Darkness scares me. I'm not "afraid of the dark", per se, but I am scared of what it can do. Darkness can hide things under its blackness. Darkness can magnify insignificant things and make them seem huge. Olivia Rogers and I have had more than one conversation about how things seem so much more terrifying in the dark. If my little brother sneaks into my room in broad daylight and tries to scare me, I'll jump.....but if he does it at night, or when I'm on edge, my heart will leap to the other side of my chest, and I'll scream loud enough to wake up everyone on my street.
Unless, of course, I'm in my bed. I love my bed, and its friendly cozyness. No matter how dark it gets, if I can just nestle further down under my comforter, I'm safe. I'm under that false perception that nothing can get me in my bed.
Whether of not you're afraid of things jumping out at you when you get a drink of water at night is beside the point: all fears stem back to Darkness.
Fear is NOT from God.
The Bible says over 365 times: "Do not be afraid". Fear is a byproduct of darkness. It's one of Satan's instruments to keep us from acting.
Because just think about what it would be like if Christians stopped being afraid. We'd stop worrying about whether or not the Gospel would offend people, and share it with a passion. We would let go of our anxieties, and plunge headlong into dangerous situations when God calls us to action. We would embrace His plan for our future, instead of stopping to wonder about possible repercussions. We could start living completely for Him.
And Satan knows it. So he haunts each one of us with some sort of fear. Fear that God doesn't have our best interests in mind. Fear that our dreams and plans for our future may go askew somewhere along the way. Fear of death. Fear of reaching out. Fear of disapproval. Fear of discomfort. Fear of creepy crawlers and public speaking. Fear of Darkness.
When you're afraid of something, how often do you go out and fight it? If you're scared of public speaking, is your first inclination to go out and debate in the final round of a nation championship? If you're afraid of dying, are you going to go to Afghanistan to spread the Gospel? If you worry about disapproval, would you really go up to somebody and do something they may not think is "cool"? If you get scared of things jumping out from under your bed at night, are you actually going to get up while it's still dark?
No. We'll just stay in our beds, curl up under our comforters, and tell ourselves that it's okay, and nothing can get us there.
That's why fear is such a powerful weapon. It sterilizes action. It prevents radical abandonment to God's will, and puts a qualifier on obedience to His voice. It blinds us to the real danger.
Peter wanted to follow Jesus with his entire life. And when he saw Jesus walking on water on a stormy lake, he was inspired. He called his faith to arms, and jumped eagerly over the side of the boat. And then Satan got a hold of his heart. He became more acutely aware of the wind and the waves crashing around him, and was overcome by fear. At that moment, he began to sink.
When we read this story, I think we often perceive Peter to be a failure, since he doubted the power of God. But actually? He was one of the braver ones. The rest of the disciples with him didn't even have the courage to leave the boat. They were afraid before they even set foot on the water. Overcome by the fear of the crashing waves, they decided to play it safe, and stay in their comfortable boat.
Fear is one of Satan's strongest weapons against Christians today. But here's the catch:
"Danger is very real.... but fear is a choice."
And the real danger happens when we choose not to step out onto the water. The danger isn't found in the waves; it's actually in the boat. The true, spiritual danger occurs when we choose to give in to fear, to play it safe, and to ignore the gentle voice of our Savior calling us out onto the waves. Most of us are probably under that false perception that if we stay in our beds and curl up under our blankets, everything is going to be okay. But that's not the way it works. Fear of the waves, and safety in the boat, is more dangerous than what the waves can do to you.
Fear is not from God. Fear is a weapon of darkness. Fear is the danger, not the creepy crawlers. And fear is not real.
It's a choice.
Fear is NOT from God.
The Bible says over 365 times: "Do not be afraid". Fear is a byproduct of darkness. It's one of Satan's instruments to keep us from acting.
Because just think about what it would be like if Christians stopped being afraid. We'd stop worrying about whether or not the Gospel would offend people, and share it with a passion. We would let go of our anxieties, and plunge headlong into dangerous situations when God calls us to action. We would embrace His plan for our future, instead of stopping to wonder about possible repercussions. We could start living completely for Him.
And Satan knows it. So he haunts each one of us with some sort of fear. Fear that God doesn't have our best interests in mind. Fear that our dreams and plans for our future may go askew somewhere along the way. Fear of death. Fear of reaching out. Fear of disapproval. Fear of discomfort. Fear of creepy crawlers and public speaking. Fear of Darkness.
When you're afraid of something, how often do you go out and fight it? If you're scared of public speaking, is your first inclination to go out and debate in the final round of a nation championship? If you're afraid of dying, are you going to go to Afghanistan to spread the Gospel? If you worry about disapproval, would you really go up to somebody and do something they may not think is "cool"? If you get scared of things jumping out from under your bed at night, are you actually going to get up while it's still dark?
No. We'll just stay in our beds, curl up under our comforters, and tell ourselves that it's okay, and nothing can get us there.
That's why fear is such a powerful weapon. It sterilizes action. It prevents radical abandonment to God's will, and puts a qualifier on obedience to His voice. It blinds us to the real danger.
