What scares you? I fear having a heart attack while playing the game Charades. And public speaking. I fear heights. I get woozy on a stepladder, or looking down a staircase, or when I sing gospel classics like "Love Lifted Me." That's what you get from living your entire life on the prairies, where the largest hill in sight is that mound of dirt a gopher pushed up in your backyard.
Of course, fear is healthy if you stumble on a grizzly bear and her cubs. It'll stop you from giving junior a hug. Just curl up in a ball and say, "Mommy."
Such fear is a lifesaver. But it isn't often you and I are faced with life threatening scenarios, unless you text while driving. Don't. I saw a sign "Honk if you love Jesus. Text while driving if you'd like to meet him."
Most of the fear we deal with isn't healthy fear. It's fear that sucks the joy from our bodies and flips our grins upside down. It keeps us indoors out of the sun. Fearful people live life making safe decisions, accomplishing very little that is meaningful and lasting.
Fear debilitates and paralyzes. Fear is Satan's favorite toy and he's happy to share it, because a fearful Christian is a defeated Christian. He may not be able to destroy you, but keeping you under a cloud of fear and anxiety is good enough for him.
God, on the other hand, is not the author of fear. Yes, we're to fear God. But the fear of the Lord is different than being afraid of Him. It refers to a reverence of God; the marvel of His power and glory. And a proper respect for His wrath and justice.
I can't think of a single place in the Bible where God tells us to be afraid, nervous, paranoid. He does not say, "Whatever things are horrible, depressing, ugly, and of bad report, shiver about these things."
I'm told there are 365 "Fear nots" in the Bible. One for each day of the year.
God told Isaiah, "Fear not, for I am with you." To Moses and Joshua he said, "be strong and courageous."
King David wrote "The Lord is on my side; I will not fear."
Paul said, "Do not be anxious about anything."
Second Timothy 1:7 says, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."
Jesus himself told his followers: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you . . . Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."
Today my prayer for you is that you cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
If there are 365 fear-busting passages in the Bible, God knew we would need it. And as with us earthly fathers he wants his children to live life fear-free and joy-full, which comes from a moment-by-moment trust in a Sovereign who's got this.
We may get woozy on a stepladder, but we're in God's hands. Let's rest there today. And if you're running from a bear, no problem. Just be faster than all your friends.
Phil Callaway is author of 31 Days of Humour and Hope. Visit him at http://www.philcallaway.com
