Redefining Fear
Sometimes we can feel like when our fears are validated –– when someone lets you know that what you’re feeling is okay –– we can start to rest easier.
I think this is true.
That fear can come from small or big stuff. Sometimes it’s knowing that the material for a final exam is very tough and when I know the whole class is struggling, I feel better. Or sometimes it’s someone letting me know that that year from now I’ll be a graduate looking to join the workforce is in fact scary.
But why do we feel better when someone simply agrees that what something is scary or fearsome? Well, we can look to our creator for the answer.
Throughout scripture, when God makes promises to us, he always fulfills those but not always in the way we expect. It’s a common misconception that God takes us out of our peril and into safe harbor. Instead, he takes us in our peril, and walks through it with us.
Isaiah 43:2 speaks of this very promise.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
Look at the fiery furnace in Daniel 3 where as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are in the flames of the furnace, a fourth body is seen in there with them and the trio come out unharmed, showing God’s promise of safekeeping.
Here’s what we can’t do given what we know.
We can’t expect God to save us from our fear and peril in the way we expect. We also can’t lose sight of what God does for us in that fear. Instead, we must have supreme trust that what he says is true and we must think about all the promises he followed through on and have faith that we too shall be kept safe in our fear.
Sometimes, a tragic event in our lives can help give us perspective as to what’s fearsome and what isn’t. But not everyone has had such a tragic event and that’s fine –– in fact, as much as we want to draw upon our personal experiences, God has already given us his greatest example of his faithfulness in His son.
When God sent His son Jesus, he was sending a perfect man to walk through the fear with us. He sent us the image of Him so that we may not fear death, disaster or distress, but instead fear Him knowing that nothing stands against His name.
That’s the essence of it all. When you fear God –– really and truly fear God –– nothing else is as fearsome because all comes from God and He never subject us to treatment He himself would not also go through.
Let that be your peace today and everyday.