Peter wanted to follow Jesus with his entire life. And when he saw Jesus walking on water on a stormy lake, he was inspired. He called his faith to arms, and jumped eagerly over the side of the boat. And then Satan got a hold of his heart. He became more acutely aware of the wind and the waves crashing around him, and was overcome by fear. At that moment, he began to sink.
When we read this story, I think we often perceive Peter to be a failure, since he doubted the power of God. But actually? He was one of the braver ones. The rest of the disciples with him didn't even have the courage to leave the boat. They were afraid before they even set foot on the water. Overcome by the fear of the crashing waves, they decided to play it safe, and stay in their comfortable boat.
Fear is one of Satan's strongest weapons against Christians today. But here's the catch:
FEAR IS NOT REAL.
And the real danger happens when we choose not to step out onto the water. The danger isn't found in the waves; it's actually in the boat. The true, spiritual danger occurs when we choose to give in to fear, to play it safe, and to ignore the gentle voice of our Savior calling us out onto the waves. Most of us are probably under that false perception that if we stay in our beds and curl up under our blankets, everything is going to be okay. But that's not the way it works. Fear of the waves, and safety in the boat, is more dangerous than what the waves can do to you.
Fear is not from God. Fear is a weapon of darkness. Fear is the danger, not the creepy crawlers. And fear is not real.
It's a choice.
4 comments:
Thank you so much, Hannah! I think this is one of my favorite posts so far. :)
I was reading a novel once and one of the characters said something like (I'm going to loosely paraphrase), "Sensible caution is from God. But fear, paralyzing fear, is of the enemy."
Once I was in a situation where I was...not exactly fearful, but very uncomfortable around a certain adult. The weird thing was that there was really no good reason for that. This person was a great Christian, very upstanding, someone I really admired. Finally I talked to the person about it, and he said, "Ellen, I'm glad we worked this out...because Satan sometimes uses things like this to tear the body of Christ apart."
And I first I was like (to myself), "Satan? psh. I don't think Satan had anything to do with it."
But then I began to wonder. And I remembered that quote. And I thought about how wise that particular person was. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that he may have been right. I don't know WHY Satan would do such a thing; it still seems a weird avenue to take to keep me from God, but the experience really affected me.
Also, what do you think of the idea that Christians should be fearful of Satan or sin? I mean, obviously God protects us, but I think it's still something of which Christians need to be wary. Satan is out to get souls, and the stronger a Christian is in God's service, the more Satan wants to tear him down. I guess perhaps it's a different kind of fear: more the sensible caution than the paralyzing terror kind of fear. What do y'alls think?
Ellen,
I think I understand what you are saying about the fear of sin and Satan, but I don't think that fear is the right word. Fear is looking forward to probably loosing a fight. But a being wary of the temptation of sin is what we need. I'll use an analogy to explain the difference. Life is a war, and each little action and scene of our day is a minny battle.
If we look forward to certain battles and say, "I will loose this battle," that is fear. A person who is fearful of what may happen in the dark, knows that if a curtain circumstance comes about, she will loose the battle, i.e. being scared that her little brother may pop out in the dark. That person knows that she will freak out!(she will loose that battle)That is fear: Reluctantly looking forward to a loss.
Looking at a battle and saying, "I know that I am weak in this area, so I must be careful that the ranks aren't broken," is being wary. One example might be knowing that certain situations tempt me towards sin, and seeing that, I will be wary, and avoid those situations until I am stronger.
Another thing that I have noticed, is that we often have fear of what we cannot really control: being rejected, being startled, other people, death, the outcomes of what you know the Lord wants. None of these can be controlled by us, and so we fear, thinking that we will loose in the end. But fear can, and must, with the help of God be transferred to trust. God is who does have control. Fear is in the end, the absence of trust. We must trust in the words of Romans 8:28, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Know that the battle can be won!
So there is my little idea of fear. I hope that it makes sense!
God bless all of you!
~ Kathryn
Guys, I love those thoughts! Thank you so much for sharing, and opening up this discussion! Kate, I love, love, LOVE your thoughts on battles! I think that's exactly what it all boils down to.
What you said about fearing things we can't control really resonated with me. That's why fear is so dangerous; it causes us to question GOD'S control in so many situations!
Ellen, I think you brought up a great point! I think we should never underestimate our Enemy's power. Here's the difference I see. Let's say I'm scared of death. Fighting that fear doesn't require me to randomly walk into the more sketchy parts of downtown Kansas City as an unarmed female at night, and find an alley where I can wait alone for something to happen. It does mean, though, that if God calls me to serve Him downtown or anywhere else where that fear might take hold, that I trust Him to have a plan for me.
I see fear as avoiding actions to avoid the potential consequences that scare us. Fighting is following God, even if He leads you into those situations, and leaving the results to Him. Fighting requires, among other things, a mind ("be wise as serpents"), a conviction, and an understanding - but not a fear - of what we're up against.
Just my two-cents. I love where this discussion is going...if you have any more thoughts, go for it! :)
hmm, good thoughts. perhaps caution or wariness would be a better word than fear.
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