nothing to fear but fear itself
typing in all lowercase letters is very fulfilling.
i have been amazed lately at the control of fear and how people so easily succumb to a lifestyle of fear and worry. what blows my mind is that fear and worry are a choice, not a result, and not unavoidable.
"so do not fear for I am with you, do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." isaiah 41:10
"for I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear; I will help you" isaiah 41:13
"do not be afraid, for I am with you..." genesis 26:24
"when i am afraid, i will trust in you. in God, whose word i praise, in God i trust; i will not be afraid. what can mortal man do to me?" psalm 56:3-4
God does not suggest that we try not to be afraid, but rather commands 'that we not fear'. why do we need not fear? because God is with us. not only is fear not necessary, it negates our trust in God. fear is a result of looking to man, trusting in God and looking to God will 'vanquish fear' (see The Office Season 3 : Initiation).
along with fear i see that worry is often intertwined. from the beginning, God instructs us not to worry (genesis 7:16). not to try not to worry, not to worry only a little bit, not to let worry consume our lives but rather to control our worry, eliminating it. Jesus, in matthew chapter 6, reiterates the importance. "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things (that you would otherwise worry about) will be added unto you." "do not worry".
it seems clear to me that not only does God not want us to fear for the sake of maintaining trust and dependence on him, but also to liberate ourselves from a bonding lifestyle that allows the devil a foothold.
please share your thoughts on this matter....
i have been amazed lately at the control of fear and how people so easily succumb to a lifestyle of fear and worry. what blows my mind is that fear and worry are a choice, not a result, and not unavoidable.
"so do not fear for I am with you, do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." isaiah 41:10
"for I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear; I will help you" isaiah 41:13
"do not be afraid, for I am with you..." genesis 26:24
"when i am afraid, i will trust in you. in God, whose word i praise, in God i trust; i will not be afraid. what can mortal man do to me?" psalm 56:3-4
God does not suggest that we try not to be afraid, but rather commands 'that we not fear'. why do we need not fear? because God is with us. not only is fear not necessary, it negates our trust in God. fear is a result of looking to man, trusting in God and looking to God will 'vanquish fear' (see The Office Season 3 : Initiation).
along with fear i see that worry is often intertwined. from the beginning, God instructs us not to worry (genesis 7:16). not to try not to worry, not to worry only a little bit, not to let worry consume our lives but rather to control our worry, eliminating it. Jesus, in matthew chapter 6, reiterates the importance. "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things (that you would otherwise worry about) will be added unto you." "do not worry".
it seems clear to me that not only does God not want us to fear for the sake of maintaining trust and dependence on him, but also to liberate ourselves from a bonding lifestyle that allows the devil a foothold.
please share your thoughts on this matter....
posted by Ben at 10:45 AM
1 Comments:
Since you asked...
I think there is definitely a part of fear that is a choice, though I'm not sure all of it is voluntary, nor is all of it bad. It's hard to shut off adrenaline. Certainly some elements of fear are conditioned responses to how we have moved through the world up til now, but doesn't God himself say to fear him? Different context maybe. Also, "work out your salvation with fear and trembling". See, even though I'm not into it anymore, I still know my Bible verses. Anyway, I think fear is one of the more interesting of human emotions, as I have spent an inordinate amount of time in its grasp. Hope you had a good birthday.
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