Please feel free to agree or disagree with points made, and feel free to comment if so desired. If you would like, you could write your own thoughts on the verse of the day, and include that in your comments below. Thank you and may you be Blessed!! =)
“Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.”- Proverbs 29:25
The Lord will keep you safe. Amen and Amen. WOW! After just returning a week ago from my very first “across the ocean” mission trip, I can truly say that whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. Different times on the plane, just looking out the window, I thanked the Lord for carrying our plane under His wings and protecting us. What favour you can have living as a Christ-follower, but as in our last “points to Ponder”, we know that it’s not all roses and daisies because life throws it’s curveballs at us. It can be those persecutions and failures that make us fear man, and not want to fully pursue the life that God has planned for us.
Taking the first part of the verse, “Fear of man will prove to be a snare”, so many times we let FEAR take hold of our life, and that’s not the way that our loving Father created us. It says in the Word, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV) In other words, according to “The Message” Translation, ‘God doesn't want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible.’ Also in another verse God refers to us as His children, “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of son ship. And by him we cry, "Abba Father." (Romans 8:15 NIV) Do you want to be known as a “slave to fear”? Not me!
So many people can feel ‘trapped’ by fear… ‘But there are so many things in the world to fear’, you might be saying. Yes, but phobias and fears, can leave damaging effects on your body, physically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually. Simple daily occurrences like spiders, snakes, elevators, clowns, certain numbers, certain colours, and even people, can freak some people right out, and make them stay in their homes and not live the life God has for them. Other ‘fears’ are man-made, like superstitions. Walking under a ladder, breaking a mirror, walking past a black cat, the #13, and more are just things you allow into your mind, and come to believe. Why is it soooooooo easy to believe that bad luck will come if a black cat walks past you, yet so difficult to believe that there is a good Father who loves you very much and wants to fill your life with blessings? Yes, it all sits in your mind (as was stated).
Your mind is a powerful tool, and your conscious and sub-conscious have a lot of power. One of the teachers at our church reminded us about having a positive mind-set last Sunday night. Having a different mind-set can make a whole different outcome. If you hear from the doctors that you have a disease, maybe a life-threatening one, it’s so easy to have the negative mindset, thinking your life is over, so why bother. But on the flip-side, so many have been healed just by the power of positive thinking (and of course prayer). Do YOU have the FEAR of MAN?? Take a stand now, and CHANGE YOUR MIND-SET. TRUST in the LORD! Fear Him alone. Not fear as in timidity or being scared of, but fear as in respect and revere who He is. When we trust in the Lord, great things will happen. Spiders and snakes for example may still bother us, but we don’t have to have a deathly fear of them anymore. Trust in the Lord and He will keep you safe.
That brings us to the second part of the verse, “but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe”. This is one of the many promises that God has given us, in His word, if only we trust in Him. Another is one of my favourite verses found in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” How easy is it to trust? Once again, we have let fear come in, and sometimes we are not able to trust people so easily, and that makes it tough to trust in God. We feel that we cannot trust people which we can see, so how can we be expected to trust in God, whom we can’t see. But an old saying comes to mind that I heard when I was in youth group…
“NO GOD, KNOW FEAR. – KNOW GOD, NO FEAR”
‘No Fear’ was a big saying back then, I can’t remember what the product was that it was advertising, but Christians changed it to the above statement. WOW! A change in mind-set, changes the outcome!
Don’t let fear trap you, or become a game, like Fear Factor… it is good to face your fears, but not for fame, glory or money. Allow the Holy Spirit to move in your life, and free you from being a “slave to fear”. Let God receive the glory for the work He will do in and through you.
In closing, I found a sermon illustration which shows how simple it can be to fix the problem of fear;
He Cut the Legs Off My Bed
The story is told of a man who lived for years in fear of strange, hideous animals who would hide under his bed and come out at night to prowl the room. One day the man told a friend, 'My brother finally solved my problem."
'Oh, is he a psychiatrist?" the friend asked.
'No, a carpenter. He cut the legs off my bed."
Source unknown
PRAYER: Father God, & thank you for choosing me to be one that can call you “Abba Father”, I thank you for the freedom you give us when we trust in you. Help me to overcome my fears (if I have any, consciously or subconsciously) through Your power, and Yours alone. Guard my mind and help me change my mind-set to the way that You would have me to think. Thank you for loving me so much that you sent Holy Spirit as a comforter and guide for me. Bless my life, and help me be a blessing in the lives of others. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.
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