriated to our daily struggles so that our fear doesn't keep us from the will of God.

Fear that guards your heart

Php 4:5-7 - The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Peace is from God and peace will guard your heart and mind so that it will stay in Christ Jesus. That is the end goal. That through all of life's struggles and difficulties, our heart and mind would remain settled and sure in Christ Jesus as we trust Him and allow Him to be Lord in all life's circumstances. Why in Christ Jesus? Because Christ is our strength to make it through the difficulties and fearful realities. He is our joy which can be to the full despite circumstances. He is our caretaker, who will be with us forever and will help us overcome the world. The worst thing we can do is left anxiety upset our intimate relationship with Jesus. Above all else, cling to Jesus.

Ps 103:17 - But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children—
The love of the Lord is with us and our children and our children's children.. This is a given. But, it remains on those who fear God. Fear God and know His love. It seems like a contradiction, but these two in fact go hand in hand. Love and fear, peace and joy... In all your anxieties, fear God only. You will be at peace, you will know His love and you will live unshakable in very shaky times.

Fear that ends in spirit-filled peace

Jn 14:27 - Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

In this comforting statement to his disciples, Jesus offers them peace instead of fear. It is as if he defines them as opposites, declares them as enemies and says this will be a sign of their trust in Jesus. If they ever experience trouble in their spirit or fear, they don't have the peace of Christ that he is offering them. In the verse before, Jesus tells them about the Holy Spirit and how he will not only bring to their minds all the teachings of Jesus but also teach them as well. That is a clue to how to have peace when you are fearful. We need the words of Jesus and the Words of scripture in our hearts, allowing the Spirit to replace fear with truth. But, it again is also a clue for us that if fear is first, that Jesus is not, because he promises to give us peace to replace our fear.

Is 11:1-3 - A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord— and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;

I thought this was an amazing verse that describes how a Spirit-filled person will not only fear God, but will delight in the fear of the Lord. What a beautiful statement. When we are filled with the Spirit, we will delight in the fear of the Lord. It is a delightful thing because when you fear God, you will fear nothing else. It protects and purifies your soul and your mind from fearing anything else. It focuses us and centers us and frees us from the worries of the world. If we are to be like Jesus, we will, too, delight in the fear of the Lord, because His Spirit is in us.

How fear turns to worship

Lk 24:36-53 - As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them. Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.

This is a beautiful picture of the transformation of fear, from the fear of something that can hurt them to a fear of the One of who loves them. We know from the other gospel accounts that the disciples ran away and left Jesus, and then after He died, they hid for fear of the authorities. Here in the midst of their fear, Jesus shows up, and speaks to that fear with reassuring and loving words, "Peace be to you." Peace is the absence of strife and inner conflict, doubts and trouble. When we truly fear God, we will be at peace. We are only not at peace, when we give something or someone else more power than God. Jesus wants them at peace and when they are not, instead of rebuking them, shows them his body, eats with them and than speaks words of blessing to them. This change from fearing something to fearing God is described in the last line, "And they worshiped him and returned with great joy and were continually in the temple blessing God." This describes a person who fears God only. A person who fears God will worship him as they are the only One worth worshiping. They will have great joy. They will bless God. Where fear ceases worship, joy and blessing, fearing God is the way to worship, joy and blessing.

What is it in your life that you have given more power or strength or worship to other than God? Do you fear the economy collapsing? Do you fear sickness or being hurt? Do you fear anything more than God? Press into Jesus, and let him replace your doubts with joy, and your fears with worship.

Fear that provides

Lk 12:25-28 - And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!

If we can’t add an hour to our life, which we can’t, than there is nothing else we should worry about. If we could add an hour to our life, if we could change any circumstance with worry, than we should worry. But, since worrying changes nothing, since fearing things changes nothing, than, we should worry and fear nothing. God cares for us, and that should always be our antidote to worry. God cares and will care for every detail of my life. That is our solution to worry.

Ps 111:5 - He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever.

God will provide food and clothes and everything you need to those who fear him. The big question is: what do you fear more: Circumstances or God? It seems here that it is an either/or. I can fear God and he will take care of all my needs or I can fear circumstances and experience the discipline of the Lord of not receiving the things that I do need. This seems to be the opposite of this verse: He doesn’t provide food for those who don’t fear him.

Trust in God for all your needs. Pour out your heart to Him and be satisfied in Him, alone. Fear him only and let go of your worries and your fears from on earth and you will experience God in new and amazing ways.

Fear that moves from temporary to eternal

Lk 12:25 - And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

There is nothing that anxiety, a form of fear, can do to add an hour to a life. Anxiety can fix nothing. Worrying changes nothing. It enslaves you to this world by chaining you to the temporary and not freeing you to see the eternal, true perspective. When we think about it, fear and worry is as temporary a sin can be. Fear is wrapped up in this world.

