Every human has fear in them. Man has reasoning and intelligence more than other beings, hence fear is more in them. Fear is one of the reasons that man thinks negatively. In some Satan makes use as a weapon to make them surrender to him. Some fear the graveyard, some fear hearing the rustling of leaves, and so on. Man seems to fear the slightest of things at times. Fear is needed, but too much fear is invitation to trouble. Man fears death the most. But a believer does not fear death. They think how to defend themselves against fear of death.
1.Obedience: The first fear we read about in the Bible is in our first parents Adam and Eve. Why??? With disobedience they realized the nakedness of sin, Genesis 3:10, 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
In Genesis 21:1-5, Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. 2 Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. 3 Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. 4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. We read that Abraham was blessed with a baby boy, Isaac, when he was 100 years old. It is obvious that having been blessed with child in such an advanced age he loved the child dearly. Yahweh commanded him to sacrifice his only son on Mount Moriah. Abraham made all preparations without any hesitation. But we further read in Genesis 22: 11-13,11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”“Here I am,” he replied.12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. May everyone have this fear, fear of God.
Adam was in fear due to his disobedience and the result was punishment. He was banished from the garden of Eden. On the other hand Abraham too had fear of God, but that fear led to being blessed. God punished Adam in Genesis 3:17-19, 17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’“Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return.”
On the other hand, God blessed Abraham in Genesis 22: 15-18, 15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”
Here we see that the fear caused by disobedience led to punishment and the fear of God led to blessing. So think which fear you possess???
2.Faith: When the faith in God decreases, hope in God also decreases. The result is fear makes home inside us. A child fears darkness. But in the presence of his/her parents the child does not fear anything. The child has full faith that parents would always protect him/her. This builds faith and confidence in a child. When Peter saw Jesus walking on the water he expressed his desire to walk on water too. Jesus asked to come forward. Peter started walking. The moment he took his eyes off Jesus his steps faltered and went to the surrounding waters he became afraid. In Matthew 14:31, 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” Jesus says he has little faith.
In 1 Samuel 17:11, 11 On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified. In the chapter we read that Goliath challenged Israelites to war. Hearing this their king Saul and Israelites all were afraid. But David, a young boy with no prior experience in warfare and no weapons went to face the giant. He went ahead with faith in his heart, 1 Samuel 17:46, 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. How did David make such an impossible feat happen??? With his unwavering faith in God and His strength.
Now let us ourselves decide, whose faith do we have: Peter or David???
3.Holy Spirit: Luke 24:49, 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” The disciples were obedient to the words of Jesus and waited patiently for Holy Spirit to work the power. Acts 2: 3-4, 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. The disciples who had been fisherman were now blessed with skill of language to communicate with people in different languages. The disciples who were earlier like innocent lambs got the roaring strength of a lion by the power of the Holy Spirit. They spread the Good News of God in different directions. The Jews gathered against them like a mad crowd. They wanted to persecute them and kill them. The disciples were tortured and imprisoned. Yet the disciples shone brightly like the stars in the sky. Their acts and strength were beyond human comprehension. The apostles hit back like turbulent winds, and burnt brightly with the fire of the Holy Spirit. The seas or desert were of no concern to them. After the crucifixion of Christ they were hiding behind closed doors. Where did they get this strength to face all tribulations???
Dear children of God, let us pray that we become like father Abraham filled with obedience and faith, and like the disciples filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. We children should not fear the world but fear the Lord. Let us develop this in ourselves.
AMEN.
Jehovah Roi 