FAITH VS FEAR (2)

Two Kinds of Fear

There are two types of fear. There is a healthy fear that puts you in check. This fear cautions you when there is danger ahead. With this kind of fear, you take precautions and put measures in place so you do not fall victim to evil. For example, the fear of poverty will make you work harder and diligently; the fear of sickness will prompt you to be careful and be mindful of what you eat, how clean your environment is and take vacation when necessary and also by imbibing some healthy habits. Fear of failure will make a student study hard in school. There are other areas where the fear applicable is not the tormenting fear.

Another good side of fear is the fear that moves us to serve and reference God. Psalm 2:11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling This fear is also called ‘Awe’. This fear gingers us to keep our focus right and maintain a good stand with God. And also have our relationship with Him intact. Blessed is everyone that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways. Psalms 128:1 You cannot fear God and not strive to be holy. Having, therefore, these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in fear of God 2Corinthians 7:1 . Fearing God does not imply that you are afraid of God as it were because if you are afraid of God you will be running away from Him. The people of old are afraid of God and that is why it is only Moses that could stand in the presence of God. But the story is not the same today, through Jesus Christ, we have the boldness to approach God in the beauty of His holiness. We respect God and will do all in our power to allow His fear to drive us to remain in His righteousness.

The second type of fear is the dangerous one. This kind of fear makes you quake, it torments you. 1 John 4:18 …because fear hath torment… Satan puts this kind of fear there. It is called the spirit of fear. He uses it as a weapon so that you will be in a position where you cannot use your faith to defeat him. Such fear brings confusion, panic and distress. This fear will make you lie as in the case of Abraham and Isaac who denied their wives because of being killed.

Genesis12:11-13 And it came to pass, when he came near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be

Genesis26:7 And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.

This tormenting fear can make us lose our view of the good God that we serve. The fear of Giants made many Israelites miss the promised land. Numbers13:32-33 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature.  And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. 

Numbers14:28-29 Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you: Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me, 

The question is who taught you that fear? What are you afraid of?

Are you afraid of failure? because those you think are better than you have failed? Or fear you may not achieve what others have achieved? The man with only one talent failed simply because of fear. “And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine”  Matthew 25:25

The reason for his fear is in verse 24 … which says, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: Fear made him see his master as hostile, cruel and mean. The man was not going to reap what he had not shown, he gave them talent, and he was not expecting them to do more than their capacity.

The master didn’t ask the man with 2 talents to produce like the man with 5 talents. No! This man was to add 1 to 1 not even 2 to 1

Fear made him lose all.  On several occasions, we misjudged others out of fear and lost lifetime opportunities. We even judge God wrongly thinking He wants us to do more than our capacity.

Please say this prayer:- Lord I ask for your mercy, help me to regain the opportunities I have lost out of fear. Fear is a robber therefore do not give it a chance.