The Holy One calls to me this morning. As I open my eyes to a new day, I can sense that "fear" is about to speak and Holiness is watching like a coach to see how I will handle the next few minutes on the clock. Anxiety is a vexing sensation that can plague the most reasonable person with all there is to fear in this chaotic world.
I have been taught that fear and faith cannot co-habitate so the next little while may, in fact, determine where I will spend my day or even longer in fellowship depending on how I respond to the threat.
My coach speaks into the fear charged atmosphere and I hear his calming voice say, "fear is only a temptation, not part of who you are".
At that moment, the Holy One lifts me up and out of the grip of that evil one trying to impact my mind. I know the fruit of the Holy Spirit is peace and I call out for Him to flood my mind with it now.
My Lord is faithful, and I can feel the warmth of his presence as my flare prayer is answered. But what is the much more to be gleaned and applied from the lesson today?
The Holy One takes me back to His word and all the times He says, "do not fear", "fear not", "be anxious for nothing".
Of all the sins we might fall victim to, fear is one that offers no satisfaction to our flesh. There is simply no "perk" to fear and so I wonder why I am so tempted to go with it. The Holy One begins to explain: "Threats of harm are part of the human experience".
A little fish in a big pond can make for a harrowing existence for the little fish, but in reality, my Heavenly Father owns the pond and has arranged for and sustains my life within it.
As I wait upon the Lord for more input, I am guided by my Counselor within to Proverbs 29:25, "Fear of man will prove to be a snare. But whoever trusts in the Lord will be kept safe".
Then the light goes on. I see how fear of anything apart from the "fear" of the Lord is a snare. Fear sets up the trap for my flesh to react in "sin". Fear of man and what man can do to me in any given situation creates the setting for the sin in me to take center stage.
I am beginning to "get" what the Holy One is showing me. Fear of failure can cause me to seek ungodly ways to succeed. Fear of poverty can cause me to seek ungodly ways to make money and thereby make money an idol. Fear of rejection can cause me to seek ungodly ways to be accepted. Fear of losing control can cause me to seek ungodly ways of asserting control. And to the big one mentioned, "fear of man" and ultimately fear of harm can cause me to seek ungodly ways to self-protect leading me to anger, bitterness, rage and even murder.
The examples keep rolling through my mind that confirm the truth I have just been given. I have always seen fear as the sin rather than understanding that fear is the temptation and sin is the action that follows.
Fear is a snare that can lead me to unbelief, and to question God's Sovereign authority. I see how fear is a game the enemy has always played with my mind. But today, I have come to realize that I do not have to keep playing fear's game. I can avoid the trap that fear sets up for my flesh.
Fear, like any other temptation in life, involves a choice and decision on the part of my free will: to yield to it or reject it. Temptation to fear is not sin in and of itself, but rather a snare that tempts me to take the sin bait therein.
The enemy will not tell you that you have a choice, but the Holy One does. Following His lead and His wisdom, I know I can and must choose to reject the enemy's fear and bypass the snare that it is.
"Whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe."
I have come to know that spoken words are a powerful and creative force in the atmosphere of life. I have begun to grasp and apply the principle behind God's word that says, "The power of life and death is in the tongue". So I make my verbal declarations into the unseen realm where things that touch my life and circumstances originate, not in fear, but in faith that God will rescue.
I declare that God's Word is true and I am safe! His great peace now reigns in my mind.
I sense that there is a big smile on the face of my Counselor today and I can feel it on my face as well.
The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
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