Encaptured by Fear

"Who, then, are those who fear the Lord? He will instruct them in the ways they should choose. They will spend their days in prosperity, and their descendants will inherit the land.

Psalm 25:12-13

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 1:7

Something my brother in law, Brett said is "we do not fear God the way we should." Being me, this sparked many ideas, thoughts in my head. One thought, realizing how true and deep that is, and two that we don't fear God the way we should because we are too preoccupied fearing the things in the world. Fear is not from God, it is one of the devils flaming arrows, one of his distractions from the One who we really should be fearing.

It clearly states in 2 Timothy 1:7:

for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power, love, and self control.

Fear is not from God, the only thing we should fear is God Himself, fear the One who defeats fear. We live in a world right now where everyone is chained to fear, it is like we are all on a leash, and fear is walking us, it is our master. And yet in Matthew 6:24 it says:

"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."

While at the end it talks about money, we can say the same thing about fear. I mean if you're fearful, you're not trusting God. Because if you completely trusted Him with everything, there would be nothing left to fear, because you would know He has it all under control, He has a plan, He's working. I think about COVID-19 and how it has not only infected (few) people physically, but it has affected many mentally. Because of fear. All the news, all social medias, they talk about the virus like it's all that matters, as if the world was ending as we know it and we cannot do anything about it, other than wear a mask, which might actually not even help.

You see, they're instilling fear, because a people caught up in fear, is a people they can make easily listen and control. Fear stops you from being able to think for yourself. It makes you think you have no answers and everyone else has all the answers. You easily believe anything that gives you the slightest bit of "hope." It's this "hope" the world sells. And the price? Is your joy and your True Hope. Now, is it really worth it? A virus is so small and yet your God is so big. By saying I'm afraid of it, you're either saying your God is not big enough or the virus is too powerful for Him. As I look at the world all I see is petrified people wondering what to do. That's because what they hoped in, which is themselves, the world, is at risk, and now they're left wondering what else to hope in. Why fear this virus or anything in this world when you have a God as big as Him? What can stand against Him? The God who can move mountains, who can stop your heart in an instant, who controls every part of your life, who can turn water into wine, heal someone by a touch, breathe the world into existence, form you from dust, that God... and you're going to not fear Him, but rather, you'll fear a virus, a sickness, a government, you're going to fear everything in this world, but not Him? We underestimate Him and His power. Why fear a sickness He already knew about before it even came? Why fear a government that rests on His shoulders? Fear often comes from loss of control, from too much unknown, and lack of knowledge. Why fear anything but God because He is in control when everything else is out of yours, He knows when you know nothing? A quote that hangs up in my room says: "I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I know who holds tomorrow."

I don't care how many opinions are circulating, whether my opinion is right or wrong, but I have a truth, not an opinion, and that is...

Fear is not from God. We were not called to fear but we were given a spirit of power, love, and self control. We are called not to fear the world or anything in it, but fear the Lord. So, that's what we should all be doing. No matter what law you put in place, mask or no mask, quarantine or not, this law stands, the Word of God stands, and that is the law I abide by first, and foremost. And the truth here is the truth I will live by. I encourage you to stop falling prey to fear and start living life in trust and in only fearing God. They say the only thing left to fear is fear itself... Yet why wouldn't you fear the One who destroyed fear Himself?