A couple of years ago, at the urging of a dear friend, I began a Bible study on the topic of fear. There is so much written in God's holy Word about fear and faith. It's been a never-ending study. Here, I share with you some of my findings.
Fear dogs the feet of most of us. I would say, "all of us," but I allow I haven't met everyone in the world. There may be that lone individual who has never been afraid of anything.
Admittedly, fear tempts most of us to sin. The psalmist says, "Your word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against You." (Psalm 119:11) The way to keep from sinning when we are fearful is to have a thorough knowledge of God's Word. Drawing upon this storehouse, we are able to recall he many attributes of the Lord. We remember that in His power, He created all things; that He parted the Red Sea - allowing the Israelites could pass through on dry ground and then closed it up, drowning Pharoah and the whole Egyptian army; that He miraculously fed Elijah in the wilderness; that on many occasions He supernaturally intervened to conquer the enemies of Israel; and - the best of all - that He raised his Son, Jesus Christ, from the dead. When we meditate on those truths, our own fears shrink. A sovereign God that mighty, that powerful surely can handle our piddlin' fears. It helps us trust Him.
Those who have learned to trust their Maker are able to turn a deaf ear to their own fears. How do they do that? It's because they know who is in control of everything: the Lord of Hosts, the Creator and Sustainer of all things.
Several years back, when I was a new Christian, I developed a little game. Anytime I encountered a sin, I would try to classify it. There are three categories of sin, according to 1 John 2:16: the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. After playing my game for a few months, I realized that all the sins I could think of would fit into one super-category - Pride. (I'm not omniscient, but I suspect this is true across the board.)
Pride is what got Lucifer kicked out of heaven. Pride got Adam and Eve kicked out of the Garden. Pride prevented the Israelites from entering Canaan. They all said, in essence, "I don't like the way God has arranged things. I know better than Him. I want His position." That is pride.
Lust of the eyes can be traced back to pride. When we lust after something denied to us by the Lord, such as a new dress that's not in our budget, then we are saying, "I don't have to be content. I can have what I want when I want it. Phooey on Your Word that tells me godliness with contentment is great gain, that tells me to die to self, that tells me to exercise self-control." Once again we are overriding the Almighty. That is pride.
Lust of the flesh can be traced back to pride. When I lust after something I shouldn't have, for instance my neighbor's husband, I'm really saying, "Phooey on your rules, God. You say I should be content with my own husband, that I shouldn't covet my neighbor's spouse. But I say I know better." Or - another example - that sugary piece of cake or cookies that will pull down my immune system, thus disabling me from serving my Lord fruitfully and to capacity. "It's my body. I can do with it as I please. I don't have to be a good steward of my body. I am above the natural laws you have put into place. I will not suffer undue consequences." When I do that, I put myself in God's place. A place I don't belong, can't honestly occupy. That is pride.
So how is fear related to pride? "Surely this is an exception in Hester's game," you might say.
Is it?
I maintain that fear can also be prideful.
Follow me here. Fear says, "Something bad is going to happen." Or perhaps it already is happening. Fear quakes. Fear lacks faith. Fear only sees the circumstances. Fear says, "God cannot or will not take care of me."
Fear is pride in disguise. Fear puts self on the throne. Fear wants God to do things differently - namely my way. But the Lord is sovereign, whether we want Him to be or not. He has ordained the events of our lives, for His glory and for our good. For us to fret against that is sinful.
I'm going to leave you at this point to ponder these things. I hope to follow up this article with at least two others, which will discuss more of the passages I researched, explore the ways we as women sin in our fear, and offer suggestions and extra-Biblical resources for dealing with our fear.
In the meantime, how about your telling me of a way that you have dealt with fear in your life? I look forward to hearing from you.
In the name of the Prince of Peace,
Hester
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