Immobilized by Fear
“Listen to me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear not the reproach of man, nor be dismayed at their revilings. Isaiah 51:7
Who is the most faithful, loyal friend you have on earth? She can’t touch the faithfulness and loyalty of God to His people.
So why do we fear men more than God? No man or woman in this world has the power or ability to do for us what God does. We see man and we don’t see God. We hear men (and women) so we fear what they will say to others about us. Many people constantly remind us what they do or won’t do for us so we will fear them.
God’s ways are not our ways, His ways and His thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9). In Proverbs 29:25 He says that the fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe. I am as susceptible to what other people think of me as anyone else….maybe more so. I know it is wrong and I can usually talk myself into remembering the Lord and what He wants, but sometimes I wallow in my fear for a time before the Light dawns on me.
I recently saw a couple from a distance that I was happy to see, but I feared that they would not be happy to see me, so I did not approach. I have no idea how they might have greeted me but I have listened to what others have told me and become fearful.
I know these people well enough to know that they would not pull out a weapon and shoot me, in fact, I am sure they would be polite and cordial at the very least. They are brother and sister in the Lord. I would think that it would please God for me to approach them in love.
My fear of man has me disgusted with my own response. I acted on my own understanding – not God’s.
Proverbs 3:5-8 say, Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.
By hanging out in my own fear and failing to respond to the prompting of God to greet these old friends I have lost the healing and refreshment I might have known if I had acknowledged His prompting.
I just finished a lesson on the Shunammite woman of 2 Kings 8. The Lord, in His providence, brought this woman to the King at the exact time that he was learning about her from Elisha’s servant, Gehazi. She had fled from the famine in the land for seven years and came back and entered the palace at the moment they were talking about how Elisha and God had worked in her life at an earlier time.
I know that God’s providence put those people in the same place as me, at the same time as me, for a reason. Because I responded according to my own understanding I do not know His purpose in our meeting. Perhaps to show me that my fear of man is still there and still a sin.
We can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6) can we not?