Ps 111:10 - The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.

I like this verse in contrast to worry because in it one recognizes that all wisdom begins with God, that those who follow God and not their own flesh and thus their own worry, have good understanding and perspective. And, so instead of spending a situation worrying, they can spend it praising God in whom belongs eternal praise. Fearing God frees you from the temporary prison of earth and allows you to see and know the reality of something which go beyond earth. That is the answer to worry. That is the solution to worry. Spend time thinking about eternity and your worries and fears will slowly dissipate.

These are the two distinct opposites. Worry and praise. Worry and fear spends time stuck in problem on earth. Praise sees a God who is in control, bigger than any problem and faithful to help, despite any perceived silence and greatness of the situation. The words eternal praise are the answer to fear and worry. He is both eternal, and worthy of praise.

How we need to spend time in praise of our eternal God when the all too temporary worries and fears press in on us.

God thinks your valuable so don't worry

Lk 12:22-24 - And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!

This passage has some real great insights. First, it declares how valuable we are in God’s sight. We have more value than birds and yet God values birds enough that God feeds each one. God is going to take care of his children. Second, life is more than food and clothing. It is ironic that life revolves around these two extremes: for some, life is about spending exorbitant amounts of money for food and clothing and for others, life is about finding enough food and clothing to survive the day. God says that we are not to be anxious about our life in any way because regardless of your status, he will care for you if you fear Him more than anything else.

Pr 19:23 - The fear of the Lord leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble.

This verse seems the perfect counterpart to the previous verse. When we fear God only, we rest content and untouched by trouble. When God is all we fear, and we believe that he values us enough to care for in all situations, it leads us to a content life of rest in the midst of daily life, regardless of our place.

Fear that teaches us how to overcome anxiety

Lk 12:11-12 - And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

When a verse is repeated in the different gospels, you know it is important. This verse or at least renditions of this verse are found in Matthew, Mark and Luke. It is so important because it is so revolutionary. One, you are predicting something difficult is about to happen. Two, God is providing both a command, do not be anxious and a promise, the Holy Spirit will speak through you. I love that we are not to defend ourselves. God doesn’t need our defense. The Holy Spirit is more than capable of communicating his message in his timing for his purposes. He just needs us to fear Him more than anything else and trust that He is capable of doing what he wants through us if we just trust Him.

Ps 34:11 - Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

I have been feeling like this verse is written for this occasion. These verses are teaching us the fear of the Lord so we can fear God and not man. When we fear the Lord, we will not need to be anxious, we will believe the Holy Spirit will speak and we will not need to defend ourselves. How do we learn the Fear of the Lord? Well, according to the next verses:

Ps 34:12-14 - Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

We recognize that our God hates sin and we choose to obey Him because we fear Him. Anxiety is sin. Worry is sin. It is feeling and believing that God is out of control. Thus, we must turn from evil and turn to Him. Fearing God is the solution to killing anxiety.

How Anxiety destroys our relationship with Jesus

Lk 10:38-42 - Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Like a small cloud blocking a large sun, anxiety chooses control or pride or selfishness and blocks out the good portion of a simple, uninterrupted relationship with Jesus. Where Martha was trying to get some points for serving and doing good things, it led her to anxiety and a troubled spirit. Mary chose to sit and listen. It was true fear because she understood there was something better there than anything else. True fear realizes the greatness of God and it changes everything. It was not wrong for Martha to serve, but it was wrong to be anxious over her serving and to resent her sister. There are a lot of reason for anxiety and all of them are bad because they take us out of a simple and pure devotion to our Lord. Martha could have had the same devotion in her serving as Mary had in her listening if she would have understood Jesus.

Pr 19:23 - The fear of the Lord leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble.

Is there any better description than the heart of Mary than this verse? She was content and untouched by trouble because her fear of the Lord led her to true life. I just think that Mary is the solution to so many of our problems, that if we would just sit at the feet of Jesus, in trials, hard times, and even in our busy, stressful times, we would find the perspective and the wisdom to see us through all our trouble.

How fearing God transforms anxiety

Mk 13:9-11 - “But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them. And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.

It is one thing to fear when tragedy or difficulty happens suddenly and quite another when you know ahead of time that it is going to happen to you. The disciples were promised abuse, beating, and imprisonment. But, they were also promised something even greater, which is the Holy Spirit speaking through them to the glory of God. The one thing that they were commanded not to do was to be anxious beforehand, but to fear God only, and to trust in Him so that he would say what He needed to say through the disciples. It is amazing how we can interfere with God’s using us when we allow anxiety to interrupt us. Anxiety is essentially a lack of trust in God that He is big enough in the situations to do what he desires to do. All he needs is some people who will trust Him at his Word so that He can accomplish what He desires through our lives for His glory.

