Fear What?

October 25, 2007 queenmom

Recently the girls’ youth minister presented a lesson on the most often given command. Can you guess what it is? (I’m trusting his research here)–Fear not; do not be afraid, be strong and courageous. The command is stated in a variety of ways. I was intrigued by this fact so I started keeping a list of verses that stated this command–fear not.

I am getting a great list. This morning I came on one more–Judges 6:23, “And the Lord said to him, “Peace to you, do not fear, you shall not die” (God to Gideon after he saw the angle of God).  God brought this verse back to me today as I contemplated a conversation I needed to have with someone but had been putting off because I was afraid of how this person would respond.

“You shall not die.” Hmm. What is the worst that can happen? I won’t die from having this needed conversation. And what is even more important is the reason I don’t want to have it–fear of man.  Another great fear verse is Psalm 118:6, “The Lord is for me; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” When I put fear of man before what God calls me to do, I am putting this person up as an idol. Anything that comes between God and myself is an idol. O-o-o-o, don’t want to go there.

So I loaded my mind full of truth and made the call. I didn’t have the nervous voice that says I called to say something you’re not going to like. I spoke the words I had to say in a confident voice that was kind and not confrontational.

How did it go? First, remember we are not for responsible for others’ reactions. I addressed the situation with truth and grace. It went well. No hard feelings and I must trust God to help this person process it. We go running down the path to unhealthy relationships when we tamper with the truth and don’t deal with a situation because we are afraid of the other person’s response or that they “can’t handle it.” (My mind is instantly recalling the line from A Few Good Men when Jack Nicholson’s character says, “You want the truth! You can’t handle the truth!” This instant recall of military movies is the result of being married to an ex-Marine.)

I don’t know how much my girls were affected by the lesson on not fearing, but their everyday mom was and for her it will be a life lesson.

Entry Filed under: Christian women,Christianity,Faith,Fear,God,Peer Pressure,Personal growth,Relationships,Trusting God,Uncategorized

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