The only fear that God encourages in a Christian’s life is the fear of God, says Henry Blackaby, author of Experiencing God Day by Day. He points us to 2 Timothy 1:7 for the wisdom that inspires his statement – For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.
Lo and behold, as I started my research on this, I ran into a line of men’s clothing called “Faith Over Fear” with hoodies and teeshirts. Bold words “Faith Over Fear” were emblazoned on them. In smaller print was scripture The Lord is on my side; I will not fear; what can man do to me? Psalms 118:6. For the less bold were shirts declaring “Jesus Loves You” with the verse We love each other because He loves us first. 1 John 4:19. OK, I thought — great test for how much faith in power, not fear of man, is required for the person wearing these!
Dr. J. Vernon McGee says fear in this scripture can better be translated as cowardice. He says he is really scared of a lion that is loose in the street and would look for a good place to hide – that is a normal thing to have fear like that. But Paul is saying God has not given us a spirit of cowardice but of power and love and a sound mind (which means discipline). Defeat is not the norm of Christian living – we should be disciplined and not be slaves to our emotions.
Many of us today are such, says McGee. Christians ought not to be motivated by emotions – we can be carried away by them. We are to be disciplined instead.
He used his fear of flying to illustrate this. It is not wrong to have a fear of flying, but it would be wrong to stay home because of it. Especially if it is the thing to do for God’s will and direction in your life. He did not like to fly and he had a special distaste for Cairo, Egypt, where they were to fly from Athens while on a mission trip. So he tried to devise a way to stay in Athens until the group came back from Cairo. But the hotel did not have a room available so his only option was to fly. He explains that the Lord directed this causing him to have to fly to Cairo. And he ended up having a wonderful experience in Cairo. As McGee puts it, the Lord forced him and he turned out to be mighty glad.
This verse in 2 Timothy 7 is wonderful, he says – we are to overcome these things. God does not intend us to be overcome by fear.
What does this have to do with us in our daily lives? I think Blackaby nailed it when he said the fear of people does not come from God – the problem is that many Christians fear people more than they fear God. This hinders them from pleasing God because they waste their efforts appeasing other people.
In all the years that I was involved in Christian mediation work and training, the most common obstacle I witnessed was “fear of man”. When you remember that Paul was talking to young Timothy in these verses, we need to also remember that he was instructing a young man who was timid by nature, and probably not strong physically. Paul was trying to remind him that fear of others does not come from God.
What does fear of man do? It causes us to stop and question what God has clearly told us to do. And much of fear is fear of the unknown – we don’t know what is coming so we become apprehensive. Blackaby rightly points out that our imaginations can magnify problems until they seem insurmountable. Thus, we need a sound mind to see things in proper perspective. That is why God gave us His Holy Spirit, to enable us to see things as God sees them.
This covers even the fear of human reactions which keeps us from telling our friend a hard truth that really needs to be shared. It may be hurting them in ways they are missing but which is important for them to recognize.
I remember a young divorcee in a Christian class my husband was teaching (and I was assisting) – she was angry, bitter and had circumstances that allowed her to totally blame the husband. I sensed I needed to have a one-on-one with her to quietly talk about exploring her own contributions – especially considering that they were the only ones over which she had control. She was offended and did not want to engage with me further. She finished the classes, but avoided me.
It was several years later that she showed up in our church again (she was visiting her dad who was a member of the church). She sought me out and gave me a hug telling me what a blessing it was for me to have shared with her that way. Her path ended up taking her through healing and she presently was running a ministry to women of divorce. I did appreciate hearing this from her – we don’t always get to know the results of God’s work in this way.
So, as Blackaby reminds us, fear is no excuse to disobey God. We are not to live in fear when we have the mighty presence of the Holy Spirit within us. “Fear will enslave you, but Christ has come to set you free. Ask God to free you from any fear you are experiencing and to open your eyes. As He reveals the reality of your situation, He will enable you to continue in obedience.”
I’m right with you – asking God to free me from my fears – and open my eyes! Glad you are with me on this journey….