Ps 60:4 - But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner to be unfurled against the bow.Selah

This verse seems to really be appropriate in light of Mark 13:9-11 because of it s approach against the enemy. The banner of fearing God is all we need against the enemy. God will fight the battle. Our battle is to remain in the fear of God, fully convinced that He is not only in full control, but will use the situation for His glory. When we start to worry, we must boldly unfurl that banner in the face of evil by coming back to this understanding that fearing God is our first defense and our only defense against the enemy. He will keep us in perfect peace, in His will and living for eternity in the temporary as long as we understand that greater is He who is in us than He who is in the world.

Anxiety replaced by true Fear

Mt 10:19-20 - When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

I think this is probably the clearest example of the power and intimacy of God working through our lives when you might be tempted towards anxiety. God commands us not to be anxious and the reason we are not to be anxious is because the Spirit of your Father will be speaking through you. Don’t worry about what you will say because God is in control. The opposite of this though, if they chose to worry, God would not be able to speak through them, because they lack faith and thus are not controlled by the Spirit but are in essence controlling themselves and quenching the Spirit. God is always the answer for anxiety. We are anxious because we are trying to control the situation. Anxiety happens when we realize that we are not in control. Jesus reminds us that He is in control of the situation and thus we need to solely depend on Him. When we do that, we will not be anxious.

Ps 40:3-4 - He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.

I like this verse because it is God who puts the song in our mouths, it is He who glorifies Himself through our words when we fear God instead of fear man. When we trust God, others will learn to fear Him as well. It is God who puts the words in our mouths when we commit to fearing Him only and others will learn to fear.

Fearing God and Blessing

Mt 6:33-34 - But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

We are not to be anxious about tomorrow. We are not to be anxious about anything. Anxiety is fearing trouble upon yourself. Jesus said that we are not to worry about tomorrow because tomorrow will be anxious for itself. There is enough trouble in the day that each day is enough to worry about. But, what is amazing about this command is that before it, it isays to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. If we seek God and fear God, we will not be anxious about anything. When we consider God and his power, and holiness and goodness and faithfulness, all our anxieties will fade away.

Ps 115:11-13 - You who fear him, trust in the Lord— he is their help and shield. The Lord remembers us and will bless us: He will bless the house of Israel, he will bless the house of Aaron, he will bless those who fear the Lord— small and great alike.

The result and reward of fearing God is blessing. Fearing and trusting in God results in help, a shield and overwhelming blessing. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Therefore, fearing God brings blessing. When we are anxious, when we fear situations more than we fear God, we will not experience his blessing. This couldn’t be any more clear of a warning for us to not be anxious and an initiation to fear God unto blessing.

Fear that fulfills

Mt 6:25-33 - “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Anxiety and fear, I think, are sisters. They both feed on the same thing, which is God is not in control and I want to be in control or I am in control or I need to be in control. Anxiety is a lack of trust in God and the recognition that the situation is to big for me to control. Anxiety is fearing harm or loss of something valuable, and thus fear fears the unknowable. Anxiety is merely our body sounding an alarm that I am trying to control something I have no business or ability to control. Someone may say, "I am not fearful. I am just anxious." They are basically the same thing and thus it is necessary for us to treat them as the same evil distraction which seeks to displace the sovereignty and goodness of God from His rightful throne in our lives.

Ps 34:9 - Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing.

Anxiety worries over a lack of something or losing something, whereas fearing the Lord leads us to a place of provision and peace so that we lack nothing. It really is one or the other. And the promise awaits fulfillment if we walk in faith and fear of the lord.

The break is over...

For those who read this blog, thanks for your patience as I have take a half time break and am now ready to resume... Thanks for your prayers.

Fear that hopes

Ro 8:14-17 - For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Slavery produces fear. Serving produces trust. When we don’t fear God, we will fear something else. Those who fear God receive a Spirit of Adoption that allows for an intimate relationship where instead of a cold, dead relationship, there is an intimate fatherly relationship. The Spirit bears witness that we are children of God, who have all the rights of being a son and a heir to all that is ours for inheritance. It is true that we will suffer, but it isn’t nothing to be afraid of, because we have the promise of a God who cares for us and a future inheritance awaiting us.

Fear works

Ac 10:1-8 - At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the seaside.” When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

This is a great story of fearing God and then being in terror of God. Cornelius gets both. Look at the description of him, a gentile and centurion. He was a devout man who feared God in such a way that his entire household had been influenced by his faith. And his fear of God worked itself out in works, as he gave money to the poor and prayed continually to this God. When he was praying he saw and angel and he was terrified. But, the angel spoke good words to him. The outworking of this faith that he had, which he didn’t fully understand at the time, the alms and the prayers, had become a memorial before God. And now he was going to be rewarded by sending Peter to teach them about the faith that he would come to know. This story is important on many levels. Faith should lead us to works. Fear leads us to faith. We will be influenced by our faith if we fear God honesty and personally.