Fear... What's That?

I was studying the Word the other morning and had one of those wonderful revelation moments when a particular truth drops into your heart with great insight and understanding.  Then after barely a second or two I paused with a dash of trepidation and thought… “Oh boy, now I’m probably gonna be tested over this today!”  

Tell me the truth now, have you ever gone through that?  Well my clash with fear only lasted a moment as I had another revelation moment and heard from deep inside the consideration that “God doesn’t lead, teach or love us through fear… because He doesn’t have any… AND neither do we!”  II Timothy 1:7 tells us “For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (MKJV)

I find it hard to think that God would stoop so low as to “borrow” one of the devil’s favorite tools to use on His children!  That would be like saying God’s ways aren’t thousands of times stronger and more effective than those of the enemy of our souls.  It’s actually kind of a funny thought, but yet we are tempted to fall into the trap of fear almost every day!  I believe that fear should be so unknown to the Christian that we don’t even recognize it when it knocks at our door, but ignore it and step right into the “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” mode. (Philippians 4:13 MKJV)

I am reminded of an old Disney TV movie entitled “Time Flyer.”  It tells the imaginative story of a young boy who travels back through time in a time machine designed many years previously by his Grandfather, since passed on an attempt to beat Lindbergh across the Atlantic, and built in modern times by the man’s now old, best friend.  The boy travels back to just a few days before his Grandfather takes off on his doomed flight.  Once there he meets his Grandfather and eventually proves his unlikely story and identity by showing the man his completed invention.

One of the interesting scenes that goes along with our talking about having a lack of knowledge of fear occurs when the inventor is looking over some of the workings of the machine, pauses while starring at one particular device and says, “Oh… that’s how they did that!”  You see, when he was originally drawing up the machine’s design, he had concepts of what he needed for it to work, but had no knowledge of the existence of any technology yet discovered to perform certain tasks.

That should be how Christians consider fear.  We may have a concept of it, but we have not been given the spirit of fear, and thereby have no knowledge or experience of its working in us.  All we know is what we have… and that is God’s power (or ability), His love and His soundness mind!

After the wild ride that my wife and I have been on for the last few years, I have become sort of an expert in seeing what fear can do to someone who submits to it.  Let’s just say that it makes you do some pretty weird things!  It not only blinds one to the truth and the right path to take, it seems like it totally scrambles one’s thoughts, words and actions. One thing I have learned is to expect the unexpected when I am in the presence of someone yielding to fear!

We’ve actually had some Christian folks tell us that they were afraid when they heard about some of the steps of faith we began to take toward my wife’s healing.  Believe me… that is not something that you want to tell an individual who is in the midst of the most difficult situation in their lives, has their emotions screaming out and in turmoil and has just committed the life of the most important person in their world, in a huge step of faith, to the Lord and His Word, while under the direction and leading of the Holy Spirit!  As I look back now… I am not sure if their fear was actually for us… or for themselves.

As Christians we are new creations with a GRACE based perspective and response to life.  Fear was part of our old nature, and if you recall… the “old things have passed away (they are supposed to be dead and buried…and if you attempt to dig it up it is going to be rotten and smelly from the deterioration of the tomb!); behold, all things have become new.” (MKJV)

So… how well are you acquainted with fear?  Hopefully, you two are still strangers… for you and I should be so well acquainted and intimate with Papa God that fear can blow all around us… but yet we never notice it!  Hummm… that would be like Jesus as He slept in the boat while the storm raged all around him and scared the pants off of His disciples! (See: Mark 4:35-41)

Power, love and a sound mind!  That’s our response to life’s situations!  Cool, don’t you think?  Having that approach puts me in a totally different mindset when I get out of bed each day… How about you?

Have a great week, and as you do, keep TELLING yourself: “I am EXPECTING to respond to life without FEAR today, in order to be a blessing and not a curse to those around me!”